Rating: 
Summary: Vindication
Review: I was first exposed to this movie in 1994 when I saw it in the context of a dorm-wide viewing at UCSC. I admit that, having no context whatsoever prior to seeing the film for the first time, I was totally and completely appalled/horrified by the quantity of spilled blood and dismembered...well, just everything. The best parody succeeds, at least in part, as an example of that which it is spoofing, and Dead Alive does that, mostly due to the fact that Peter Jackson is so immensely talented, and to the fact (well, belief of mine, anyway) that the film is as much of an homage to the zombie flick as anything else.Short story: upon subsequent viewings (and they are legion) I have found that this film is best viewed as though one were watching a Monty Python film. The sensibilities of british humor have clearly infected Peter Jackson here as elsewhere in his portfolio.
Rating:
Summary: this movie is sweet
Review: peter jackson is the man, screw lord of the rings though, its all about dead alive and bad taste, he has the skills but he gave into mainstream, the lawnmower scene was heavily censored in this version you have to get the version called braindead to see all the real good stuff, nonetheless this toned down version is still a great zombie flick with some laughs and that sweet new zealand gore
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome move...questionable release
Review: Like many, the first time I saw DEAD ALIVE was when it was released on video in '93 or '94. I suppose that it wasn't the gore that impressed me so much as Peter Jackson's audacity. After I watched BAD TASTE, I didn't think a horror or sci-fi movie could be any more funny until I watched this one. Who could forget such memorable lines as...'Your mother ate my dog' and 'Rich and creamy, just the way I like it'. Hilarious stuff. But my problem with this release is that fact that it is still a cut and trimmed version of DEAD ALIVE. I was able to acquire the X version a few years after the video release and I highly recommend it. And as a bonus, a UK based company released it on DVD. Awesome. I keep telling people to get a region free dvd player and this is why. DEAD ALIVE is a great movie to watch with your buddies...unfortunately, I have to recommend getting the X dvd of BRAINDEAD, instead.
Rating:
Summary: Decent splatter comedy
Review: First thing, this movie is a comedy. It has no fright material in it unless you are scared by your own shadow. I initially did not like this movie because I was expecting a scarier version. After watching it a couple of times (the ending especially) I was more prone to give this movie a favorable nod. The story is kind of weak in places but then again a movie like this is never based on a tight story line. It is a splatter fest at the very least. Using a lawn mower strapped across his chest the main character (can't remember his name) chops though a room filled with zombies. It looks like the entire room was wallpapered in hamburger when he is finished, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Watch it with an open mind, and possibly a barf bag. Simply put this movie is bloody, gorey and down right nasty in some places, but it keeps the comical side even during the most intense scenes. The custard scene was much less putrid than I figured it would be. The zombie baby came off a bit annoying, but the park scene was truly classic. Then there is the classic "I kick butt for GOD". Kung Fu priest, need I say more. No description will do this film justice, it must be viewed. I did not give this film 5 stars because I was wanting a straight forward zombie/horror flick. What I got was a straight forward zombie/comedy, much like the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness series of films. I have heard of rated and unrated versions of this film (on VHS), but the DVD comes in unrated only. If you want a truly scary zombie fest, go with City of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead or Return of the Living Dead. Everyone says that they are the true horror classics. But if you want to laugh hysterically, pick this one up, it is only about 15 bucks at most retail stores.
Rating:
Summary: Good, But Not The Complete Version!
Review: Ok, this version of the movie was gross, but just because this is the unrated version, doesn't mean it's the complete version. Braindead was the complete version. It is the complete version of Dead Alive (it was renamed Dead Alive for America.) It has extra dialogue/gore and is very cool. This version is fine, but if I were you I'd search around the internet and find Brainded which is easily available as a bootleg. I have a copy of it and it is much better. Anyway, see this movie at all costs though if you can't find Braindead.
Rating:
Summary: The ultimate guilty pleasure horror film.
Review: "Dead Alive" is a film that you'll either absolutely love and watch over and over or a film you'll turn off before the first half hour and have a bad taste in your mouth and complain for a week how horrible it was to anyone who's willing to listen. "Dead Alive" is only for a certain audience. Something you must keep in mind when you are watching "Dead Alive" is that it was made as a spoof on horror films and to be as cheesy as possible. It is very much like a John Waters film. It is such trash it is good. I recommend the best way to watch this film is to watch it with a bunch of friends, indulge in some... substances, watch, and laugh your booty off. I gave it four stars because while it is highly entertaining, I don't believe the ultimate purpose of film is to make entertaining trash but hey, once and awhile you need to see some brainless [junk] to unreel your mind and be in the right frame of mind again.
Rating:
Summary: The Number 1 Reason not to visit Sumatra
Review: Peter Jackson's pet Zombie movie was something to behold. Besides ghoulish gore, there was also a quite humorous storyline involving one Lionel who, by every right, wasn't simply clutching his mother's apron strings. It would be more appropriate to say that the poor boy was being hung from them. Then, romance enters his life and things begin to change. Just when it seemed like Lionel might have found love and something to that would cause him to rebel, the Sumatran monkey steps in with his zombie bite and the wonderful world of zombiedom erupts.
I was quite thrilled by the movie because it went above and beyond what I had expected, and I'd say that anyone wanting a nice, gory flick should, by all means, pick it up. It gets the five star, scar-the-whole family, rating.
Rating:
Summary: More a gory comedy than a funny horror film.
Review: I'd classify this one as falling somewhere between EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS as genres go. It's far too bloody and repulsive not to be classified as a horror film, but those with an iron constitution will find more laughs here than in all of Pauly Shore's films combined (though that's not saying much, I realize...) A case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time--in this case, within reach of a crudely-animated Sumatran Rat Monkey--leads to disfigurement, death, and disco zombies. It would do a disservice to this movie to describe the plot further--there's no way to outline it without it sounding cheesy and hokey. But part of the reason DEAD ALIVE works is because it knows it's cheesy and hokey ("I kick arse for the LORD!") and it revels in it. Director Peter Jackson (currently working on THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy) revisited this comic-horror genre with the significantly less gory--and less cheesy--THE FRIGHTENERS. So if you like your laughs served up with blood-n-gore (and cheese sauce), DEAD ALIVE should appeal. Sure it's repulsive and often inane--but it's also witty, fast-paced, and a nightmare Freud would be glad he never had.
Rating:
Summary: goriest horror fim ever
Review: I can't express it in words you must see to understand.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING: NOT for anyone who cannot take EXTREME violence!
Review: This has to be, without a doubt, one of the best horror/comedies out there. It is so bizarre and gory that you will not believe your eyes! It is probably the goriest film ever made (before I saw this, I had always thought that THE EVIL DEAD was the goriest ever made), but the extreme violence is never meant to be taken serious. Peter Jackson (BAD TASTE, LORD OF THE RINGS [can you believe it?!]) does an excellent job directing this masterpiece (right up there with RE-ANIMATOR, which, along with this, is a must-see) about a young man who has to take care of his mother- even after she is dead! You see, on his first date out with a girl, his mother follows them to the zoo to spy on them. She unknowing backs up to a cage where a "rat monkey" is being kept, and it reaches out and bites her arm. The man sees his mother (how could he not without all her screaming and her being right behind him and the girl!), and takes her home, calling the nurse to get her bandaged up. Immediately he starts to notice that she is rotting alive- the "rat monkey" spread a disease that is turning her into a zombie. He somehow manages to hide this from his girlfriend, but can't for very long as the dead/alive mother kills everyone she can get a hold of, and the man has to take care of all the zombies! The man's uncle blackmails him after discovering his secret, making him give up his mother's house and giving it to his uncle. The uncle throws a party, and soon the girlfriend comes over and discovers the secret, too, and eventually the zombies escape and reak havoc on everyone at the party, turning them into zombies! Soon, the only survivors are the man and his girlfriend, and they must find away to stop the zombies before they, too, turn into one! This features some gruesome, gut-wrenching scenes that will make your stomach churn as you see the mother eat her own ear, the man use a lawnmower to kill the zombies, and heads ripped off, flesh eaten, etc. But none of this is taken seriously- Peter Jackson makes it all a joke- and is hilarious. All in all, if you love gory comedies, this one if for you. If not, then keep away, as it will most likely make you vomit. I loved this, and recommended it to all horror fans who love a gruesome, bloody good time! HORROR FILMS THAT ARE SIMILAR: -RE-ANIMATOR (1985)~ Jeffrey Combs
-BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR (1989)~ Jeffrey Combs
-RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)~ Clu Culager
-RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART 2 (1987)~ James Karen
-RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 (1993)~ Mindy Clark
-THE EVIL DEAD (1983)~ Bruce Campbell
-THE EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN (1987)~ Bruce Campbell
-ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992)~ Bruce Campbell
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