Film Reviews:

Braindead

(Peter Jackson, New Zealand, 1992)

The year is 1957, the place Wellington, New Zealand. Lionel Cosgrove is a 25-year old virgin, still living at home with his domineering, battleaxe of a mother Vera. The mother-son relationship is further strained when Lionel meets Paquita, a young Spanish girl whose immigrant family run the corner shop. Spying on the young couple in the zoo, Vera stumbles against the cage of a Sumatran Rat Monkey, a vicious little monster that sinks its foul toxic fangs deeps into her flesh. When the strange wound transforms into a putrefying virus, Lionel and Paquita are sent spiralling into an endless nightmare, which involves a hospital nurse, the local priest, a revolting uncle and hordes of mindless, decaying, zombie killers.

[King Kong] Peter Jackson, the man behind the nauseatingly terrific Bad Taste and the revolting Meet the Feebles 'returns with the sickest, goriest, most delirously funny spoof ever.' That's not me talking, it's the press release, and for once I couldn't agree more. Jackson is one talented director who goes from strength to strength.

With ridiculous slapstick and outrageously OTT gore (completely uncut on its UK video release), a plethora of truly inspired hilarious ideas, an eye for detail and populated with wonderful characters, Braindead deserves every New Zealand dollar it earned when it actually out-grossed Batman Returns when it opened in its home country. All credit to a director who has managed to realise a massive critical and commercial hit. Every viewer will have their favourite moment from dozens of wild set pieces, but for me the most incredibly funny sequence is Lionel's massively non-politically correct walk in the park with a mutant baby. I haven't laughed so much in ages. Jackson's latest is his greatest and therefore this comes highly recommended. 8/10

Rob Dyer

See also:

Bad Taste
Meet The Feebles
Street Trash
Society