Braindead/Dead Alive Appreciation Thread! (1 Viewer)

[Julie K]

Ok, I don't want to rain on anybody's parade. I love Dawn of the Dead. I love Return of the Living Dead. Heck, I love all zombie movies. Zombies, give me more zombies. I need more zombie movies.

But there is one that stands supreme.

Braindead (or Dead Alive as it is known in the US)

What is there not to love?

It's got gore, gore, gore, and then more gore.

It's got a zombie baby. Now I ask everyone, where else have you ever seen a zombie baby? Especially a nasty bratty one. The sequence where this little monster gets loose in a park never fails to make me completely sick from laughing so hard. And who else but Peter Jackson would, even for a moment, put a baby in a blender?

And then there's more gore. The mobile intestines are an especially nice touch.

I especially enjoy the inversion of the Night of the Living Dead in how our hero is desperately trying to keep the zombies in his house. Maintaining appearances is all important, so it doesn't do to let your zombified mother, a nurse whose head is almost coming off, a former kung-fu priest, and a random thug who eventually goes to pieces, outside where polite society can see them.

There's a bunch more gore too.

This movie also teaches you the proper way to get rid of unruly party guests, especially if they happen to be zombies. A lawnmower. Ah, the simple things are most effective. Messy, but effective. "Party's over!"

And then it gets real gory.

Funny and gory - what could be better?

 

[Vickie_M]

I agree with everything you said!

Any movie that has the line "Your mother ate my dog!" is A-OK by me!

Even the scene at the dining room table, which almost had me running out to the bathroom and still makes my stomach churn just thinking about it, was funny as hell.

The real reason I wanted Peter Jackson to win the Oscar for LOTR (besides that he, you know, deserved it) was to see the director of this fine zombie movie up there on the podium. That would've been sweet! (it may still happen, who knows?)

 

[Jordan_E]

I used to work at a video store and when people asked "What is the goriest movie you got in here?" I would point them toward DEAD ALIVE. I do not remember having anyone coming back to disagree with me. Nothing like exposing newbies to the wild world of Peter Jackson when all they have seen are the zombies of George (don't get me wrong I LOVE the DEAD movies!) Romero.
"I kick ass for the Lord!"

 

[MickeS]

Yup, this movie ROCKS! It is one of the best movies I have ever seen, in any genre, period (no, I'm not kidding). Excellent story, editing, acting, effects, photography and it's funny as hell.
I saw it twice theatrically and the audience reaction was very entertaining too. As a gimmick, on opening night the audience was handed "barf-bags" with the "Braindead" logo on it before the movie started, a funny touch. (I threw mine away years ago, wish I would've kept it, but that was before eBay was invented )
To me the best scenes are... well... there's so many of them! The "I kick ass for the lord"-kung fu fight scene is probably my favorite, next to the "Sinkaya!" and dinner scene, and the zoo-scenes, and the baby-in-the-park scenes, and the lawnmower scenes, and the legs-without-a-body scene, and... oh damn it, the whole movie is great!
/Mike

 

[Julie K]

I also love how Lionel can't get traction on the blood slicked floor so he starts stepping (squish! squish!) on a bunch of severed heads.
I also love PJ's cameo as the demented undertaker's assistant. That embalming scene is fun!
I smile when I think of people who discover PJ through LOTR (and yes, he should have won that Oscar) and their great joy when they eventually discover his earlier work.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Can't agree more. Dead Alive (as I had seen it here in the states) is a high water mark in the zombie genre as far as I'm concerned. The merging of no-holds-barred gore and humor is something shared only by Sam Raimi. Consequently, I am overjoyed that both directors have enjoyed record setting box office success in this past year. Just to know that "Hometown horror director makes good".
I remember first seeing this in the emasculated 'Rated' version and thought the film was a bit of a misfire but had some promise. Then I saw the 'proper' version (for us North Americans anyway) and the difference was revelatory. The humor clicked because of the gore. The lawnmower scene converted from a one-off gag into a true centerpiece of the film.
That Jackson went on to make Heavenly Creatures and Lord of the Rings is both completely unexpected and competely understandable. To that I say, Lord of the Rings should not have been his first Academy nomination for director. It wouldn't have been for Dead Alive, but that is because the Academy snubs all zombie movies.

 

[Jack Briggs]

And who else but Peter Jackson would, even for a moment, put a baby in a blender?

Julie, with your reputation at Home Theater Forum, that question sets you up for a trap!

 

[Artur Meinild]

Even the scene at the dining room table, which almost had me running out to the bathroom.

Me too. I've never been so close to spontaneous vomiting...
Very cool movie indeed.

 

[Julie K]

Julie, with your reputation at Home Theater Forum, that question sets you up for a trap!

I would never put a baby in a blender.

Really, when are you guys going to learn? I don't like shakes - grilling is my favorite preparation method!

 

[MickeS]

Anyway... did "Braindead" open theatrically in the US, and if so, was that the same version that is out on DVD here now?
/Mike

 

[Justin_S]

I too love this film, and it is quite possibly the funniest movie I've ever seen! It is easily Peter Jackson's best film. Lionel's uncle fucking rules, and the baby zombie is hilarious! I also loved the scenes with Void and his living intestines. Great film to say the absolute least!

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

"Party's over!" I feel like watching Dead-Alive again after this thread.

Anyway... did "Braindead" open theatrically in the US, and if so, was that the same version that is out on DVD here now?

Dead-Alive opened up theatrically in the US in a horrific 85 minute R-Rated cut of the film.

 

[Steve Christou]

What no mention of Peter Jackson's earlier splatterfest 'Bad Taste'? Tsk Tsk.
Containing the classic scene when some old geezer eating a bowl of vomit says "mmmm I got a chunky bit!", hehehe I still use that line from time to time.
Oh yes hang on and the bit where one of our heroes fires a missile at a house and misses, hits a cow in a field instead [laughing hysterically].
Eeeek! Sorry about that, I'll mention Brain Dead, yes I loved it too, first time I watched it was with some mates and we couldn't stop laughing our asses off, beer is an essential ingredient when watching films like this, the bloody lawnmower bit at the end has to be seen to be believed, classic stuff!
And this crazy guy went on to direct the magnifico Lord of the Rings?

 

[Jack Briggs]

So, we're talking about the Citizen Kane of zombie films here? Seeing it on cable was not enough, then. Should I order the damn thing? What's the aspect ratio?

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

Should I order the damn thing? What's the aspect ratio?

You should order the damn thing, but the Lions Gate rep here at the HTF said a few months ago that they were going to announce a new DVD of the film in the near future. I would just wait at the moment if I were you.
And the aspect ratio is 1.78:1 (and it's 16x9 enhanced)!

 

[Benjamin_L]

Julie_K: "I go vith zoo?"
What a fantastic movie. Not only is it the goriest B-horror campfest ever, but just about every part of this movie is spot-on. Anyone ever seen Timothy Balme (Lionel) or Diana Peñalver (Pequita) in anything else? Great pair.
Who knows, maybe if Peter Jackson introduces a corporeal version of Sauron in Return of the King, it'll be Lionel's gargantuan Zombie-Mum! Err, heh, perhaps not.

 

[Shane Gralaw]

Dammit, now here's a solid zombie film! Every scene leads logically to the next and the humor is very well handled. Sure it's over the top, but also relentlessly inventive, smart and clever- in the best sense of the word. I still am not a fan of Lord of the Rings (after the brilliance of Heavenly Creatures, my favorite film, everything else has been a denoument), but Dead Alive will always be a testament to a intellegent director in the top of his form.

 

[Jean-Michel]

Dead-Alive opened up theatrically in the US in a horrific 85 minute R-Rated cut of the film.

I think they released both. I know when I saw it during its initial U.S. run it was the 97-minute version (I wouldn't have seen it at all otherwise).

 

[Steve Y]

Damn fine custard! (Rich and creamy, just the way I like it!)

Anyone care for a dried apricot?

~Steve

 

[Julie K]

but the Lions Gate rep here at the HTF said a few months ago that they were going to announce a new DVD of the film in the near future.

I thought Trimark had US rights? I'd be delighted with a new disc (with hopefully the extended cut as well) but I'm a bit surprised.
Jack,
I say get it. Of course, I'll say that to everyone. Just don't eat during it.
Steve,
Believe me, I don't forget Bad Taste. Words cannot begin to express how much I love Bad Taste. It is, after all, a poster of Bad Taste that I have in my living room (the 'tasteful' Italian one showing Derek with his chainsaw) instead of a Braindead poster.
I've seen some interviews with PJ and apparently he's considering another zombie movie. Anyone heard anything more? I can think of nothing better than to follow up LOTR with a zombie movie, hopefully even more gory and funny than Braindead. Well, except for Bad Taste 2 of course