Barney Burman’s Wild Boar

Barney Burman’s feature-length debut, Barney Burman’s Wild Boar, follows Scarlet (Augie Duke), her fiance Garrett (Daniel Roebuck), his brother Turtle (Jim Nieb), and their friends, Sable (Jessica Sonneborn) and Griffin (Michael Reed), who all decide to go after a legend, both in its tall-tale stature and the supposed size of the prized, geo-cache treasure left behind by entrepreneur Roger Foster (Barney Burman). Tracking it down leads them to a hidden valley populated by murderous pig people who capture, torture, and eat any who dares to enter their lands. Scarlet is determined to break free and save her friends. But, the pig people frequently hunt the area, meaning a getaway is fraught with deadly peril.

Barney Burman has assembled a spectacular cast of character actors/thespians just about to break into the mainstream for his little diamond in the rough. Augie Duke was amazing in Exit 0 last year and has worked with such stalwarts of independent cinema as Charles Band. Most viewers will recognize Roebuck, who has a dual role as Garrett and the pig monster, The Butcher, from his work in several Rob Zombie films and his voice acting in Star Wars games. Douglas Tait plays the villainous pig man Hunter, and his genre bonafides (Knights Of Badassdom, Annabelle Comes Home) speak for themselves.

“…leads them to a hidden valley populated by murderous pig people who capture, torture, and eat any who dares to enter their lands.”

Sonneborn has been racking up quite the credentials these last fifteen or so years, even working with industry heavyweights such as Nicholas Cage and Leigh Scott (one of the best independent directors around). Michael Reed’s been in some of the most outlandish and original b-movies in recent memory; Subferatu, anyone? Heck, Reina Hardesty, of DC’s Arrow-verse fame, even pops up in a brief role. Seriously, this cast is stacked, and they all deliver big time here. Suffice to say, the acting in Barney Burman’s Wild Boar is absolutely sensational, but how is the rest of the movie?

Barney Burman has worked in the entertainment industry for over three decades, primarily as a special effects make-up artist. He has recently decided to try his hand at directing, starting with some shorts, one of which, Wild Boar, serves as the basis for Barney Burman’s Wild Boar. While the film is a little too long, as there’s a conversation or two too many surrounding the rules of their geo-caching exploits, and the editing is, at times, a little off, it proves to be a fantastic thrill ride filled with intense horror and jaw-dropping make-up effects.