Chaw – Review

The plot is basically about a huge over-sized boar that is terrorizing and killing the people in the country size, and it has some Korean humor thrown in as well. More so than ‘The Host’, Chaw is much more comedy than horror. Basically, the giant boar kills a few people so a group of big game hunters are brought in to kill it. Not too much high brow stuff, and not a total throwaway movie but the running time is terribly overdrawn.

Using a pig’s-eye-view camera shot, the early attacks see people dragged off in all directions, limbs flying and body parts disappearing. The giant killer boar is far from convincing, probably intentionally so, but this adds to the lunacy that is inherent in the film. The characters are also developed by this comedy and while they may not be particularly deep, their earthiness helps keep the story from going off the rails. For instance we’ll have a scene with several guys rolling down a hill or a scene where two guys are taking a piss at night and a creepy old woman comes out of nowhere to freak them out, then we quickly shift to a more serious scene where the boar is stalking his prey once again. It sounds like typical creature feature stuff, and in terms of its basic narrative it is.

Although it may not make you as scared to go in the woods, or to eat pork chops as Jaws made you scared of the water, it’s an entertaining, interesting and enjoyable film. If you check your brain at the door that is.  It’s no classic and its oddness certainly adds to the charm. Like I said before, Chaw’s appeal comes from its endearing, offbeat characters. The special effects are clearly a mixture of practical effects and CGI and while this isn’t top grade material, it’s certainly not going to be a distraction except to effects snobs.

It’s cast very well and everyone in it is earnest in their portrayal of absurdities but I just can’t accept that tThe film is more about the people and the community than it is about the boar.  Perhaps it’s only fitting that a film about a giant boar becomes a giant bore of a film. It’s not a bad movie, just one that resembles a stew made from the finest ingredients but still fails to taste good because nothing works together well. But then again,  it’s about a large wild boar gone mad in the countryside. What more do you want?