Braindead/Dead Alive (1992)

PETER JACKSON

BRAINDEAD/DEAD ALIVE

NEW ZEALAND, 1992

8/10

"Stand back, boy! This calls for divine intervention! I kick ass for the Lord!"

Last night, for the first time, I watched BRAINDEAD (1992), it's been on my watch list for over a year, and I decided to finally view it and then review it for this blog.

Smart, funny, and downright disgusting, Peter Jackson's BRAINDEAD is a masterpiece in the horror-comedy genre (you read that right, the LORD OF THE RINGS director made one of the goriest zombie films of all time). Now, I'm not usually a fan of slapstick comedy, and as much as I love EVIL DEAD (1981) and its sequels, I never found them funny (I know that the original EVIL DEAD was just a plain horror, but the others were slapstick comedies), and so I had pretty low expectations for this film. However, I actually found this film very funny (still not hilarious, which it why it's not a 10/10 or even a 9/10, but I did chuckle at some points). People who watch this film no doubt remember many lines, such as the aforementioned "I kick ass for the Lord!", or "Your mother ate my dog!" "Not all of it", or even "We don't sell sedatives! Tranquilizers, I do have." It is the combination of not only slapstick humor but also generally witty and amusing dialogue that places this movie as my favorite slapstick comedy. 

The film also has one of the best taglines ever: "Some things won't stay down...even after they're dead." It truly lets you know you are in for a gory ride. There are some wonderful events in the film, from a rat monkey to humping zombies to a zombie baby to a priest using the martial arts to a Jack-o-Lantern type of lit up zombie. What more could you ask for in a slapstick film?

The film takes a while to get in to the huge amounts of blood and gore that it is famous for. It introduces its characters, Lionel and Paquita, develops their relationship, and while the zombies begin very quickly, this film isn't a bloodbath until the last 35 minutes. The plot is very minimal and has been used time and time again, but this film isn't supposed to have a killer plot. It sets out to make you laugh and do exceed your wildest expectations with, literally, gallons and gallons and gallons of blood (five gallons per second in the lawnmower scene). I was told the amount of blood in this would exceed my expectations, so I expected blood on the level of EVIL DEAD, but I ended up getting way more than that.

So if you're looking for a fun popcorn movie to watch with your friends that aren't squeamish, this is it. You'll laugh, smile, be a little disgusted, but ultimately come back for more. Highly recommended.