This schlocky, infamous dose of early ‘90s body horror waves its admiration for the _Evil Dead_ films like a flag. More specifically, it sets out to emulate the campy humor, cheeky one-liners and gross-out special effects of Sam Raimi’s slapstick screamers. As story goes, _Dead Alive_ only provides the bare minimum. There’s a plot, some silly gibberish about a Sumatran rat-monkey whose bite induces zombism, but it’s nothing more than a vehicle from one zany, gore-drenched horror-gasm to the next. The monkey gets its claws into an old woman, she spreads the infection, her doting son takes it upon himself to clean up the mess... that’s really all you need to know.

At heart, this is a fond, playful farewell for budding director Peter Jackson; his last (and bloodiest) low-budget splatter-fest before moving on to more serious material. And why not shift genres at this point? He’s just left everything on the abattoir floor. _Dead Alive_ is so morbidly droll, so wickedly juvenile, so blissfully profane, it’s impossible to imagine a bridge much further. Any time it seems the hijinx cannot possibly get any more obscene, whoops, here comes something much, much worse. The unregulated mayhem is admirable, absurd hilarity at its best, but even at a breezy ninety-odd minutes, the total reliance on shock value wears thin. I cackled for an hour, but somewhere between the food processor baby and the shoulder-mounted lawnmower, I could feel my smile fade. Diminishing returns, I’m afraid.

Make no mistake: _Dead Alive_ is bad cinema. It’s crammed full of weak performances, overbearing camera angles and cut-rate soundtrack riffs (at unnecessary volume levels). And man, it’s ruthlessly stupid. But stupid doesn’t always equate to no fun. This is a ball while it lasts, and there’s no question that Jackson and company are in on the joke, but it doesn’t last forever. Not as long as the film does, anyway. Bad + entertaining is still bad.

**A disgusting movie. Not recommended after meals.**

What can I say after seeing this movie? Guess I shouldn't have seen this after dinner. The film is disgusting, perhaps one of the most disgusting I have ever seen. I say this for the worst reasons. It really is a film that makes you vomit due to the images and situations it presents to us. It doesn't scare us, it never scares us. And no, it never makes us laugh, so it's not a comedy. It's a piece of cheese, but full of mold.

The film relies heavily on special effects and makeup to work, so we can't expect great performances from the cast or a solid script. The story is banal, and centers on an elderly woman who turns into a flesh-and-blood-devouring zombie, and her difficult relationship with her son. I don't feel, therefore, encouraged to talk about the cast or any of the actors, as each of them is amateur and unhappy in the work they do.

For all this, I have doubts that the film has been seen in many cinemas outside English-speaking countries. I believe that fans of gore-laden horror will have some good reasons to like this movie. It also seems safe to me to say that certain audiences will appreciate the attempts at black humor that are rehearsed. However, I think I fit in with the vast majority who prefer not to know this film or never have seen it.

Hahahahaha! I'm still laughing from just how gross-out Sir Peter Jackson's first two films are! He sure has come a long way since then! Just imagine if the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, as well as King Kong, were helmed by him back THEN! =)