# Braindead (1992)

### reviewed by
Jamey Hughton

    DEAD ALIVE
    ***1/2 (out of five stars)
    A review by Jamey Hughton

    Starring-Timothy Balme, Diana Penalver,
    Elizabeth Moody and Ian Watkin
    Director-Peter Jackson
    Not Rated
    Released 1993

    MOVIE VIEWS by Jamey Hughton
    http://Welcome.to/MovieViews

Whatever you do, do not bother with the R-rated version of `Dead Alive'. Stripped of twelve entire minutes of slimy gore, this version is not worth your hard-earned cash. I mean, who would possibly rent a movie like `Dead Alive' for anything but the gratuitous blood and extraneous death scenes? First, ensure that the copy you picked up does not have an MPAA rating of Restricted on the back cover. Then, with access to a plastic barf bag, sit back and enjoy the uproarious Unrated version of this pinnacle in horror movie-making.

Lionel (Timothy Balme) is a cowardly New Zealand man controlled by his oppressive, domineering mother (Elizabeth Moody). One day, Lionel is delivering a shipment of goods to a local convenience store and he meets a beautiful clerk named Pequita (Diana Penalver). Harnessing all of his courage and strength, Lionel asks Pequita out on a date to the zoo (wonderful choice). Of course, in typical overbearing mother fashion, Lionel's mum comes along for the trip to spy on the happy couple. Unfortunately for the old hag, she stumbles too close to an adjacent cage and is bitten by a Sumarian Rat Monkey, which has just been flown in from overseas.

The Rat Monkey (presented in hilariously cheesy clay-mation) carries with it a terrible plague: whoever gets bitten transforms into a flesh-craving zombie. Lionel's mum begins experiencing certain changes - namely, the loss of certain body parts - and nauseates baffled dinner guests. When she eats Pequita's dog, it becomes clear that Lionel's dear mum is not who she used to be. Soon, the entire town is infested with zombies, even while Lionel attempts to control the plague by locking up the undead in his fruit cellar.

`Dead Alive' (which was originally released as `Brain Dead') is perhaps the goriest movie ever made. Director (and fellow New Zealander) Peter Jackson has gone overboard in the field of splattered blood and stomach-churning gore to such an extreme level that, after the final showdown, the remaining characters are nearly knee-deep in a lagoon of dismembered bodies. Those who carry with them a strong stomach and appreciate the audacity of the horror genre may laugh until it hurts. Balme is perfect in his naive, innocent role as an everyday shmoe caught in an unlikely gorefest.

During the film's final thirty minutes, things get a little out of hand. Lionel is forced to give up the family estate to his greedy uncle (Ian Watkin), who invites dozens of people over for a party. Can you guess what happens next? Here are a few helpful hints: rib cages are torn out, people are disemboweled, legs are eaten off, and decapitated heads slide around on the floor trying to chew on people's ankles. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then I suggest you rent `The Sound of Music' again. This half-hour in frenetic film is sometimes so funny it causes your sides to ache. Alas, when Balme begins using the underside of his lawnmower to thwart the zombie intruders, Jackson gets almost too content with himself. It gets to be a trifle too much, even for a carnage-craving adolescent such as myself.

But, for the most part, `Dead Alive' is deviously inventive and darkly hilarious, featuring astonishing gore effects that are often downright sickening. The goal Jackson has in mind from the jump-start is obviously this: to create a fun homage to classic zombie movies (such as George A. Romero's `Night of the Living Dead'), and add buckets of blood to amuse modern horror fans. Any individual who has followed the genre closely and is disgusted with it's repetitive mediocrity is sure to have a blast.

Along with the violence quota, the humor in `Dead Alive' is surely it's most vital asset. In the single-funniest scene, a courageous priest (Stuart Devenie) dismembers a group of zombie punks using nothing but his hands and feet (as he puts it: `I kick ass for the Lord'). There is also the presence of a zombie baby, which provides several fall-down funny moments. Sure, Jackson also relies on this flesh-eating toddler so much it gets annoying, but that's a minor problem. How in the world do you draw a line in a film like this? If limits were set, then it could have ruined a large portion of the fun.

I'm sure you've now realized `Dead Alive' is not for everyone, but for all those who dare get involved, the experience will be a side-splitting one. Just don't watch it with a full stomach. For that matter - don't watch the R-rated version either.

    (C) 1999, Jamey Hughton

    MOVIE VIEWS by Jamey Hughton
     http://Welcome.to/MovieViews

Comments Appreciated: ">HREF="mailto:movieviews@hotmail.com">

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews