Pig Hunt [DVD] [2008]

A nice trashy bit of watch and forget psycho redneck, giant killer hog slaughterfest. A small group of hunters set off into the wilderness, alienate some bad intentioned hill-billies and have to fight for their lives against a clan of pseudo religious locals as well as the rumoured 3000lb wild hog and human eviserator 'Ripper' who roams these woods; throw in a commune of mostly topless female vixens for small measure and there we have it.
The first half of the film pretty much just sets the scene for the frenetic second half so it can appear slightly uneven. Some gore as to be expected, though strangely and maybe as a result of having so much going on towards the latter end of the film, none of the elements of the film were perhaps quite as exploited as maybe they could have been. Great ideas just difficult to pull them all off in conjunction perhaps?
The effects were pleasant and has been said the giant hog when revealed was competently done. Performances seemed fine, difficult to fault really though for a horror type film it wasn't scary and dispensed with any pretence at suspense building, trademark scares etc. Coincidentally doing the rounds on the Horror channel I observed though I have the dvd so well worth watching on that. Door left firmly open for a sequel also so who knows where it may lead.

Hmmm. Okay - well I see someone else gave it 1 star, so now you're going to be really confused about whether or not to buy this title, because I really like it... so here's what I think: do you buy it? I think yes! Here's why....

(Note - that openinig statement might seem odd, but at the time of writing this review there was only one other review on here, and it gave it 1 star... so the film had a 1 star and my 5 star rating only)

Well, for starters there's an excellent soundtrack to be enjoyed. The film has a fairly good story and mixes in elements of Deliverance with Jaws (all be it a pig not a shark) plus a bit of mad max thrown in for good measure. You can pretty much tell from that description whether or not this film will be for you so if it is read on - if not - I bid you farewell.

So - still reading huh? Then I assume you're up for an hour and a half of fun on the big screen.

Briefly - the story centres around a group of city kids who decide to go hunting where one of the guys grew up - because he grew up their, he knows the local redneck/ hillbilly types who appear and go along for the trip with them - there's some unresolved childhood issues between the group which soon simmers over and adds to the mix and tension. Throw in the discovery of vast marijuana fields a-la 'The Beach', some redneck revenge on dirt bikes and customised dune buggies, naked hippy chicks, and hippy cults and you have a pretty entertaining film. But there was something else... what was it?

Oh yeah, right - the pig!!

This thing makes Razorback looks like a household pet - it's only at the end of the film when you get to see him - but he's really good, and you get to get a good look at him too (something that really annoys me in films is when you don't get to see the monster due to poor lighting etc).

I wont spoil the fun and give too much away but this film is never going to be the greatest film ever is it? I mean - it's called pig hunt... if you're expecting the next Godfather, Hurt Locker, The Usual Suspects or some other great film - then you're just an idiot. If however, you're expecting a film, that's different, fun, cool, varied, and entertaining then you won't be disappointed.

The other reviewer gave it one star and I think that's really harsh. Even if I was to play Devil's Advocate and pick wholes in this film, I could still only give it 2 stars. I see what he means by it's a little slow, but then again I didn't think so - I thought it skipped along at a good pace and it was only when I watched it a few days later with a mate that I was like: ''Get to the good stuff!!" But anyway, that's just my opinion of his opinion, so what of my opinion of the film?

Well, overall I liked this film a lot - but maybe that's just me as I watch a lot of films and so anything slightly off the wall or different tends to make me sit up and take notice a little - plus it ticked a lot the boxes for me... a film with rednecks, hillbillys, hippy chicks, strange and inbred folk hunting people down on their scramblers while wearing gas masks, and preachers in cowboy hats with huge crucifixes that double up as crossbows, is always going to be a winner with me - but even taking that into consideration, there's very few films that I'll watch and then go and have a look at the website for afterwards; read about the cast, music and director etc etc. but with this film I did.

So - what do you do? Do you buy it or not? I guess that depends on price... if it's only a couple of quid yes. If it's nearer the ten mark, maybe you might not want to take the risk. But I say, take a punt and buy it as a second film to watch in a night if you're unsure and don't want to put all your eggs in one basket. I don't think there's anything to worry about though - if you keep an open mind, and are just up for a bit of fun while you drink a few beers with your mates, you'll enjoy it.

If this review was helpful to you at all please give it the thumbs up! :)

Still unsure whether or not to buy this title? Why not take a look at some of my other reviews and see if I'm completely off my head. Also - look up the American version, or the Blu Ray too I think - as the covers to those boxes will give you a much more accurate and clearer idea of what to expect than this ones box does.

Pig Hunt isn't trying to break any new ground. Essentially it's a backwoods story of inbred-locals who hunt city-folk. There's a backstory of a giant pig (3000 lb!) that helps to explain why the city folk are around, and a really oddly grafted on hippy angle that exists only to give us some T&A.

Apart from that you get the city-folk being killed one-by-one, some locals also meeting their maker and so on. The giant hog makes an appearance very late on, which is just as well since it looks like it was made by throwing an old piece of carpet over a clothes horse. Yeah, this movie is pure trash.

But then, I LOVE some cinematic trash, and this movie mostly justifies its place inside my collection.

If I have one complaint it's this.... the movie wqas rated 15 - not 18 as stated on the cover-art. In small letters on the covr it does tell you that the DVD is rated 18 because of added features.... but the only feature on mine is the trailer for THIS MOVIE. Since there is no new footage in the trailer, what gives?

So, keep in mind this is a PG 15 and you'll have an idea of how far things go - which is not far enough.

Decent, but not essential.