Dead Alive
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Movie Reviews of Dead Alive
Movie Review: Absolutely priceless!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an incredible film. If you are a horror nerd, you've come to the right place. This film is chock-full of gore and violence, so I will warn anyone with a weak stomach outright. I would definitely not show this to my girlfriend. At least on the first date.
Anyway.
This is Peter Jackson before he got famous. If you really liked LoTR, be warned that this is NOT LoTR with zombies. This is Peter Jackson on zombies. It is revoltingly and shockingly gory, perverse, twisted, and strangely, bafflingly, utterly hilarious. It is easily one of the funniest films I have ever seen. Watching Lionel try to take a zombie baby to the park for an afternoon out? Hysterical! The gore itself is very funny, as well - it's so ludicrously over-the-top that it's great. Not only is it ridiculously excessive, it's consistant in quality and very well done. Really creative cinematography helps, too. Jackson and his crew knew what they were doing.
I would recommend this to any horror fan without hesitation. If you're one of the legions of Tolkien fans who found out about Jackson because of LoTR, you may not like this. I'd try to work my way up to this one in terms of gore, like start out with an entry-level film like Evil Dead 2, then watch Day of the Dead (the end sequence is crazy!) before this bad boy. If you can handle the gore, Dead Alive is an absolute gem. Dead Alive stands next to Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, Patton, Evil Dead 2, and Shaun of the Dead as the core of my DVD collection, and is an obvious crown jewel in any horror library.
One note, make sure you get the UNRATED version of this film - the 'R' version is so heavily censored it's unwatchable.
Movie Review: One Of The Goriest Movies You'll Ever See!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Dead Alive" is the goriest, bloodiest, bloodiest, most twisted movies I've ever seen in my life, and it's guaranteed to make you laugh with delight and cringe in terror all in one!
The deaths in this movie are INCREDIBLE!!! They are gory, bloody, and downright hilarious and so original! They will leave you screaming for more blood!!
Not only is this movie a horror, but it is also a love story between Lionel Cosgrove (Timothy Balme) and Paquita Maria Sanchez (Diana Peñalver), the two main characters in this movie, who, along with friend Rita (Elizabeth Mulfaxe) and Lionel's Uncle Les (Ian Watkin) are forced to stop the rampage against the zombies running amok in Lionel's home.
The plot is very good, and the beginning segment is a bit confusing, but it all comes together throughout the movie. The plot is very similar to "28 Days Later," but it is far from the same.
The makeup design for this movie was so incredibly well done! The baby's face was incredibly terrifying/funny, and it made me laugh and cringe in terror.
Overall, this movie is incredibly well done. Peter Jackson, director of The Lord Of The Rings, has created such a twisted, sick, hilariously outstanding classic within the case of DVD.
Any gore-hound will fall for this movie and make it their prized possesion in their gore movies. This is a must buy for anybody who really loves a good horror movie, but with a corrupted love story, a comedy, a strange fortuneteller, crazy zombies, blood, guts, terror, laughs and a psychotic killer baby all in one, "Dead Alive" is the perfect movie for you!! It will do anything but disappoint!! =)
Movie Review: Peter Jackson's best cult film. Not for weak stomachs.
Summary: 5 Stars
Most people in the public at large now know Peter Jackson for his amazing "Lord of the Rings" movie, and his upcommig latter two installments. His older movies, laced with devilish wit, extreme violence, and original plots are definitely worth taking a look at. The story is about a young man with an overbearing mother, your typical dysfunctional family with a tainted history. One day, when her son is on a date at the zoo, she follows them and is bitten by the zoo's most gruesome and unusual display, a "Rat Monkey" (the offspring of foreign rats mating with tree monkeys).
Without giving too many details away, the results are horrific. The amount of violence in this movie is extreme, but done so in a way that is more silly than horrifying. Graphic as it is, it is all part of the fun. People who are sensitive to blood and gore should probably avoid this movie all the same.
The "Dead Alive" DVD is worth getting mainly because it contains the Unrated version, which is the only way to see this movie. Where I live, the Unrated version was not available on video, so the DVD was a great find. The "R" version in question is not worth taking a second look at, since it is extremely watered down, and much of the satirical fun is removed. The DVD has the standard DVD functions, such as subtitles and widescreen. A bit lacking in the extra features department, but I am not complaining.
If you are curious about Jackson's older movies, this is definitely one of his best. I would recommend watching this with "Meet the Feebles" and "Heavenly Creatures". It would be one unusual film fest. Enjoy.
Movie Review: All for the Love of Zombies
Summary: 5 Stars
God bless you, Peter Jackson! After "Meet the Feebles," all is forgiven with "Dead Alive," a no-holds-barred-or-even-considered zombie flick/love story/Freudian drama/splatter-fest. I had heard so much about "Dead Alive" before I watched it that I was a little disappointed to discover that it's basically a zombie flick (the cinematic equivalent of a shoot-em-up videogame), but all disappointment fell away once I let Jackson's thoroughly corrupt and hilarious vision take over."Dead Alive" has your basic zombieplot (or zombie situation, I guess), but it has some wonderful twists - one, that our hero's mother, an evil, oppressive witch-with-a-capital-b, becomes essentially the head zombie, leading to a climax where our hero must face down his Freudian fears to defeat her. Two, there's a charming love story buried in all the gore. Three, Jackson finds some of the darkest, blackest slapstick humor imaginable, as his zombies - and their entrails - do that thing that they do.
And oh, the payoff! So many movies botch the big ending, but the final third of "Dead Alive" is an absolutely anarchic comic nightmare, as our heroes must defend themselves from scores of party-hungry zombies (including a zombie baby muppet - maybe a bit too much, but you can't deny Jackson his indulgences). Disgusting & corrupt? Oh, absolutely. A damned good time? You bet.
Oh, and "Dead Alive" has a satisfying answer to the eternal question: "How do you kill something that's already dead, anyway?" The logical answer: "Grind it to a pulp, that's how."
Movie Review: The best ten bucks you will ever spend on a dvd
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my favorite Peter Jackson movie, just ahead of Bad Taste- another classic from Jackson's youth. The gore is as adverstised on the front of the dvd case, still the most I have seen in a movie, thanks in large part to a classic lawnmower scene. Lionel is our troubled hero who starts off so well here, meeting Pakita a nice girl from his neighborhood. But things turn horribly wrong when he takes his over bearing mother to the local zoo. She is bitten by a ratmonkey (from a forbidden island) and soon turns into a flesh craving zombie, that turns Lionel's world upside down. This in turn leads many locals into zombies, including the priest at his mothers funeral. He is so funny and has a great scene where he is chopping up zombies with his karate ,while saying "I kick $#@ for the lord!" There is a baby produced by the growing legion of undead and Lionel is nice enough or crazy enough to take it to the park for some fun. When the baby acts up, Lionel bashes it against a swing set- much to the delight of a drunken bum- fantastic! These are just some of the many scenes of pure comedy and gore. Lionel also has a money grubbing uncle who inherits his mother;s home and decides to have a big party. The only problem is that Lionel has been sedating the zombies and storing them in the basement. You can guess what happens when the door is opened by an unsuspecting guest- the fun begins! That leads us to the climatic imfamous lawnmower scene- brutal and funny at the same time. You will want to see Bad Taste as well if you like this one.