Jan 28 2009
Bad Taste (Review)
BAD TASTE (1987)
Directed by and starring Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings)
One movie cross-genre I wish there were more of is horror comedies. If carried out correctly, they can be some of the most fun movies to ever watch. But what exactly is considered a good horror comedy. Look no further than Peter Jackson who before becoming a powerful fantasy director was the king of cult horror comedies.
Bad Taste was Peter Jackson’s first film that he wrote, directed, starred in and did special effects for. It was filmed over the course of four years primarily on the weekends with a teeny tiny budget (even by today’s indie standards). Despite the films limitations, the film surprisingly succeeds in its filming, editing, special effects, and tone. The story is pretty simple and really just an excuse for some gore and comedy (perfectly understandable). A bunch of guys from the ‘New Zealand National Air and Space Defense League’ go to a small village to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the townsfolk. It turns out that aliens are behind this! What kind of aliens? The kind that look like humans and where denim shirts. They’re the worst! But, don’t worry, Jackson saves their true alien form for later.
Meanwhile, Derek (Peter Jackson), the comic relief character of the League, has captured one of these ‘aliens’ known as Robert who also ends up as a comic relief character (also played by Peter Jackson). Derek holds him dangling off a cliff via a rope tied to his leg, but once some more denim-wearing aliens attack him with sledgehammers, Derek breaks out the machine are starts blasting away. However, Robert breaks free during this scuffle and chucks Derek off the cliff. Derek actually survives the fall, but now has to walk around for the rest of the movie with his skull occasionally flipping open in the back. His role now is to get revenge on the aliens and occasionally stuff his brains back into his head or acquire new brain matter along the way.
As for the rest of the League, they make it their mission to save an innocent charity collector who has been kidnapped by the aliens. On their rescue mission, they discover the aliens are actually from a failing galactic fast-food chain and they’re using humans as their new taste sensation. So it’s up to the League to shoot their way out of there and stop these flesh-eating aliens. And if you think the aliens look silly in their denim uniforms, just wait until you see them in alien form.
Peter Jackson has proven over time to be a master of special effects and horror, here he attempts at merging action into his horror comedy. While he does a pretty good job filming it considering the limitations, the weakest scenes in the movie involve the shootout. There are some bloody and gory scenes during the shootout, but for the most part it’s the League firing bullets at the denim-sporting aliens who fall down. And the League never misses a shot! But where the film succeeds the most is with its grossness. Limbs go flying, blood flows like wine, brain matter is squished in all sorts of ways, intestines come out of the body easily, and kudos to Peter Jackson for attempting one of the most disgusting ways ever to kill somebody with a chainsaw.
DVD Dump Counter:
-1 blown off head.
-1 human battering ram.
-1 death via sledgehammer in the head.
-1 knife nailed into a foot.
-1 fake looking bloody fall off a cliff.
-4 instances of exposed brain.
-1 scene of brain eating with a spoon.
-1 stew of human.
-1 split in half body via car crash.
-1 snapped and torn off head.
-1 scene of eating vomit.
-1 big shootout.
-1 axe to the head.
-1 machete to the throat.
-2 instances of getting kicked in the nuts.
-3 chainsaw deaths.
-3 rocket launcher explosions.
-1 exploding car.
-1 exploding sheep.
-1 rocket-powered house.
RATING: B-Movie
While not as gory as Jackson’s other films Meet the Feebles and Dead Alive, Bad Taste is a great place to start for those not familiar with early Peter Jackson. The film stands well enough on its own as a horror comedy with a good energy and tone that makes the whole experience fun. But, keep in mind, when I say horror comedy, I’m not talking about those about those Wayans brothers Scary Movie films. This is gore with a slapstick and goofy element to it.
