Bloody good fun: "Dead Alive"

When I first saw this movie way back when, Peter Jackson hadn't even met Kate Winslet or Michael J. Fox, much less moved to Middle Earth. When I saw "Dead Alive" again this weekend, well after Petey boy had been lionized by legions of LOTR geeks, the movie was even more hilarious. Still pretty messy, too.

While more people have discovered this movie over time, "Dead Alive" -- also called "Braindead" -- remains mostly a cult film, and with good reason. There's nobody remotely famous here, and it's pretty low budget, yet it's easily the best combination comedy/gross-out horror movie I've ever seen. Yes, even better than the "Evil Dead" movies, although I still say "Army of Darkness" is funnier. Not nearly as gross, though. Not even close.

Released in the early '90s, this movie is set in 1950s New Zealand and starts with some scientist trying to bring a rare, vicious monkey back from the jungle. At the zoo, the monkey -- not very cute, mind you -- bites an old woman, who proceeds to become something less than human. That's right, kids ... it's zombie time. As it turns out, the woman already was an overbearing mother to poor Lionel. Now she's really a pain, as her boy tries to keep her undead butt in check while dealing with the romantic overtures of a young Latina in the 'hood.

Of course, why have just one zombie when dozens will do? Lionel's problems ultimately multiply as more people get bit, and each of the walking dead provides a new opportunity for gore galore: decapitations, amputations, impalings ... you name it, Jackson tries it. It's actually a lot of fun to see how he'll top the last thing -- I think the fist punching through the back of a head and out an open mouth was my favorite -- as well as keep the lenses clean from the gallons upon gallons upon gallons of fake blood. By the time Lionel shows up at a zombie party with a lawn mower strapped to his chest, well, you just know they're going to need at least a few wet naps.

Clearly this isn't a movie for everyone, i.e. women. My wife stumbled into the last few minutes, and it took just seconds for her to ask, "How much longer until this ends?" Still, it's really something to see -- silly, messy and funny. For the last, I'll leave you with these three snippets as evidence:

1. "That's my mother you're p*ssing on!"

2. "I kick a$$ for the Lord!"

3. "Your mother ate my dog!" (Pause) "Not all of it."