Peter Jackson's GORE-RIFFIC, Wickedly Funny "From ZERO TO HERO" Zombie Film!!

DEAD ALIVE (a.k.a. “Braindead”) is directed by Peter Jackson; yes, the same dude who won Oscars for his terrific adaptations of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jackson’s 1992 horror comedy has the elements that can attract the horror fan; loads of gore and buckets of blood. It also pitches in a nightmarish vision of childbirth all the while injecting the film with a dark, wicked sense of humor. Hey, the film also makes a great date movie since it does have a very heartwarming love story at its core. (I cannot believe I just said that) This is the cheeky, rough side of Peter Jackson and his low-budget sensibilities.
 

Sometime in the 1950's Wellington, New Zealand, Lionel (Timothy Balme) is a mild-mannered, delivery boy who lives under the roof of his mother’s (played by Elizabeth Moody) house. Lionel is under the influential rule of his mother since he somewhat carries guilt over his father’s death. His mother, Vera is more than happy to have her son under her thrall. One day, Lionel comes across a comely young woman named Paquita (Diana Penalver) and is almost immediately smitten by each other. Vera isn’t at all pleased at Lionel’s fondness for Paquita and she threatens to end their relationship. However, after being bitten by an infected Sumatran rat monkey, Lionel’s mother begins to change into something ghoulishly inhuman. Whoever has the misfortune of running across the changed Vera is turned to something like her. Poor kind-hearted Lionel doesn’t have the guts or the heart to destroy the undead creatures and keeps them sedated in his basement with the use of animal tranquilizers. But things go from bad to worst as his uncle Les (Ian Watkin) invites himself to his property and accidentally unleashes what is in Lionel’s basement to prey on his party guests.
 

Peter Jackson’s “DEAD ALIVE” is unmatched when it comes to pure zaniness and mayhem. The film may well be one of the goriest horror movies ever made, and Jackson is pretty successful in balancing out its elements of horror and comedy. The film is definitely wicked, insane and fun. Jackson does manage to put in a decent story for a film of this kind, albeit it does have its flaws as it does become a tad too silly at times. The characters and effects are undoubtedly very cartoonish and quite frankly the style of the film is very comical; but I just cannot deny that the film becomes quite charming in this manner. 

    

                
 

The gore and blood effects have that familiar “spray” effect made popular by Japanese filmmaking. The use of prosthetics are the film’s main bread and butter combined with a lot of red ink. I do have my reservations whether the creatures in “Dead Alive” are indeed zombies; they feel and behave more like ghouls and demons as they are fast-moving, inhumanly strong and has a tendency to mutate into even more hideous creatures; they are still defined as zombies so I won‘t argue any further. What makes the film different is the manner in which the creature designs are executed; they are quite inventive and they are not sad, wimpy creatures. In “Dead Alive”, the creatures are met with resistance with the use of lawn mowers, toilets, blenders, garden gnomes, and even light bulbs. I rather liked the idea of Jackson sidestepping the usual use of a firearm to dispatch a zombie. The practice of restraint isn’t observed by Jackson in the film; his goal is to create as much mayhem and comedic violence as possible, the more outrageous and the more bombastic it is the better.
 

The film has some key moments of humor in the film as those scenes seem to be subtly channeling the “Three Stooges” and “Looney Tunes”. We see Lionel attempting to flee and he realizes he couldn’t since the floor is slippery because of the loads of blood. The scene in the park with the zombie baby (yes, there is a zombie baby!) is just so funny although I thought that there was no sense for Lionel to take the monstrous infant to the park except as an attempt to simulate a relaxed moment?. You see the “zombified” infant running and snickering around while taunting Lionel. It is just so funny to see Lionel bashing a baby’s head against a swing set. Ok, you might not find a grown man punching a baby on the face, but Jackson does pitch this idea in. The entrails of a zombie also have a life of its own and can even beg for its life. Oh, there is also zombie sex and impregnation obviously. Yes, the answer to Jackson’s approach is to add more gore when the film has enough gore. 

   

                  

              
 

The development of Lionel as a meek, kind momma’s boy into a zombie killer is partly inspired by Paquita’s loyalty and love. I guess even geeks can find love after all. The devotion between the two is just so cute and adorable (did I just say that?!). Timothy Balme is endearing as the lead but not too endearing to the point of annoyance (well maybe a little). He embodies a good portrayal of a “zero to hero” kind of deal. Elizabeth Moody’s portrayal of Vera is the one that embodies class, yet so despicable and unlikable. She is just so obsessed in keeping Lionel under her finger that her monstrous form even makes a final effort in the film’s final act. Let us not forget the one who is arguably the coolest priest of all cinema, Father McGruder (played by Stuart Devenie) is a kung fu fighting man of the cloth who just delivers one of the greatest lines in horror films! Peter Jackson himself also plays a cameo as an undertaker’s assistant.
 

“DEAD ALIVE” (I actually prefer its title “Braindead”) is wacky, goofy, silly, dark, wicked, grim and very mischievous. Strangely enough, despite all the bombastic mayhem and carnage we witnessed, the song in the end credits is very mellow (a song called “Stars and Moon”). The film delivers more carnage and mayhem than any other horror film ever made. Jackson definitely deserves praise and recognition for his efforts on “Lord of the Rings” and even “King Kong”; but this is Jackson just having a lot of fun with this low-budget horror comedy, and his talent as a filmmaker still shines through, no matter which project he is involved in. “Dead Alive” is wild, crazy, insane and delivers a lot of gore and a bloody good time!
 

Highly Recommended! [4+ Stars]