Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Rawhead Rex 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 5, 2023

George Pavlou's "Rawhead Rex" (1986) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by the director; new program with actor Ronan Wilmot; new program with composer Colin Towns; concept art and promotional material; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Any film that uses original material by Clive Barker deserves special attention. Barker’s output as a writer -- but director and producer as well -- is so impressive that one cannot but expect great things whenever his name appears in film credits.

Rawhead Rex (1986) is one of only three feature films that George Pavlou has directed to date. Two of these films, Underworld (1985) and Rawhead Rex, use original material by Barker. Pavlou’s third film, Little Devils: The Birth (1993), works with similar material but is a horror comedy. Apparently, it is the least impressive of the bunch, too.

I just finished viewing Rawhead Rex for the first time and think that I could guess why Pavlou’s directing career effectively ended in the 1990s. No, I am not trying to politely suggest that Pavlou was a terrible director and blew the three chances he had to prove that he deserved a proper career. While a goofy film with some obvious flaws, Rawhead Rex is a typical late-night ‘80s genre film that can be quite entertaining. It just needs to be seen with the right state of mind, which is how countless popular cult films from the ‘80s must be approached or otherwise they begin to look very, very suspicious.

I suspect that Pavlou’s career ended in the 1990s because he was not keen on taking risks that could have made his films unique. Yes, bad risks could have sped up the demise of his career too, but when you work with original material by Barker it is essentially required to do things differently because there are countless opportunities to excite. I suspect Pavlou assumed that a good screenplay from Barker was enough to deliver a proper genre film, which is why Rawhead Rex turned out an underwhelmingly safe film.

In a small town in Ireland, an ancient demon reemerges after centuries of spending time in another reality. While visiting the area with his wife and two children, American archeologist Howard Hallenbeck (David Dukes) witnesses the demon’s deeds and then clashes with members of a secret cult that worship it as the only true God. When the demon murders his boy, Hallenbeck vows to destroy it but quickly discovers that his scientific knowledge may not be enough to accomplish his goal.

Rawhead Rex has three acts and only the third, which is the shortest one, produces the type of thrills that can be immediately associated with Barker’s work. In the first two acts, Pavlou places the demon in several straightforward situations where it wreaks havoc while plenty of people refuse to accept that it exists. A few of the encounters produce rather decent visuals, but the atmosphere is disappointing. Only the final act reveals that Pavlou could have crafted a proper atmosphere, but sadly the combined running time of the quality material here is approximately fifteen minutes.

The lack of imagination is the source of all major troubles in Rawhead Rex. For example, the demon is essentially a tall actor wearing rags and a silly mask. Unsurprisingly, when it goes berserk, it looks like a Halloween creature from the neighborhood that everyone knows is fake. Also, there is an obvious disconnect between the actors. Dukes and Ronan Wilmott, who plays a possessed verger, perform in a serious horror film, while just about everyone else is contributing to a hilariously bad parody of the kind that Donald Pleasance would have enthusiastically signed for. Instead of using the disconnect to produce the type of odd surprises that could make a genre film interesting, however, Pavlou simply moves from one situation to another until the inevitable logical resolution.

The ideal genre recipe for Rawhead Rex would have been this: show less of the silly creature and expand the first two acts with unconventionally wild material. A lot and perhaps all of this material should have had a wicked sense of humor that would have freed the actors to be creative as well.

Rawhead Rex 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Rawhead Rex is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. The Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-21 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #24-34 are from 4K Blu-ray.

The 4K Blu-ray presents a native 4K presentation of the recent 4K restoration of the film, which was first introduced with this Blu-ray release in 2017. The 4K presentation can be viewed with Dolby Vision or HDR. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision.

I think that the 4K makeover of Rawhead Rex is very good. There are only two areas of it that I believe could have been handled a tad better. During the prologue, there are a few green(ish) nuances that seem to be obstructing what should be prominent grays and light blues, though the overall balance is still good. Also, there are tiny white specks that pop up throughout the film that easily could have been eliminated with digital tools. The rest looks very good or excellent. Delineaton, clarity, and depth were wonderful on my system. The darker footage in particular revealed a lot of healthy nuances that made the superiority of the 4K presentation undeniable. I think that several supporting nuances are better balanced too, so the improvements in the dynamic range of the visuals are pretty significant. Also, I quickly tested select sequences on the Blu-ray and can confirm that the improvements in the density levels on the 4K presentation are very easy to appreciate. Fluidity is excellent, but in 1080p everything looks great as well. Image stability is great. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Rawhead Rex 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, though purists should plan to use the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. During exchanges, clarity and sharpness are good. However, there is plenty of inherited unevenness and some obvious dynamic spikes that I would not be surprised to hear feature enhancements. To be honest, it is hard to tell what the original qualities of the soundtrack might have been. Regardless, I think that the 5.1 track is very healthy and free of anomalies.

Rawhead Rex 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this recent commentary, George Pavlou goes down memory lane and discusses in great detail how Rawhead Rex was conceived, where in Ireland and how different sections of it were shot, what it was like to work with some of the principal actors, the atmosphere that gives the film its identity, etc. The commentary is moderated by critic Stephen Thrower.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - in this recent commentary, George Pavlou goes down memory lane and discusses in great detail how Rawhead Rex was conceived, where in Ireland and how different sections of it were shot, what it was like to work with some of the principal actors, the atmosphere that gives the film its identity, etc. The commentary is moderated by critic Stephen Thrower.

• Growing Pains (The Children of Rawhead) - in this recent program, actors Hugh O'Conor and Cora Venus Lunny recall their work in Rawhead Rex. (The two actors played the children of the American archeologist). In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• What the Devil Hath Wrought - in this recent program, Ronan Wilmot recalls how he was cast to play the possessed verger and his interactions with director George Pavlou. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Rawk 'n' Roll (The Rex Sessions) - in this recent program, composer Colin Towns discusses his experience as a rock musician and involvement with Rawhead Rex. Also, there are some very interesting comments about the relationship between words and music and the recording sessions with top orchestra players in London. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Rawhead FX (A Cock and Bull Story) - in this recent program, special effects artists Peter Mackenzie Litten, Garry Johnston, Rosie Blackmore, John Schoonraad, and Sean Corcoran discuss the visuals effects and make-up that were used in Rawhead Rex. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• Rawhead Rising - in this recent program, horror expert Stephen R. Bissette discusses the emergence of Clive Barker's Books of Blood and explains why the story that inspired Rawhead Rex is one of his all-time favorite horror stories. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is concept art by Paul Catling and behind the scenes stills. With music. (3 min).

• Trailer - presented here a remastered U.S. trailer for Rawhead Rex. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Rawhead Rex 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The biggest strength of Clive Barker's stories is their unpredictability. It is why most of them have made very special genre films. Rawhead Rex was inspired by one of Barker's stories, but it is impossible to describe it as a special genre film. It is a very predictable film made quickly and with a small budget. In its final act, it produces a few thrills that are right for a proper genre film, but the rest of the material in it is underwhelming. If Rawhead Rex happens to be one of your guilty pleasures, you should consider picking up this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. It introduces a very good 4K restoration of the film that was previously available only on Blu-ray.