Review by Peter Syslo
DEAD ALIVE (1992) has to be the most disgusting film that I have ever seen. The gore is unquestionably over-the-top, so much so that the phrase “over-the-top” doesn’t even provide enough emphasis. Truthfully, the film travels into the territory of the ludicrous, but… that is actually a good thing. DEAD ALIVE is loads of fun; it is essential for any pre-LOTR Peter Jackson fans and it is a must for any special effects lover. In fact, this film is like a course in practical makeup effects – like one of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. films. Overall, the film is essentially the definition of “splatstick” and it conveys the same type of humor as THE EVIL DEAD films, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, or any older Troma film.
DEAD ALIVE is directed by the famous Peter Jackson, who made all of us “fan-boys” gush with his productions of the LOTR films (they really are at the top of the fantasy genre – ask anyone in my shire). The film is written by Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh, and Peter Jackson and it stars Timothy Balme (great actor), Diana Penalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin, Brenda Kendall, and Stuart Devenie. Unfortunately, I don’t have the space to list everyone in the special effects team, but let me just say “kudos” to everyone involved.
DEAD ALIVE is the story of a young man named Lionel (Balme) who is constantly being controlled by his domineering mum, Vera Cosgrove (Moody). Lionel eventually meets a local girl named Paquita (Penalver) but again, his mother seems to keep getting in the way of his happiness. One thing leads to another and while Lionel and Paquita are on a date at the zoo, the spying mother is bitten by an exotic and violent monkey (a “rat” monkey – the movie opens with an explorer retrieving it from Skull Island ). Over the next few days, the mother starts decomposing until she really does die – then she begins her new life as a zombie. Lionel tries to keep a handle on things, but soon he has a few zombies to watch over and maintaining control becomes more difficult (he keeps them in his mother’s house). After Lionel’s scheming uncle (Watkin) “inherits” the mother’s house, all hell breaks loose and zombie control is lost. The last 45 minutes of the film is a thrill-a-minute, all out zombie war as Lionel and Paquita try to make it out of the house alive and destroy the walking dead in the process.
DEAD ALIVE is a great film and I recommend it to any horror fan. It does have a few minor flaws and it does get a little too silly at times, but the overall result is definitely worth seeing. In all honesty, the special effects are the real star of the show; they are so inventive and so original that you just marvel at the time and effort that it took to create such great looking “gags”. Here are just a few highlights: Lionel is feeding a zombie dinner and he tells him to use a spoon – the zombie puts the spoon through the back of its head and another zombie eats the food off of it; in another scene, a zombie tries to burst through a wall and he punches through the back of the head and the mouth of a woman – her body is held, by her mouth, around his wrist as he continues to move; in another scene, a zombie’s innards get torn from h is skin and skeleton – the inner organs chase after Lionel and the intestines try to strangle him; and let’s not forget the grand finale – Lionel runs through the zombie infested house with a lawnmower, cutting all of them to pieces – it’s a pure bloodbath.
Along with the unbelievable effects, the dark humor that pervades the film is downright hilarious, at times. Here are few examples of the humor: Lionel takes a zombie baby (too ridiculous to be taken seriously) in a stroller, to a park and loses control of him; Lionel crashes through a window with his risen-from-the-dead mother, at her funeral; and the zombie dinner-table scene is just crazy. Like I said (especially regarding the zombie-baby) the humor strays towards pure silliness, occasionally, but most of the time it blends really well with the gore and the love/devotion story which is at the heart of the film.
Cutting to the chase: DEAD ALIVE is a lot of fun – ignore your significant other telling you that it is “stupid” and don’t pay attention the insinuations of arrested male development. Just enjoy the zombie carnage and get to know Peter Jackson before he was a household name. The effects are totally unpredictable and just when you think that they can’t push the limit of bad taste any further – they do. This movie really is disgusting and if you could eat anything while watching this, I salute you. However, it is brilliant, daring, well-acted, highly original, and it is infused with a “normal” story. Aside from some of the pure silliness and the out-of-place aspects, like the zombie-baby and the monstrous mother at the end, the movie has everything that you would want in a zombie film and it delivers – trust me. If you want to have a great time with some of your equally-depraved friends, I recommend DEAD ALIVE. I give it a 9 out of 10.