Rawhead Rex is a 1986 British[1] fantasy horror film directed by George Pavlou from a screenplay by Clive Barker, based on his short story of the same name.

It stars David Dukes, Kelly Piper, Niall Tóibín, Cora Venus Lunny and Donal McCann.

The film focuses on a monstrous pagan deity's bloody rampage through the Irish countryside, with the title alluding to the folklore monster Rawhead.

The film was given a limited release in the United States by Empire Pictures on 17 April 1987.

Howard Hallenbeck travels to rural Ireland with his family to research items of religious significance.

Howard meets Declan O'Brien, the Church verger, who directs him to Reverend Coot.

Infuriated by the police's unsuccessful efforts to track down Rawhead, Howard returns to the church.

After Howard leaves, Coot curiously touches the altar but resists the temptations and images it shows him.

Coot finds the missing parish records, showing what appears to be some kind of blueprint of Rawhead.

The police arrive at the church but hesitate to open fire on Rawhead because he is carrying Coot.

Howard leaves his wife and daughter and goes back to the church, where a dying Coot tells him that Rawhead is afraid of something in the altar.

Although Barker's short story was set in Kent, filming took place entirely in County Wicklow, Ireland; in Leinster, Redcross, and Laragh.

[3] A 4K restoration of Rawhead Rex, based on the original camera negative, was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Kino Lorber on 17 October 2017.

In an interview less than a year after the film's release, he explained "I think, generally speaking, the movie followed the beats of the screenplay.