Dead-Alive

For You

Don't kid yourself, this is a genre film. Directed by Peter Jackson, and released as Braindead (why rename it?), this movie is about a hilarious rat-monkey who bites and old woman, and her son who tries to cover the whole thing up. When people say its gross (pretty much the only word I'd ever heard sandwiched next to Dead-Alive), they mean its over the top ridiculous. I was imagining Saw II type gore, but its delightful, fun, and completely unbelievable. No nightmares.

For Me

Even watching alone, I laughed out loud and at one point just stood up I was so shocked by how far Peter Jackson was willing to go. I often rant about how stunted the Zombie genre is (completely enjoyable, but impossibly hard to escape the ending), and Dead-Alive really challenges this. Maybe because its more a horror-comedy movie than a zombie one, but its structure truly surprised and refreshed my wary mind. I also liked that the allegory being told was front and center. I'd rather not have a film take itself completely seriously while trying to convince the audience that the "meaning" was an accident. Ooops!

(Does anyone else remember seeing this at the rental store when they were twelve and having a seizure?)

Dead-Alive Trailer