Bad Taste
March 16, 2005
Rated: NR Runtime: 91 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Bad Taste is the stunning feature film debut by writer/director/producer/actor Peter Jackson. Watching this movie filled with excessive violence, over-the-top gore and slapstick humor, I found myself grinning. Why? Because fifteen years after the 1989 release of Bad Taste, Jackson would become a multiple Oscar winner, a critically and commercially successful filmmaker, and most importantly, the creative force behind a fantasy movie trilogy that rivals George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy.
I’m glad I read the synopsis on the DVD cover before watching the movie. Otherwise, I would have been lost. Aliens have descended upon a small coastal village in New Zealand. They’ve slaughtered all of the townspeople, turning them into meat for their alien fast food franchise. It’s up to “the boys” to rescue the people of Earth from being turned into intergalactic combo meals.
As simple as that plot seems, somehow it gets lost in the translation from New Zealandese to American English. It doesn’t matter, though, because this is a movie for guys all the way. From the blood-soaked opening sequence on the beach to the hilariously gross conclusion, Jackson works hard to deliver what the title of the movie promises. And he largely succeeds.
Perhaps most impressive is the use of heavy artillery. The budget for this movie was in the $11,000 range, which is super-low budget for a 16mm feature film. Despite that, we get to see a rocket launcher blow up a car and the side of house. No CGI here, folks. That stuff got “blowed-up” for real!! There are also several gunfights, and the number of bullets rivals John Woo’s early work. In fact, the surprising amount of firepower that Jackson had at his disposal for this low-budget horror movie makes me wonder if the UN inspectors have been looking for WMD’s in the wrong country.
When watching a low-budget horror movie, expectations are high for cheap gore. And Bad Taste does not disappoint. Decapitations, mutilations, eviscerations are plentiful. One character has a hole in his head and his brains keep oozing out. And of course, there are buckets and buckets of blood.
But Jackson goes the Troma route with his gore, making it so unreal and unbelievable that it’s actually funny. (Well, funny if you have a sick sense of humor.) One of the ongoing gags involves the aforementioned character with the hole in his head. He discovers that he can’t stand up properly without his brain intact, so he finds new ways to keep his brain on the inside of his skull.
In addition to creating this mess, Jackson gets his hands dirty in front of the camera by playing two different roles. One is a mute alien named Robert, and Jackson is immediately recognizable with his trademark beard and long hair. (Strangely, his trademark stomach is nowhere in sight.) Jackson also plays Derek, who is one of “the boys”. Derek is clean-shaven and has short brown hair. I had no idea this was Jackson until the credits rolled. I immediately re-watched certain Derek scenes from the movie, including the one where Derek tortures Robert. Yes, Peter Jackson tortures Peter Jackson. You have to see it to believe it.
The only major drawback to this movie is that I don’t remember seeing a single female character, babe or otherwise. Jackson almost makes up for it by having excessive amounts of blood and violence. Almost. But would it have killed him to cast a fine-lookin’ Kiwi hottie in this movie? She wouldn’t have to be included in the story. She could just run around on the beach in a bikini, or better yet, completely naked.
The Special Features aren’t that great, but this Limited Edition was released in 2001 prior to the release of the first LOTR movie. I imagine one of two things will happen in the future. One, a brand new, four-disc Extended Edition of Bad Taste will be released, with two hours of additional footage not seen in the original cut, plus another six hours of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Or two, Jackson’s management team will track down and burn every copy of Bad Taste before the current generation of LOTR kids grow up to discover it.
Bad Taste is an excellent movie for guys, and this is the perfect disc to watch with a big group of your friends. However, if excessive blood-and-guts is not your thing, you’ll probably want to steer clear of this title.
Seen it? How many stars do you give it?
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