Dead Alive (1992)

DEAD ALIVE

(1992)


All notes and summary below by Sopang Men (2006).


Notes: a.k.a. Braindead.
Lionel Cosgrove: Timothy Balme
Paquita Maria Sanchez: Diana Penalver
Vera Cosgrove: Elizabeth Moody

Directed: Peter Jackson


Type of Zombies: Typical Hollywood zombies: slow, stupid, and hungry for flesh.


Summary:
Before Peter Jackson went mainstream with the Lord of the Rings films, he directed this over-the-top cult favorite. Lionel’s a regular Joe with an overbearing mother, so overbearing that she feels threatened by a new woman in Lionel’s life. While spying on Lionel and Paquetta, who are having a nice day out at the zoo, mother is bit by the infamous Sumatra Rat Monkey, sealing her fate. She succumbs to her wounds but comes back from the grave in no time, rotting and just as ornery as ever. Out of some kind of perverted responsibility, Lionel stashes his zombie mom into the basement and soon, the bodies start piling up. Dead Alive is bizarre, disgusting, and never takes itself seriously. And how could it? A movie with a kung-fu preacher, zombie sex, and a zombie baby being punched in the face would have a hard time being passed off as high-brow. The gross-out humor and inventive zombie kills makes this film one of the most celebrated among zombie enthusiasts.


Gore Factor:
This film is a contender for bloodiest of all time. Buckets and buckets of the red stuff splash all over. It reaches its apex when Lionel utilizes a lawnmower to plow through a party full of the undead.


No Brains…No Brains…:
It’s hard to understand why Lionel hides his undead mother and her victims in his basement and tries to keep them a secret. Zombies always find a way of getting out, especially when you shoot them up with animal stimulant.


Undead Quotable:
“I kick ass for the Lord.” — Father McGruder before releasing some martial arts moves on a group of zombie punks.


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