Audio By Carbonatix
Keep Dallas Observer Free
We’re aiming to raise $10,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Dallas Observer can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print.
Peter Jackson’s 1992 zombified gora-a-thon has been called the “goriest fright film of all time.” Look, it says so right there on the poster. But that’s really not much of a stretch.
Dead Alive (originally called Braindead) may have been shot in the Land of the Long White Cloud, but it is full-force blood and guts — with a blissful amount of black comic relief. One-liners and scenes like the clothes-lining of a “hyperactive” zombie baby into submission on a playground tempers those that involve ears for dinner [urp], the incredibly uncomfortable birthing of the aforementioned baby, and the much beloved lawnmower climax. Because let’s face it, people, when a Sumatran rat-monkey has altered the community — and the meanest mother ever — with essentially one bite, there are still laughs (and romance?) to be shared.
Considering Jackson’s next effort was Heavenly Creatures, he clearly had a penchant for tales of parental issues, forbidden romance and head wounds.
Speaking of head wounds, the most memorable scene is after the jump.
Most Memorable Scene:
Ever seen anyone punched in the face? No, no — I mean punched in the face. Have a look-see:
The Mixmaster’s Horror Movie Countdown
October 1: Halloween
October 2: Antichrist
October 3: Student Bodies
October 4: Poltergeist
October 5: Jaws
October 6: Suspiria
October 7: Scream
October 8: The Fly