Amy WangBraindead, Dead or Alive?
June 17th 2009 15:27
Both! Braindead and Dead Or Alive are the titles to the same gory zombie film by Peter Jackson (Yes the Lord of the Rings Director). I recently watched this film on Youtube (check it out below)
Braindead Part 1
Braindead Part 2
Braindead Part 3
Etc...
The film is rated 'R' so make sure the kids don't watch it! They'll surely be scarred for life...just like when I watched Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' when I was 12....never lived it down!
But yes, back to this film. I do believe this was the third film Peter Jackson made. His first film, 'Bad Taste' was equally gory but done with a much smaller budget. Braindead with a relatively larger budget is still considered to be a 'B' movie with very laughable 'special effects' and 'stop motion' for its creatures. However, although filled with bad acting and nonpersuasive special effects, the film still retains the genius of Mr. Jackson. He combines humour, a weirdly incorporated love story and a whole lot of exploding guts and intestines to create a zombie film with a difference.
PLOT *WITHOUT SPOILERS!
The film starts in the mountains of New Zealand, where two guys are kidnapping a very strange monkey. They are pursued by a group of natives who want the monkey to remain in nature. During the pursuit, the monkey bites one of the kidnappers. Distressed, the other kidnapper tries to chop off the 'infected' area from the bite. The bite however spreads, and this marks the beginning of the film. From then on, we are introduced to the main characters, a man who is controlled by his mother (like in Psycho!). He and a grocery checkout chick become romantically involved. This is the romance in the film. While the romance is happening, the mother gets bitten by the same monkey that bit the kidnapper from before. She falls ill and eventually turns into a zombie. Soon, more than one is infected and the couple must do all they can to save themselves and the rest of the their community.
Now this film, was filled with all kinds of gruelsome surprises. There is a zombie baby who is born as a result of two other zombies having sex in a dining room. There is a mother zombie whose womb opens to devour her son. There are crotch grapping zombies and face eating zombies and of course, exploding zombies. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Compared to the other zombie films I've seen such as Sam Raimi's Evil Dead Trilogy, the George A. Romero Living Dead Trilogy and 28 Days Later...this film definitely trumps them in terms of gore and blood. This film also really plays with humour and character development and tries to get the most extreme reactions from the audience. I think the film is definitely up there in terms of zombie quality, but is of course far from Jackson's best. I say, definitely give it a go if you're a zombie aficionado. Otherwise, if you're looking for a film to shock, this is it.
FUN FACT!
The film uses the most fake blood ever...
I rate this film 3.5 STARS OUT OF 5. If you do end up watching this film, prepare a vomit bag just in case!
PEACE OUT.
Braindead Part 1
Braindead Part 2
Braindead Part 3
Etc...
The film is rated 'R' so make sure the kids don't watch it! They'll surely be scarred for life...just like when I watched Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' when I was 12....never lived it down!
But yes, back to this film. I do believe this was the third film Peter Jackson made. His first film, 'Bad Taste' was equally gory but done with a much smaller budget. Braindead with a relatively larger budget is still considered to be a 'B' movie with very laughable 'special effects' and 'stop motion' for its creatures. However, although filled with bad acting and nonpersuasive special effects, the film still retains the genius of Mr. Jackson. He combines humour, a weirdly incorporated love story and a whole lot of exploding guts and intestines to create a zombie film with a difference.
PLOT *WITHOUT SPOILERS!
The film starts in the mountains of New Zealand, where two guys are kidnapping a very strange monkey. They are pursued by a group of natives who want the monkey to remain in nature. During the pursuit, the monkey bites one of the kidnappers. Distressed, the other kidnapper tries to chop off the 'infected' area from the bite. The bite however spreads, and this marks the beginning of the film. From then on, we are introduced to the main characters, a man who is controlled by his mother (like in Psycho!). He and a grocery checkout chick become romantically involved. This is the romance in the film. While the romance is happening, the mother gets bitten by the same monkey that bit the kidnapper from before. She falls ill and eventually turns into a zombie. Soon, more than one is infected and the couple must do all they can to save themselves and the rest of the their community.
Now this film, was filled with all kinds of gruelsome surprises. There is a zombie baby who is born as a result of two other zombies having sex in a dining room. There is a mother zombie whose womb opens to devour her son. There are crotch grapping zombies and face eating zombies and of course, exploding zombies. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Compared to the other zombie films I've seen such as Sam Raimi's Evil Dead Trilogy, the George A. Romero Living Dead Trilogy and 28 Days Later...this film definitely trumps them in terms of gore and blood. This film also really plays with humour and character development and tries to get the most extreme reactions from the audience. I think the film is definitely up there in terms of zombie quality, but is of course far from Jackson's best. I say, definitely give it a go if you're a zombie aficionado. Otherwise, if you're looking for a film to shock, this is it.
FUN FACT!
The film uses the most fake blood ever...
I rate this film 3.5 STARS OUT OF 5. If you do end up watching this film, prepare a vomit bag just in case!
PEACE OUT.
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Kynaston
Aliterati
Kynaston Tales
That's an impressive record!
Comment by Amy Wang
Why So Cynical: The Unabashed Ravings of a Loudmouth Malcontent
Films, Films And More FIlms
Firsty, love the name! Wow, you worked on braindead?? That's awesome! What did you do on set? How was working with Peter Jackson?
And yes...I had to watch it on youtube sadly. Its a pretty hard movie to locate on DVD and I couldn't be bothered to buy it on Ebay so Youtube seemed the laziest way.
Great review of Pontypool by the way
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
On Braindead (I actually suggested to Peter combining the two words Brain Dead to make one) my official title was Production Trainee, but I mostly did gofering, but I did get to involved in the art department, watching the special effects boys at work, third ADing, and even body doubling! There was some tedious stuff too, like unit assistance (ugh!) ... The shoot was grueling, but a hell of a lot of fun.
I'm still waiting for a special edition to come out on DVD with lots of juicy extras. I heard a while back that Peter was preparing all his early movies for special editions, but nothing has surfaced ...