Good heavens an IRISH horror film? Whatever next? Based on a script by Clive Barker, this late 80's horror
film has the dubious honour of being, undoubtedly, one of the most diabolically cheesy monster movies to have ever emerged since the 1950's.
Set around a small Irish town named Rathmore, the film begins with a local farmer trying to dig up an old concrete pillar from his field. Local legend says that this giant pillar seals the tomb of an ancient demon, and as we all know it is NEVER a good idea to ignore local legends in horror films.
A fact that the farmer discovers too late, as with a mighty heave from his trusty tractor he breaks the pillar and unleashes the films titular star onto the Irish countryside, who goes onto terrorise local farmers and townsfolk.
The police are baffled by the recent spate of bloody killings, but an American journalist named Howard Hallenbeck (David Dukes), who has been researching the local legends for his new book, thinks he knows what is going on. Of course, the police think he's bonkers.
But following an incident at a caravan park, they are soon convinced otherwise and vigilante mobs with shotguns and pitchforks (and burning torches no doubt) quickly begin searching the surrounding woods with disastrous results. Leading to a hilariously bad final confrontation during the films climax.
This really is a disastrously bad monster movie, and Clive Barker was reportedly less than happy with the filmmakers about the way his script turned out on film. The biggest problem was the monster, which looked so awful and unconvincing that it really made you cringe, combined with some pretty shoddy acting and diabolical special effects. Fans of horror B-movies may find it enjoyable on a trash level, but apart from that there's really nothing else to recommend it.
My advice, if you want to see a good Clive Barker Monster film, watch "Hellraiser" or "Nightbreed" instead..
