Title: Dead Alive (aka Braindead)
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Starring: Timothy Bale, Diana Penalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
Running time: 97 minutes, Unrated, Available on standard DVD
Peter Jackson’s 1992 cult horror masterpiece has finally been released on Blu-ray. The story of Lionel and his overbearing mother Vera, who gets bitten by a Sumatran rat monkey at the zoo. Vera becomes extremely ill from the bite and quickly decomposes, and has a new-found appetite for live flesh. She eats Lionel’s girlfriend’s dog and several members of the community…however the people who meet their demise at the hands of Vera don’t stay dead for long.
Yes kiddies, Peter Jackson made movies before your precious Lord of the Rings trilogy. For 1992, the special effects were quite good, with exception to the stop motion rat monkey and the giant head on the zombie baby. The uncle’s head hanging off the spinal column and the big boobed/big assed mother monster were the best special effects for the time. The cult movie “Ed and His Dead Mother” (a 1993 Steve Buscemi film) obviously borrowed bits from Dead Alive, but the story is incomparable; it’s full of gore and laughs to boot. The vicar who “kicks ass for the lord” is probably my favorite scene.
The picture restoration is great, hardly grainy at all. I am disappointed that the only special feature is the original theatrical trailer.
I have never seen this film when it was originally released, but I now have a new favorite horror comedy to add to my collection.
Total rating:A
Reviewed by JM Willis
