''Braindead'' (also known as ''Dead Alive'' in North America) is a 1992 New Zealand
zombie comedy
The zombie comedy, often called zom com or zomedy, is a film genre that aims to blend zombie horror motifs with slapstick comedy as well as morbid humor.
History
The earliest roots of the genre can be found in Jean Yarbrough's ''King of the ...
film directed by
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
, produced by
Jim Booth
Jim Booth (7 February 1945 – 4 January 1994) was a New Zealand film producer and actor, known for producing early films from Peter Jackson, including ''Meet the Feebles
''Meet the Feebles'' (also known as ''Frogs of War'' in New Zealand a ...
, and written by Jackson, along with
Fran Walsh
Dame Frances Rosemary Walsh (born 10 January 1959) is a New Zealand screenwriter and film producer.
The partner of filmmaker Peter Jackson, Walsh has contributed to all of their films since 1989: as co-writer since ''Meet the Feebles'', and ...
and
Stephen Sinclair
Stephen Sinclair is a New Zealand playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the co-author of stage comedy '' Ladies Night''. In 2001, the French version won the Molière Award for stage comedy of the year. Other plays include ''The Bellbird'' a ...
. It stars
Timothy Balme,
Diana Peñalver
Diana Peñalver (born 1965) is a Spanish actress known for starring in '' Braindead'' (1992), ''Year of Enlightment
''Year of Enlightment'' ( es, El año de las luces, and also released as ''The Year of the Awakening'') is a 1986 Spanish film ...
,
Elizabeth Moody
Elizabeth Moody (1737 Kingston upon Thames - 1814) was a British poet, and literary critic.
Life
Elizabeth Greenly was the daughter of a wealthy lawyer, who died when she was 13, but left a legacy for her family.
A book-lover from an early age, s ...
and
Ian Watkin
Ian Watkin (25 January 1940 – 18 May 2016) was a New Zealand actor known for the films ''Braindead'' and '' Sleeping Dogs''. Watkin grew up in Greymouth, and started his career in theatre and radio plays, and working as a magazine editor befor ...
. The plot follows Lionel, a young man living in South Wellington with his strict mother Vera. After Lionel becomes romantically entangled with a girl named Paquita, Vera is bitten by a hybrid rat-monkey creature and begins to transform into a zombie, while also infecting swathes of the city's populace.
Made on a budget of $3 million, ''Braindead'' was Jackson's most expensive film up to that point. Although it received positive reviews from critics, it was a
box office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
. It has since received a
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
, and is now widely regarded as one of the goriest films of all time.
Plot
In 1957, zoo official Stewart McAlden and his team smuggle a captured Sumatran rat-monkey, a
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
creature that resulted from the rape of tree monkeys by plague-carrying rats, out of
Skull Island
Skull Island is the name most often used to describe a fictional island that first appeared in the 1933 film ''King Kong'' and later appearing in its sequels, the three remakes, and any other King Kong-based media. It is the home of the epony ...
. During the team's escape from the island's warrior natives, who demand the return of the creature, Stewart is bitten by the rat-monkey, resulting in his dismemberment and killing by his crew, who fear the effects of the bite. As per Stewart's warning to the natives, "this monkey's going to
Newtown", the captured rat-monkey is then shipped to
Wellington Zoo
Wellington Zoo is a zoo in the green belt of Wellington, New Zealand.
History
Wellington Zoo was opened in 1906 by the late Prime Minister Richard Seddon after he was given a young lion – later named King Dick – by the Bostock and Wombwe ...
by the survivors of the expedition.
In Wellington, Lionel Cosgrove lives in
Hataitai
Hataitai is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, 3.5 kilometres southeast of the city centre. The suburb extends over the southeastern flank of Mount Victoria and down a valley between the Town Belt and a ridge alon ...
in a Victorian mansion with his domineering mother Vera. When he was a child, Lionel's father drowned trying to save him at the beach, and the incident has haunted him into adulthood. To Vera's dismay, Lionel falls in love with a
Spanish Romani
The Romani in Spain, generally known by the exonym () or the endonym ''Calé'', belong to the Iberian Cale Romani subgroup, with smaller populations in Portugal (known as ) and in Southern France. Their sense of identity and cohesion stems f ...
shopkeeper's daughter, Paquita María Sánchez, who is convinced the two are destined to be together. When the two visit the Wellington zoo together on a date, Vera follows them and is bitten by the rat-monkey, killing the animal in the process. Over the following days, she grows increasingly more decrepit; her skin begins to peel and her ear falls off during lunch with friends. She appears to die before reanimating as a ravenous
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
and killing the attending nurse Mrs. McTavish, who also returns as a zombie, before Lionel locks them both in the basement and keeps them sedated with animal tranquilizers. While visiting Paquita, Lionel is given a pendant for luck by her grandmother. Vera is able to break out of the basement and is ran over into Paquita's shop by a
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
, but Lionel tranquilizes Vera before she attacks them.
At her funeral, Lionel tranquilizes Vera to keep her from attacking the mourners. Later, while returning to the graveyard to administer more of it, he is accosted and beaten by a group of
hoodlums
A hoodlum is a thug, usually in a group of misfits who are associated with crime or theft.
Early use
The earliest reference to the word "hoodlum" was in the December 14, 1866, ''San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin'' after the Hoodlum Band was ...
who presume him to be a
necrophilia
Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving Cadaver, corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) ...
c. Vera suddenly bursts from her grave and attacks the hoodlums. In the ensuing commotion, the gang leader "Void", as well as the local priest Father McGruder, are bitten and become zombies, so Lionel has to keep them locked in the basement too. After the nurse and priest copulate and produce a zombie baby, Lionel breaks up with Paquita to keep her safe. Shortly afterward, Lionel's uncle Les arrives to wrangle with Lionel over Vera's estate. Discovering the zombies, which he believes to be dead bodies, in the basement, Les blackmails his nephew into giving up the house and his inheritance and invites his friends over for a housewarming party despite Lionel's objections.
During the party, Paquita arrives to try to make amends with Lionel. She discovers the zombies in the basement, and Lionel explains to her all that has occurred. She is able to convince Lionel to administer poison to the zombies to finally kill them, but after injecting the zombies with it, he discovers the poison is animal stimulants, which revives them. They narrowly escape the now-enhanced zombies, who burst into the house upstairs and slaughter the party guests. The guests subsequently reanimate and begin to attack the survivors. Lionel enters the house with a lawnmower and proceeds to mow through a horde of zombies, while Paquita tries to dispose of zombie body parts in the blender. Les enters the basement, where he is beheaded by Vera, who has now grown to monstrous proportions. Vera erupts from the basement and pursues them both to the rooftop as the house catches fire from a burst gas pipe.
As Vera corners them on the roof, Lionel confronts his mother and reveals that he witnessed Vera drowning his father and his lover in the bathtub as a child, and proclaims that he is no longer afraid of her. Vera becomes enraged and swallows Lionel with an opening in her stomach before trying to kill Paquita. Lionel cuts his way out of his mother's body with the good luck pendant, causing Vera to fall back into the burning house. Lionel and Paquita escape the burning rooftop as the fire brigade arrives. They kiss and then walk away arm-in-arm.
Cast
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
took place over eleven weeks on location in and around
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
on a reported budget of around $3 million. The film had its origins while Jackson was filming his feature film debut, ''
Bad Taste
''Bad Taste'' is a 1987 New Zealand Science fiction film, science-fiction comedy horror film directed, produced and filmed by Peter Jackson, who also stars in and co-wrote the screenplay, along with Tony Hiles and Ken Hammon. Independent film ...
'' (1987). He met with writers
Fran Walsh
Dame Frances Rosemary Walsh (born 10 January 1959) is a New Zealand screenwriter and film producer.
The partner of filmmaker Peter Jackson, Walsh has contributed to all of their films since 1989: as co-writer since ''Meet the Feebles'', and ...
and
Stephen Sinclair
Stephen Sinclair is a New Zealand playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the co-author of stage comedy '' Ladies Night''. In 2001, the French version won the Molière Award for stage comedy of the year. Other plays include ''The Bellbird'' a ...
, who were also interested in creating a zombie film, and the three spent the next several years conceiving the project.
The film was shot on
Super 16mm
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...
, as opposed to 35mm, so that more of the budget could be spent on effects. The film's special effects were crafted by
Bob McCarron and
Richard Taylor, with some miniature models being created by Jackson himself.
For the film's climactic scene, wherein Lionel massacres a horde of zombies with a lawnmower, a reputed 300 litres (79.2 gallons) of fake blood was used.
The film's music was composed by
Peter Dasent
Peter Dasent is a New Zealand born composer, pianist and songwriter who has lived and worked in Sydney, Australia since 1981. He played keyboards in the bands Spats, and The Crocodiles. He leads the chamber-jazz group the Umbrellas, is writing ...
.
The film was subject to a
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
after release. In ''Bradley v WingNut Films Ltd''
993
Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...
1 NZLR 415, it was alleged that ''Braindead'' had infringed the privacy of the plaintiffs by containing pictures of the plaintiff's family tombstone. After reviewing the New Zealand judicial authorities on privacy, Gallen
J stated: "the present situation in New Zealand ... is that there are three strong statements in the High Court in favour of the existence of such a
tort
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...
in this country and an acceptance by the Court of Appeal that the concept is at least arguable." This case became one of a series of cases which contributed to the introduction of
tort invasions of privacy in New Zealand.
Filming locations
The film was mostly shot in and around Wellington's southern and western suburbs. Some filming locations include:
*
Putangirua Pinnacles acts as
Skull Island
Skull Island is the name most often used to describe a fictional island that first appeared in the 1933 film ''King Kong'' and later appearing in its sequels, the three remakes, and any other King Kong-based media. It is the home of the epony ...
in the film.
*
Wellington Zoo
Wellington Zoo is a zoo in the green belt of Wellington, New Zealand.
History
Wellington Zoo was opened in 1906 by the late Prime Minister Richard Seddon after he was given a young lion – later named King Dick – by the Bostock and Wombwe ...
,
Newtown.
* No. 12 Hinau Road, Hataitai, Wellington is Lionel's house in the movie.
*
Karori Cemetery
Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori.
History
Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery.
In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremato ...
, Wellington.
* The store where Lionel and Paquita first meet at 29 Sutherland Rd, Melrose, Wellington, on the corner of Rodrigo Road and Sutherland Road.
* The park used in the scene with Lionel and Selwyn was filmed in the children's play area of the
Wellington Botanical Gardens.
* A Fieldair Freight DC-3 lands at
Wellington International Airport
Wellington International Airport (formerly known as Rongotai Airport) is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington. It lies 3 NM or 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand an ...
.
* Queens Drive, Lyall Bay, Wellington.
* Lionel goes to the veterinary clinic on located on 20 Standen St, Karori, Wellington.
Release
''Braindead'' released on 13 August 1992 in New Zealand. It was subsequently released in the United States on 12 February 1993 under the title ''Dead Alive'' and grossed $23,765 in its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $242,623 in the country. The soundtrack was released in 1992 by
Mana Music
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2015
Mana Music is a music supervision company based in Australia and New Zealand.
Screen composers
David Bridie, Dale Cornelius, Peter Dasent, Elizabeth Drake, Joel Haines, Mick Harvey, Philip Judd, Johnny Klimek ...
.
The film has had several releases on
VHS,
Laserdisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
, and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
around the world. It was first released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
as ''Dead Alive'' by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
in October 2011, with the US 97-minute cut.
In December 2018, Peter Jackson announced that he plans to restore ''Braindead'', along with his previous films ''
Bad Taste
''Bad Taste'' is a 1987 New Zealand Science fiction film, science-fiction comedy horror film directed, produced and filmed by Peter Jackson, who also stars in and co-wrote the screenplay, along with Tony Hiles and Ken Hammon. Independent film ...
'' and ''
Meet the Feebles
''Meet the Feebles'' (also known as ''Frogs of War'' in New Zealand as the film's English fake working title) is a 1989 New Zealand puppet musical black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson, and written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Stephen Sinclair ...
'' for a possible
4K release.
Alternate versions
The film was released in a number of different versions. In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the 104-minute film was shown in full. In fact, the UK's
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
(BBFC) found the film's gory content so light-hearted and comical that there was consideration on giving the film a 15 certificate, which would have granted it to be seen by a much younger audience. They ultimately decided to give the film an
18 rating because the amount of gore confounded the expectations of a 15 rating.
In countries where the censors balked at the extreme gore, the film was initially banned or left unrated before being heavily cut. In Germany, a 94-minute version was seen with major cuts to some of the film's grislier scenes but was widely ignored. A
FSK 16 rated version was released in Germany under the American title ''Dead Alive'', omitting almost the entirety of the violence. The uncut version, as well as several cut versions, are banned in Germany. It is also illegal to publicly exhibit the film in Germany. The gory violence has also caused the film to be banned in South Korea, Singapore and Finland.
However, the film was unbanned and released uncut in the latter country in 2001.
In the United States, the film was released as ''Dead Alive'', because of another film with rights to the practically identical title ''
Brain Dead
Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some aut ...
''. There were two versions released in the country; the unrated cut is 97 minutes, and the
R-rated version is only 85 minutes with many of the gore scenes removed.
Critical reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on , with a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating of 7.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The delightfully gonzo tale of a lovestruck teen and his zombified mother, ''Dead Alive'' is extremely gory and exceedingly good fun, thanks to Peter Jackson's affection for the tastelessly sublime."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
rated it 54 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
At the time of its release,
David Stratton
David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer.
Life and career
Born in Trowbridge, ...
, writing for ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', gave a positive review, calling it "Jackson's best film to date" and praising its humour, acting, and technical qualities (gore effects, makeup). He stated "Kiwi gore specialist Peter Jackson, who goes for broke with an orgy of bad taste and splatter humor. Some will recoil from the gore, but ''Braindead'' wasn't made for them." Peter Rainer of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' enjoyed the film, stating that it "is the most hilariously disgusting movie ever made. It makes something like ''
Re-Animator
''Re-Animator'' (also known as ''H. P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator'') is a 1985 American comedy horror film loosely based on the 1922 H. P. Lovecraft serial novelette "Herbert West–Reanimator". Directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Yuzn ...
'' seem like a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
documentary about
Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
." The film received a negative review from ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' writer Quentin Curtis, who complained that "it never decides whether to make you tremble with laughter or fear, and has outstayed its welcome long before the last limb has been severed and entrail spilled." For ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'',
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
wrote that the film was "breezy and good-natured", giving praise to the gore special effects.
Retrospective reception was also positive. ''Braindead'' placed at number 91 in a top 100 list produced by ''
Time Out
Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to:
Time
* Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team
* Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken
* Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' magazine after conducting a poll with several authors, directors, actors and critics who have worked within the horror genre.
Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
, actor, comedian, and friend of Jackson, wrote in his autobiography ''Nerd Do Well: A Small Boy's Journey to Becoming a Big Kid'' that ''Braindead'' is one of the main influences on his 2004 zombie film ''
Shaun of the Dead
''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). The fi ...
''.
Accolades
See also
*
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant film releases.
Highest-grossing films
The top 10 films released in 1992 by worldwide gross are as follows:
Events
* August 24 – Production begins on '' Jurassic Park''.
Awards
1992 wide-rel ...
*
Giant Rat of Sumatra The Giant Rat of Sumatra is a fictional giant rat, first mentioned by Arthur Conan Doyle in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire". As part of the tale, the protagonist, Sherlock Holmes, declares that there is a "story" connected with this rat, pres ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braindead (Film)
1992 films
1990s New Zealand films
1992 horror films
1990s black comedy films
1990s comedy horror films
New Zealand black comedy films
New Zealand zombie films
1990s English-language films
1990s Spanish-language films
Films about dysfunctional families
Films set in 1957
Films set in Indonesia
Films shot in New Zealand
New Zealand slapstick films
New Zealand splatter films
Splatterpunk
1990s monster movies
Films using stop-motion animation
WingNut Films films
Films directed by Peter Jackson
Films with screenplays by Peter Jackson
Films with screenplays by Fran Walsh
Films with screenplays by Stephen Sinclair
Trimark Pictures films
Zombie comedy films
New Zealand comedy horror films
1992 comedy films
1990s exploitation films
Film censorship in Germany
Film censorship in the United Kingdom
Film controversies in Germany
Film controversies in the United Kingdom
Rating controversies in film