Dead Alive, 1992

Dead Alive, also known as Braindead everywhere but the US, is one of Peter Jackson's earlier films. He took a very low budget and created what may be the goriest film of all time. I have never seen so much blood in a movie. Yes, it has more blood than Kill Bill Vol. 1. A lot more. It also features rat monkeys, zombies, zombies having sex, killer intestines, and brutal lawn mower warfare. What else can you ask for? Dead Alive is a horror film, but it's also a comedy. It's a gore fest that makes you laugh, and I think that's the scariest part. If I had to compare to a more well known film, I'd compare Dead Alive to The Evil Dead. They share the same kind of "gore and humor in a horror movie shell" mentality. Dead Alive's story is simple and makes no effort to explain itself. A woman is bitten by a "rat monkey" and becomes very ill. She quickly decays into some kind of zombie like creature that desires to simultaneously create more zombies and consume human flesh. Her son, the main character, sedates her and her creations in an attempt to stave the spread. He, of course, has problems. Lawn mower warfare ensues. If you expect a true horror film from Dead Alive, you'll be disappointed. Truthfully, if you expect anything but a hilarious and blood-ridden gorefest, you'll probably be let down. Dead Alive is what it is: great fun. I was eager to see what Peter Jackson had done before The Lord of the Rings, and I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed. While Dead Alive resembled many films before it, you can see one thing that makes it stand out. It's obvious that Jackson jumps into each project full-tilt-boogie. He loves what he does, and it shows. Dead Alive is a genuinely fun and enjoyable film.

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