I started a movie suggestion post a while ago (I have no idea if I did it on Tuesday or not), but I figured I'd try to get back in the habit of doing some of the things I promised I would put on this blog; which means a return of the Sunday Interview and the Non-Oprah Book Club. So, let's get to this week's selection: Dead Alive.
I first watched Peter Jackson's horror masterpiece on a bit of a lark. I found the video for cheap and the cover looked a little weird: a woman's mouth stretched out to reveal a zombied skull. So, I brought it home and watched it with my sister. Within five minutes we were rolling on the floor laughing our asses off. It was so good that we rewound the tape and watched it again.
If you've never seen the film, the plot revolves around a meek guy named Lionel whose mother is an overbearing she-beast who rules over him, never allowing him to have a life of his own. When he takes the daughter of a local grocer on a date to the local zoo, the mother follows them, determined to stop the budding romance. However, while she's hiding in the bushes, a stange rat monkey bites her arm. She cries out for Lionel and he is forced to leave his date to tend to his mother's injury. Despite Lionel's treatment of the arm, it worsens until the bite finally kills the mother. But instead of remaining dead, she comes back as a hideous zombie. Not knowing what to do, Lionel keeps his mother until she infects more folks in their small New Zealand town. One thing leads to another and soon just about every other person is a member of the undead.
The thing that makes Dead Alive such a great film is its sense of humor - it's sick and twisted sense of humor. The use of the zombie kid, born from the unholy union of an undead nurse and zombie priest, is so goddamn funny. If you like dark humor and gory movies, this is the film for you. I think it's the goriest, blood-soaked movie I've ever seen. Rent it, buy it, steal it; but definitely see it.
Another note on the film: I wrote a paper in college regarding the Fruedian themes throughout Dead Alive. I got an A.
Scenes from Dead Alive: (Warning: if you don't like blood and guts, you probably shouldn't watch. OK, you could watch the first clip - no blood or guts.)
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