Let’s face it, no one wakes up expecting their mother to be a zombie. No matter how much you plan for the impending zombie apocalypse, one thing is for sure, when it comes to mom, you’re gonna deny all the signs. When you’re a momma’s boy, well, you’re just screwed. Dead Alive is a movie guide of what not to do, should you find yourself in this situation.
Dead Alive begins innocently enough, after the credits anyway, when we are introduced to Paquita Maria Sanchez (Diana Peñalver). All Paquita wants to do is fall in love, “one romance to last forever,” but she’s cosmically stuck with Lionel Cosgrove (Timothy Balme). Lionel, a nice, clumsy, shy man, is his mother’s servant, attached at the umbilical cord.
Just as Lionel and Paquita’s romance begins to blossom, though, Lionel’s mom (Elizabeth Moody Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Rings) gets bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey, and becomes mysteriously ill. The next morning, she’s ravenous and falling apart. Trying not to alarm Paquita, or face the facts himself, Lionel finds himself in a hilariously awful life lesson: how to deal with your zombie mother.
Dead Alive, also known as Braindead in other countries, like in its native home of New Zealand, is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Period. Between the zombie sex scene and Lionel trying to glue his mother back together for a formal luncheon, if you’re not laughing, you need some Prozac.
Directed by Peter Jackson -- yeah the King Kong and the Lord of the Rings trilogy Peter Jackson -- Dead Alive is still considered to be the “goriest movie of all time.” There is even a scene where the stage blood was pumped out at five gallons per second. Keeping that tidbit of trivia in mind, it isn’t too surprising that the rental allegedly came with vomit bags in some countries.
Accompanying the gore, of course, are countless entertaining zombie maimings. Without giving out any spoilers, I just have to say Dead Alive makes really great use of a lightbulb, a garden gnome and a priest (Stuart Devenie The Frighteners). Considering that this film was made in the early nineties, the utilization of make-up and special effects are unaided by CGI, making the movie much more spectacular than any computer programed overlay. Even if you’re a stickler for more serious-scare-your-pants-off zombie films, you’ll enjoy the humor and craftsmanship that Richard Taylor (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) and Bob McCarron (The Matrix, Queen of the Damned) put into Dead Alive. Especially when you meet little Selwyn.
Anyone who loves the horror genre, whether they enjoy campy-fun movies, or not, owes it to themselves to see this film. While Dead Alive is incredibly silly, the story’s premise is still an important concern. Really, how do you deal with your mom when she’s a zombie?
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