Dead Alive

True. What a great film. And Peter Jackson is so unafraid of it; he's proud of his indie weird splatter roots. I love that about him.

Yeah, the ear in the creamed corn (or whatever) had me gagging for sure. Especially when she starts eating it. I came pretty close to regurgitation.

I think Meet the Feebles is still my favorite non-LOTR Jackson film, and I still like it a sight more than the Two Towers.

I'm not a fan of the horror-comedy combos, but this movie somehow makes me love it. It's truly a classic.

The best bit is the head replacement with garden gnome sequence.

I had this lying about on my harddrive.

Enjoy.

Perhaps the greatest film ever made? My annual Halloween screening seems like a confirmation every year. Also, the 31st... Jackson's birthday.

DEAD ALIVE is a lifetime of goodwill. He can make twenty Steve Martin family comedies, but there will always be DEAD ALIVE.

Try as I might, I could never get into this one. I've tried many times. I think it's too much. There is just so much blood and guts and latex I was unaffected by it. And all that stuff with the baby is just insufferable. Didn't find it funny at all and it went on forever.
I like a few scenes early on, but get tired of it all about halfway through. I'll take Bad Taste over Dead Alive any day.

I hope this happens too, I thought I was the only one!!

And yes...Braindead, IS an absolute classic. I have not yet seen a bloodier, gorier film. Virtually every kill worth happening occurs and its also bloody funny to boot.

'I kick arse for the lord!'-deserves his own movie. Kung Fu Priestdom rules!

Bad Taste was great for what it was, H Ceatures is beautifully made, Frighteners is among my 'hidden gems' choices, loved it from the moment I first saw it - the first PJ film i saw.

Is meet the feebles worth getting hold of?

For one, it totally trumps TEAM AMERICA, as far as puppet movies.

Meet the Feebles is one of the weirdest movies ever. Think the Muppet Show, dark, sick, and on hardcore drugs. The ill-timed 'Nam flashback and the musical number at the end are worth renting it for alone, if you can find it(Netflix?).
I'd buy it, but the DVD sucks. Same goes for Dead Alive/Braindead. I was hoping after LOTR these would get decent discs but it hasn't happened(although I do think it was post Fellowship when MTF came out).
I still haven't seen Bad Taste, I've been close to buying the disc several times but I can't bring myself to do it. I have friends who love Feebles and Dead Alive who thought it was terrible. I usually trust their opinions, but I dunno. I realize how it was made and stuff but is it really bad?

Oh, and back on the thread topic. Dead Alive is amazing. Not only is it THE goriest movie ever made, it's also one of the most creative, and pretty funny to boot. By the way, I have a friend that really did vomit from watching this movie. The dinner scene got to her. If you can make it past that, you'll be desensitized by the time you get to the really sick shit.

Bad Taste is the best home movie ever made. It has the same sense of joyful gross-ness that Braindead has. The low budget and 'made as a short film' origins start to wear on your enjoyment about the 10th time you see it. Anyone who's a fan of old school, stuff a mannequin full of pig's innards style gore will love this. Equally, even back then, you can see the starts of some of the style he would employ in the LOTR movie.

Meet The Feebles is a film Jackson apparently made while very angry - at the film business or something - and the film is nasty, vicious and assaulting. It left a bad taste in my mouth and still makes me queasy though i've only seen it once - back when it originally came out. But then the muppets used to scare me when i was a child so maybe, for those on the boards who enjoy unremitting, mean spirited trangressiveness, MTF is just great.

This movie needs a special edition dvd like no other.

Such a perfect movie. I've shown it to people who don't even like horror or disgusting effects and they've all loved it. There's not a scene that feels like filler- it's rare to have a movie that's funny all the way through it. A huge step up from Bad Taste, even though it's very much the same kind of humor.

Peter Jackson's early works

Hi there.

Jackson's early works were largely funded by the New Zealand government through their Film Commission I believe. The generous profits from these films were later ploughed into more "respectable" fare like Jane Campion's The Piano and arthouse stuff which without Jackson's efforts would have had to have sought other sources of finance.

I like Braindead but it became exhausting for me watching it since it is so relentless. It's like being stuck in a lift with no way out with a master comedian, it just wears you down. I think I still prefer Bad Taste: "I'm a Derek and Derek's don't run!". Liked the exploding sheep.

Some sick puppy at my local Global Video put Meet the Feebles in the kiddies' section next to the Little Mermaid because it had a puppet hippo on the cover. Well, I thought it was funny.

Cheers.

Iain

Hair in the Gate - reviews of artefacts from the world of B-picture, exploitation and DTV entertainment: http://www.geocities.com/hairinthegate2005

My personal favorite Horror movie of all time.

I never get tired of wathing this movie.

I love this film, as well as The Frighteners and Lord of the Rings. Meet The Feebles was very interesting and twisted, but I don't think it is something that I would ever buy. I have yet to see Bad Taste, Heavenly Creatures, or Forgotten Silver. Anyone care to comment on those last two?

Heavenly Creatures is very possibly my favorite movie of all time (at the very least it's my favorite "serious art" film). And it actually does have some very impressive effects sequences, although that's not the focus of the film. It's a drama informed by genre films.

Forgotten Silver is a weird little joke movie, not my favorite of his work, but it's interesting.

The Peter Jackson who made Bad Taste and Dead Alive is the Peter Jackson I most prefer. I've been mildly disappointed in that guy who accepted an Oscar a couple of years ago. He made a 10 hour movie with guys swinging swords around and there's maybe one good dismemberment.

Haven't seen the extended editions, eh?

Lot more beheadings and dismemberments in that.

Hate turned to Love

I don't ever remember going completely 180 on a movie like I did for Dead Alive. I hadn't watched a single zombie flick prior, due to my Zombie-phobia. On a slow blizzardy winter afternoon, an art school teacher (who's now a close friend and wife of a buddy of mine) brought in a bootleg for us to watch in class where I couldn't escape. It so completely offended and disgusted me (cold sweat & nausea) upon initial viewing that it simultaneously helped cure my fear of zombies (with the aid of the Raimi's E.D. trilogy and hours of Res Evil play in college) and made me fall for Peter Jackson's imaginative and efficient directing style. Now, Dead Alive is one of my fave horror movies.

Thank you, Dead Alive. Thank you.

I only got round to seeing it a few weeks ago, myself.
I was indeed entertained.

Yeah, my college years (94-98) forever changed my myopic appreciation of horror flicks (zombies in particular).

I watched this film for the first time earlier this year, and it REALLY lived up to the hype. I'd heard it was violent, but I always figured that people meant "violent for its time" ... but holy shit that is THE bloodiest movie ever! And I loved it! There's more imagination in this one indie flick than in a hundred King Kongs. I miss this Peter Jackson.

yeah, Dead Alive is classic. Bad Taste and Dead Alive are my two favorite Peter Jackson flicks... better than Kong and LOTR flicks.

That baby scene in the park is freakin hilarious..and outlandish. I'm laughing just thinking about it.

One thing I love about Jackson's work is how he can do anything. Look at heavenly creatures. Its pure art