Braindead (aka Dead Alive): Dead Good
Peter Jackson’s Splatterpunk horror-comedy masterpiece Braindead (1992) is truly a sight to behold. Evil Dead-esque (1981) zombies, an unhealthy mother-son dynamic (Psycho (1960)), a Kung Fu priest, a stop-motion monkey-rat hybrid, a Klownzilla final boss (Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)), unmatched gore and brutality, and a killer sense of humour – this film has everything, but uncommonly does everything well!
Set in the late ’50s, Lionel Cosgrove lives with his emotionally abusive mother Vera. Lionel believes that his father had drowned attempting to save him, and this sacrifice still haunts him into his adulthood. However, Lionel’s life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Paquita early on in the film. He falls for her, and Paquita believes that they are destined for each other.
Despite their budding romance, trouble lurks in the form of Vera. She follows Lionel and Paquita to the Wellington Zoo on their date, and is soon bitten by the rat-monkey hybrid. The film takes a dark twist when we soon learn that any relationship Lionel is to have is destined to be doomed – as long as his mother is alive. After reluctantly returning his mother home to look after her, Vera warns him to stay away from Paquita, because “she is experienced”.
Days pass, and Vera becomes progressively decrepit. Her skin is peeling, and her ear falls off at lunch with friends. The plot thickens when she seems to die before resurrecting as a voracious zombie, murdering the attending nurse. The nurse also reappears as a zombie, and Lionel locks them both in the basement, sedating them with animal tranquillizer. Despite Lionel’s efforts, the inevitable zombie apocalypse then ensues.
One of the striking aspects of Braindead is its exploration of strong themes of exploitation. As a splatterpunk film, Lionel’s life is messed up from the offset. Not only is his mother using him as a lackey, but she also seeks him out as her personal fountain of attention. She completely disregards her son’s wants and needs. Lionel’s uncle Les later blackmails him, which if fully carried out would result in Lionel being homeless. Additionally, Les makes unwelcome advances towards Paquita, giving a strong impression that his intentions are far from romantic (he only wants one thing). The film successfully depicts how Vera’s transformation into a zombie parallels the decay and exploitation present in Lionel’s life and the town at large.
Lionel would be exploited until the end of his mother’s days, or maybe even longer with his uncle still around. But this Kantian immorality boils over into a zombie apocalypse. The zombie virus was first spread by the bite of a rat-monkey hybrid – whose genesis in turn was the result of plague rats r*ping tree monkeys.
Stepping away from theory, the practical effects were incredible. Horror comedies are often at risk of having cheesy effects that do not really work. The effects in this film are near perfect. If I had to pick one flaw, it would be the stop motion of the monkey-rat was a little choppy. But this is easily forgivable.
The pacing of this film is unrelenting, and this may be a point of criticism for some. Yet, I feel this works. Braindead reminds me of how Stephen King described James Herbert’s work, as having an “effect of Mike Tyson in his championship days: no finesse, all crude power”.
Another big plus from this movie is the comedy. The comedy in this film was very over-the-top and slapstick. If this is your bag, then be prepared to piss yourself laughing like I did. I was enthralled by the violence, yet the comedy did not arise from the “it’s so bad it’s good” cliché! The seamless blend of horror and comedy makes for a more memorable watch! Whilst it is mostly speaking a low-brow flick, there is definitely some substance within the style. Yet, I would still argue that it is the style that makes Braindead a cult classic.
