Rating of
3.5/4
Dead Alive
Harley Lond - wrote on 02/20/12
Before he traveled to Middle Earth, Peter Jackson directed the goriest film of all time, "Dead Alive" (1992), a riotous mix of horror and comedy that stands right up there with 'The Evil Dead' as a modern classic of the genre. Set in Jackson's home of New Zealand, the film follows the trials and tribulations of Lionel, a young man whose domineering mother is bitten by a rat monkey and turns into a flesh-eating zombie who infects everyone she bites. Lionel tries to hide mom from the world, but she starts growing bigger and bigger until she becomes the size of a house -- literally -- and a party thrown by his uncle turns into a bloodbath the likes of which you have never seen before on the big (or little) screen. As Lionel tries to fend off the horde of zombies created by mom, he turns to his weapon of choice: a lawn mower. Fabulously over the top. If all you know of Jackson is the "LOTR" films, the 2005 "King Kong" or "The Lovely Bones," you have to rush right out and get this film. (Unless you get queasy seeing buckets of blood). The Blu-ray version adds clarity and definition to the film, particularly highlighting the reds. The effects are not state-of-the-art, but with blood and guts all over the place, who needs CGI?
