If an ancient demon rampaging through the Irish countryside sounds like your cup of tea, Arrow Video’s Blu-ray release of Clive Barker’s Rawhead Rex is a must-have. With a strong cult following, this is a much-loved horror film that ticks all the right boxes: picturesque location, an angry demon, locals being eviscerated by the dozen, and good old fashioned good vs. evil. It’s a fun slice of 80s gore.

Writer
Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Nightbreed)

Cast
David Dukes (Gods and Monsters, A Little Romance, And the Band Played On)
Kelly Piper (Maniac)
Hugh O’Conor (Chocolat, My Left Foot, The Three Musketeers, The Young Poisoner’s Handbook)
Niall Toibin (Far and Away, TV’s The Irish R.M., TV’s Ballykissangel)

SOMEONE HAS AWAKENED HIM

Adapted for the screen by master of horror Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Nightbreed) from his short story of the same name, Rawhead Rex sees a hulking, bloodthirsty demon unwittingly unleashed upon a small Irish village with horrific results.

When an unsuspecting farmer pulls up a stone column embedded in a barren field, he accidentally unleashes hell by awakening Rawhead Rex from his ancient slumber. With the seemingly unstoppable creature cutting a bloody swathe through the countryside, American historian Howard Hallenbeck is faced with the task of putting Rawhead back into the ground for good.

The first of several films to be adapted from Barker’s seminal Books of Blood series, Rawhead Rex has garnered a strong cult following over the years, now clawing its way to the surface in a brand new 4K restoration.

When you boil it all down, Rawhead Rex is a fun horror film. While the monster effects may not quite have stood the test of time, it simply doesn’t matter because it’s such an enjoyable horror flick. As old Rexy charges through the Irish countryside, in equal parts killing people and encouraging others to worship him as a god, the audience gets to thoroughly enjoy themselves as grue spills left right and centre, and David Dukes’ Howard Hallenbeck desperately seeks a way to banish the monster once and for all.

And while many of us remember watching Rawhead Rex on grainy VHS back in the 80s and 90s, now you can see it like never before in a gorgeous 4K restoration from the original camera negative.

One last note on the film. Despite it having such a cult following, Clive Barker was famously unhappy with the finished film adaptation of Rawhead Rex. It’s for this reason that he decided to take the helm and direct Hellraiser himself. So without Rexy here, the landscape of horror could be very different...

- 4K restoration from the original camera negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original Uncompressed Stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
- Audio commentary with director George Pavlou, moderated by author Stephen Thrower
- Brand new audio introduction to the film by George Pavlou
- Growing Pains: The Children of Rawhead – a brand new interview with stars Hugh O’Conor and Cora Venus Lunny
- Rawk ‘n’ Roll: The Rex Sessions – a brand new interview with composer Colin Towns
- Brand new audio interview with George Pavlou
- Call Me Rawhead – an interview with actor Heinrich von Bünau
- What the Devil Hath Wrought – an interview with actor Ronan Wilmot
- Rawhead FX: A Cock and Bull Story – interviews with creature effects artists Peter Mackenzie Litten and John Schroonraad, special effects supervisor Gerry Johnson, second unit cameraman Sean Corcoran and make-up artist Rosie Blackmore
- Rawhead Rising – artist Stephen R. Bissette on the aborted Rawhead Rex graphic novel adaptation
- Image gallery
- Original theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring expanded liner notes by Kat Ellinger

Genre: Horror

Language: English

Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.85

Audio: Stereo / 5.1

Colour

Discs: 1