Friday, October 18, 2013
Dead Alive (aka Braindead)
I've seen hundreds of horror movies, and I can confidently
say that 1992's Dead Alive (or Braindead, as it's known outside
the US) ranks among the goriest. Forget The
Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings;
this is director Peter Jackson's masterpiece. He just doesn't make them like this anymore.
Romance is blooming between the dweeby Lionel (Timothy Balme) and the lovely
Paquita (Diana Peñalver), but Lionel is the very definition of a mama's
boy. While stalking her son on a date, Lionel's overbearing mother
(Elizabeth Moody) is bitten by the rare Sumatran rat monkey. It isn't
long before she turns into a flesh-eating zombie, with loyal Lionel still doing
his best to care for her - and the growing number of zombies created by
Mum. These include a nurse and a priest, who get groiny with each other
and produce a zombie baby. Lionel decides to take the little monster out
for a nice day at the park, which ends with Lionel beating the crap out of the
tyke in front of horrified onlookers.
Well, except for this dude, who seems quite pleased with the whole thing:
Another highlight is the scene in which a priest takes on a
horde of zombies by himself. Declaring, "I kick arse for the
lord," the priest proceeds to unleash his deadly kung-fu moves on the
zombies in a truly epic fight sequence.
But there's more to Dead Alive than misinterpreted displays of child abuse and ninja priests. There's also blood, lots and lots of it. I wouldn't say buckets of it; I'd say truckloads. Some of the sights to behold are decapitated heads, a ribcage being torn from a hapless fellow, a giant womb, and zombie intestines attacking independently of the body (but not before pausing to "look" in the mirror). It all leads up to an unforgettable climax involving a lawnmower. There is so much blood and gore, but it's definitely presented in a hilariously over-the-top way, so it's impossible to take seriously. Odd as it may sound, the one scene which tested my gag reflex involved a group of people eating custard.
It's also worth noting that underneath all the blood and guts and pus is the
sweet little love story between Lionel and Paquita, which might make Dead Alive a good choice
for date night. Well, maybe not (although my man and I totally did cuddle
together on the couch as we watched this), but it is recommended for
horror-comedy fans with strong stomachs.
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