REVIEW: ‘Boar’ is a Fun and Bloody Creature Feature

Everything dangerous is bigger in Australia, the online jokes of the country trying to consistently kill you make a creature feature in the Outback, a bloody good idea. In Boar (2019), a Shudder exclusive flick directed by Chris Sun, a killer pig is out assaulting the Australian bush, mowing through campsites and gutting the locals.

Packed with a cast of genre staples like Bill Moseley, Boar is as nonsensical as it is bloody. Bruce (Moseley), the new patriarch of the Monroe family, is having a hard time with his new Australian step-family and their middle-of-nowhere lifestyle, then the rampaging truck-size boar shows up, and any idea of character development or relationships fly out the window fast.

With the family heading into nowhere to visit his wife Debbie’s (Simone Buchanan) brother Bernie (Nathan Jones). In addition to the Monroes, we have the quintessential odd old couple pairing of Ken (John Jarratt) and Bob (Steve Bisley) who are just trying to enjoy their time together, bonding and shooting, as Australian men do, I guess.

To be honest, boars are scary. In Texas, wild boars are an invasive species that are known to attack hunters, farmers, or really anyone in their territory. For hikers and researchers walking through the Texas hill country, they keep a sidearm ready, not for some hoplophilia thing that people often associate with us, but because a wild boar charging towards you almost assures traumatic bodily injury.

Knowing this, and letting this movie feed into all of the stereotypes that the media has taught me about Australia and its monstrous wildlife, I’m the prime target for this film. Terrified of boars already? Check. Terrified of anything in the middle of nowhere, Australia? Double-check.

Wild, campy, and loud as hell, Boar (2019) is a ride.

With all of that Texan context, Boar is a practical effects bloody delight – granted I could have done without the dog death. Boar (2019) is just a crazy creature feature filled with crazy acting and a script overflowing to the brim with characters making stupid decisions and comedic gold between Ken and Bob. The blood usage edges on splatter horror and the intense scene where Bernie decides to go 1v1 with the boar, head on, is ridiculously great.

A giant of a man taking on a giant of a pig, I mean, it was more entertaining than the Clegane Bowl! Now, this may be my intense love of him in The Protector and The Condemned and [insert the name of any straight-to-DVD release featuring a giant man fighting a much smaller man], but Jones really steals the flick. Truthfully, his acting is outlandish, engrossing, and the man fought a boar with his guts hanging out.

Overall, Boar is not going to win any awards – well, it might win some Razzies – but that by no means means that you shouldn’t watch it. The film is a bloody splatter of creature hunger, and it fits the subgenre perfectly. Not every film needs to redefine the genre, like the last Shudder Exclusive, The Nightshifter. In fact, horror love is built on a solid foundation of B-movies and buckets of red-tinted corn syrup. That being said, Boar could have leaned even more into the absurdity with over-the-top camp from all the actors instead of just Jones’ Bernie.

Boar (2019) is by no means a good movie, but it is a great time. The acting is terrible, the script is out there, and that’s honestly all par for the course. It’s about as good as a movie about a giant murderous pig roaming and murdering his way through the Australian bush can be.

The characters don’t matter, but the deaths are creative, gory, and comedic. With a cast that any genre fan will tune in for, Boar (2019) is a great film to watch on the couch with friends and a bunch of beer on hand. I have to score the flick as I would every film, but for a genre creature feature, take the time to watch the film.

Boar (2019) is available on Shudder now.