Braindead (1992)

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Stephen Sinclair (story)
Stephen Sinclair (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Some things won't stay down... even after they die.

Plot:

A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.

Plot Keywords:

Violent Comedy | Walking Through Wall | Extreme Gore | Black Humor | Entrails

Awards:

13 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Timothy Balme	...	Lionel Cosgrove
Diana Peñalver	...	Paquita Maria Sanchez
Elizabeth Moody	...	Mum (Vera Cosgrove)
Ian Watkin	...	Uncle Les
Brenda Kendall	...	Nurse McTavish
Stuart Devenie	...	Father McGruder
Jed Brophy	...	Void
Stephen Papps	...	Zombie McGruder
Murray Keane	...	Scroat
Glenis Levestam	...	Nora Matheson
Lewis Rowe	...	Mr. Matheson
Elizabeth Mulfaxe	...	Rita
Harry Sinclair	...	Roger
Davina Whitehouse	...	Paquita's Grandmother
Silvio Famularo	...	Paquita's Father

Also Known As:

Dead Alive (USA)
Dead-Alive (USA) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for an abundance of outrageous gore.

Runtime:

104 min | South Korea:85 min (heavily cut) | Finland:92 min (cut version) (1992) (1993) | Spain:99 min (DVD edition) | Germany:80 min (FSK 16 version) | Argentina:99 min | Germany:94 min | USA:85 min (R-rated version) | USA:97 min (unrated version)

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (DVD version) (uncut) | Italy:VM14 | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1997) | Singapore:(Banned) | Iceland:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1993) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 | France:-16 | Germany:(Banned) | Germany:16 (heavily cut) | Hong Kong:III | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (heavily cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | USA:R (heavily cut)

Filming Locations:

Karori Cemetery, Karori, Wellington, New Zealand

Company:

WingNut Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Peter Jackson]Undertaker's assistant.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Paquita is trying to get Rita back on her feet, and the top of that zombie's head slides toward them, Paquita kicks it. It flips onto its side, but the next shot has it sliding right way up again.

Quotes:

Lionel Cosgrove: They're not dead exactly, they're just... sort of rotting.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Masters of Horror (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Heat of My Thoughts

S10 Reviews: Dead Alive (1992)

Lionel Cosgrove is a good guy having a tough time with things. Ever since his father died saving him during a swimming accident Lionel has been taking care of his mother. But unfortunately his mother must have come from the same parenting class as Norman Bates' mother since she is as manipulative and smothering. But things seem to be on the up and up for him when he starts a romance with a local shop owner's daughter. But a date to the zoo takes a turn for the worse when Lionel's overprotective mum follows him and manages to get bitten by a "rat monkey", a particularly nasty creature whose bite is killer…literally. The bite turns his mum into a zombie and each one she bites turns as well. Pretty soon poor Lionel is living in the house of the dead and fighting off a lecherous uncle scheming to grab the estate.

Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame) once again proves he is more than able to give us the gory goods and make us laugh the entire time. This insanely entertaining flick has buckets and buckets of blood and gore, probably one of the (if not THE) bloodiest around. For a film with a miniscule budget (approximately $3 million) he makes every penny count and turns out a very nice looking film. The comedy is pure slapstick and at times dark as pitch. The actors attack their various roles with a solid energy that gives the film a maniac pace. "Brain Dead" (aka "Dead Alive") is the best splatter comedy money can buy.