Customer Reviews

Dead Alive [VHS]

5 star:		(319)
4 star:		(77)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

As you likely know, if you're reading this, Dead Alive is fairly widely regarded as the goriest movie ever made. Having not seen every movie ever made I'm not prepared to declare it as such, but it's certainly the goriest movie I've ever seen. By far. To give you a bit of perspective, I would say Day of the Dead and Riki-Oh probably come closest of the films I've seen, and Dead Alive has got to be at least 5 times gorier than either of those films.(And that's probably a conservative estimate) This fact alone should make it mandatory viewing for anyone interested in Horror films.(Of course, this isn't actually a horror film; I don't think it genuinely tries to be scary even once. But, the gore-comedy is primarily of interest to horror fans, naturally)

As one would expect, this film has it's roots in Re-Animator and the Evil Dead films, but it manages to find it's own style and tone. Evil Dead II was wildly over-the-top and energetic while Re-Animator was pretty subdued and deadpan much of the time. Dead Alive, directed by the now highly famed and lauded Peter Jackson, is somewhere in between, certainly not as controlled as Re-Animator, but nowhere near as flat out weird and kinetic as Evil Dead II.(at least not from beginning to end.) And yeah it's pretty funny, though perhaps the majority of the non-gore related humor tends to fall flat. It's also more purely good-natured and fun-loving than any of those films.(Perhaps this is related to their New Zealand accents) I don't know if it's necessarily better than any of those films, it's a tough call, but they're all in the same league, and fans of one ought to like the others.

Inspiration is frequently in short supply in the non-zombie related scenes, but their are enough zombie scenes that it doesn't matter too much. The characters are extremely broad caricatures, including the cute, naive love interest, the dorky, buttoned down hero, the evil controlling mother and the conniving, greedy and chauvinistic uncle. Naturally characters don't matter a whole helluva lot in this film, but, for what it's worth, both Paquita and Lionel are reasonably likable as the protagonist. The film ain't much on plot either, as it's pretty much just a series of comic scenes involving Lionel's attempts to keep the zombie outbreak a secret, and then their collective attempts to simply destroy them. Personally, I find this structural format to be perfectly fine. The less plot the better, when it comes to this sort of film.

The gore is so ridiculous and over-the-top that it's hard to imagine how anyone could be offended by it, though it is quite gross at times. The gore itself particularly reminds of the original Evil Dead, as it emphasizes goo and moistness, and the zombies look fairly reminiscent of the demon-possessed individuals from that film. Although the gore isn't nor is it trying to be realistic, the execution is often more professional and well done than I would've anticipated. Going into too many specifics would be terribly time consuming, but their are a few things that demand pointing out. The single best gore effect would have to be towards the beginning of the film, when the nurse gets her head ripped off. (most of the way, anyway) And, the much famed lawnmower massacre towards the end of the film is classic, and has some surprisingly nicely done effects to go along with the sheer over-the-top insanity of the scene.(The effects I'm referring, in specific, to some of the shots of the limbs getting shredded into nothingness) And, the stop-motion animated sumatran rat monkey is quite fun as well.

Yeah, this movie is pretty great. Not quite the all time highpoint in gore, in my mind, however. I think that Riki-Oh is funnier on the gore front, and am more impressed by some more serious films that display more realistic gore. But Dead Alive still does what it does very well.

You might come in with the wrong expectations for this movie, it's primarily reputation is for it's gore. Which is deserved, even in the more widely available slightly-tamed down version that's more commonly available in the US, by the end of the film nearly every inch of the screen is covered in blood and guts. But don't neccesarily expect something frightening because of this, the movie is overall more funny than scary, from the ridiculous premise for the zombies' origin (a cursed Samarian rat-monkey imported to New Zealand) to the myriad bizarre and quirky characters and of course a lot of gross-out humor. At times it almost resembles what would happen if Monty Python made a zombie movie and ran as far with the blood and gore as they possibly could.

You'll enjoy this movie if the following apply to you:

1) the phrases "karate priest", "baby zombie", and "rat-monkey" piqued your interest.

2) You liked Evil Dead II and Army Of Darkness, and are definitely not in the camp that the series went downhill once Sam Raimi started adding in comic elements

3) You're not at all squeamish about blood and relish completely over-the-top bordering on implausible gory death scenes.

4) You have a general taste for cheesy b-movies.

Words just cannot describe this unbelievable gore-fest from New Zealand. Peter Jackson has totally outdone himself with an incredible zombie flick that's sure to make you wanna laugh your butt off! The prostetic make-up and special gore-effects by Richard Taylor were amazing. I don't think I've ever seen half of a body jump on somebody and spill out it's bodly organs all over the place, or half of a head getting kicked around all over the place get thrown into a blender. The nearly millions of gallons of blood just pour and pour and pour. This is one not to be missed by any gorehound fan out there!!! WARNING: THIS MOTION PICTURE CONTAINS NON-STOP SCENES OF EXTREME GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND GORE. THIS FILM IS NOT FOR THE FAINT AT HEART. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! Please avoid the HORRIBLY CHOPPED UP R-rated version at all costs! Stick with the US UNRATED version. If possible, see if you can find the Japanese Import of "Dead Alive" entitled "Braindead" because it runs nearly 10 minutes longer than the US UNRATED VERSION and contains much more gore.

When you think of blood and gore, movies such as, Hellraiser, From Beyond, Evil Dead and Re-Animator may come to mind. These movies, however, are merely kindergarden class to this blood drenched classic. All the reviews I've read say this is probably the goriest movie in history. I'd have to agree with that sentiment.

The story about a young, shy man named Lionel(Timothy Balme) who takes care of his domineering mother. Lionel meets up with a young woman in a little store named Pakita. She persues Lionel and gets him to accompany her to the zoo. While spying on the couple Lionel's mother is bitten by the Sumatran Rat Monkey. After being infected with the bite she becomes a hideous undead creature. Lionel, however still takes the time to care for her and all of the others that will become infected with this disease.

If your looking for a frightful movie then this movie would not be for you. The storyline is weak but when you have so much blood, gore and guts on the screen do you really care about a story? This is definitely the goriest movie ever made. Scenes include a rib cage being pulled out, plenty of body dismemberment and the best scene, chopping up dozens of zombies with a lawnmower plus much more. This movie splills more blood than the elevator scene in Stephen King's The Shining. Just describing these scenes and talking about the movie gives it no justice in just how gorey it is. You gotta see this movie for yourself. The dazzling special effects are courtesy of Richard Taylor.

When I first rented "Dead Alive," I got it from a Blockbuster store. A critic on the front of the box was quoted as saying "This is the goriest and funniest film I've ever seen!" I watched the movie, and wondered how anyone could have found the film "gory" OR "funny." To me, it just didn't make sense, and it seemed just plain stupid and boring. Of course, what I didn't know then was that the movie had been cut, and almost 10 minutes of additional gore was missing. If you think about that, that's a LOT of gore (a death scene takes what, 5 seconds?). SO, since I couldn't find the unrated version anywhere, I ordered it and watched it last night. NOW I see what the critic was talking about. Ironically, by taking out all the gore, Blockbuster simply made the movie more disturbing and strange. WITH all the gore, it's nothing short of hysterical. Here's a small comparison between the R and unrated versions:
1) right away, the first man to be bitten is practically mutilated in the unrated version. He right hand and left arm are seen chopped off. In the R version, neither scene is shown, just him screaming.
2) the "lunch" scene is MUCH funnier in the unrated version. Lionel's mother squirts blood into the guests pudding. We watch him eat the pudding. Then her ear falls off into her own pudding, and she eats that, too, sending another guest running to the bathroom. In the R version, we have to imply that she has squirted blood into the pudding, and the ear never falls off (which makes for much confusion later when it's quite apparently missing).
3) when the nurse comes to check on Lionel's mother in the unrated version, the zombie grabs her face. Mother's fingers meld into the nurse's face, and eventually put it backward at a 90 degree angle. This makes for some hysterically disturbing scenes later where she just can't seem to keep her head on straight. In the R version, we see the Mother pop up behind the nurse, but see nothing of the gore. By cutting that violence, though, any future reference to the nurse's head problem is therefore not funny--just confusing.
4) The Party at the end: Where to start? In the R version I saw, the party is a totally confusing, strange, and illogical event. Zombies suddenly pop to life, people run, people fall, and then suddenly Lionel shows up with a lawnmower and everyone dies. In the UNRATED version, I watched in horror and amusement at some of the most grisly, but way over-the-top death scenes I've ever seen. People are beheaded, disembowled, and mutilated. One man's ribs are pulled out while he watches. Another woman is punched so hard from behind that the hand comes through the back of her head and out of her mouth. It's powerful stuff--but much funnier when shown.

Bottom line: UNRATED VERSION: 5 stars R Version: 1 star Stay away from the Rated R version!

First, let's get one thing straight: This is not a horror movie, and it's not intended to be a horror movie. It's a comedy, ok? Yes, it is probably the goriest movie ever made, but it's use of blood and violence is so completely over the top, it crosses into the realm of hilarious by fifty Sumarian rat monkeys' heads.

I generally try to avoid overly gorey movies myself (I'm not particularly sensitive or anything, it's just that 99.9% of 'em [... stink]), but "Dead Alive" sort of goes beyond that. If monsters in the basement, kung-fu priests, zombie-babies and alternative uses of lawnmowers seem like your kind of thing, you could do far worse than watching this.

On the other hand, those of you looking for high drama and a thought-provoking plot would be best adviced to search elsewhere. The original title, "Braindead", is a bit more appropriate I think.

Speaking of original, the American unrated version on sale here is not uncut. My copy, subtiteled "Red Edition" (wich speaks for itself, I guess) runs about 10 minutes longer than this version. Probably nothing vital to the plot, but you gore-hounds out there might want to check it out. It was released by a German company called Laser Paradise, and it's plagued by the cheesiest (unskippable) CGI intros I have ever had the misfortune of viewing. Apart from that, it comes highly recommended.

OK, so the title is a bit negative. The movie is top notch, definately my favourite 'horror' movie of all time, and I've seen a few! However, I am reviewing the DVD, not the movie. The original title to this movie is Braindead. I live in the UK, where it was released under its original title completely uncut (a first for UK video?!) When I started clearing out my old VHS collection and replacing them with DVDs, I have to admit that this movie was one of the highest on the list. At the time it wasn't available in the UK on DVD, so I bought the US version instead, and I was pretty annoyed at the treatment it got. First of all, this version is cut, despite being unrated. The movie is set in New Zealand, but it seems that all references to the location have been removed, along with some of the lines and phrases that aren't in common use in the US. The gore is intact (I would have given it one star if it wasn't!) but the disc is completely devoid of all extras, apart from a single trailer. To add insult to injury, the movie is now available uncut on DVD in the UK (of course I hurredly went out and bought it) My advice is: don't buy this version, but make every effort you can to see this wonderful movie in its original form.

Do you love Zombies? Do you Love special effects? Do you love dark comedy? Do you love EXCESSIVE (and I really emphasize that) gore? Would you love to see a zombie baby rip a girls head in half? If you answered yes to all these questions, then you will fall in love with Dead Alive. This movie truly deserves the title as the goriest movie ever made. This movie crosses all the barriers set by Hollywood and then returns to cover them with gasoline, lights a match and then proceeds to shred it with a blender.

The thing that raises eyebrows the most is that this gorefest was directed by none other than Peter Jackson, the modern day creator of the Lord of the Rings movies. But if you look at it; that explains why his orks looked so real was because he's had all this experience with zombie movies. When one watches lord of the rings and then watches this, they may think "that was a really, really bad movie...", but at the same time, this is a great movie. It's a dark comedy, it's not your standard movie, the acting for the most part is supposed to be bad, but presented in a more humorous aspect so to speak.

The gore isn't the style of the Evil Dead, eventually the gore just becomes so over the top that you can't help but laugh. At one scene a guy shoves a garden gnome into the neck of a headless zombie and at another time the lawnmower is whipped out and slices up all the zombies (it actually spat out 100 pints of blood per minute). This movie has it all, if you are looking for gore special effects, this movie will astonish you and you'll find yourself asking "how did they do that?" It even has Claymation!!! The plot doesn't matter too much (there barely is one at all) its just ends up as "Kill all the zombies before they escape the mansion without getting yourself killed in the end" type of thing. My friends and I couldn't possibly have had more fun when watching this. The zombie baby reminded us all of an evil inbred teletubby. And let's not forget the line said by the preacher which can be titled as the greatest B Movie line ever. "I Kick Ass for the Lord!!!" This hysterical line in then followed by martial arts which you just have to see to understand why it's so funny and my personal favorite part of the movie.

There are three versions however. The R rated version (skip that, it eliminates a lot of the good scenes), the Not Rated version (that's the version you are looking at right now) and the Brain Dead Version (original title) which isn't sold in the U.S. and if you want to seek out a copy I can only recommend using eBay or something similar.

If you are reading this review and smiling with a grin then I urge you to press the buy button now or seek out the Brain Dead version, you will rejoice at the opportunity to have such a gore masterpiece in your possession. Buy today, hoped this helped.

From start to finish Dead Alive is a masterpiece not only making you scream but also laugh. It all starts out in a small town in New Zealand where a young man named Lynol falls in love with a spanish girl named piquita. As soon as his mother finds out what is going on she decides to follow him on his first (I guess you could call it a date) to the zoo. Where she is watching over them slips and falls against the cage of a Rat Monkey from Skull Island. After the bite she detatches more and more from life finally she dies and rises as the walking dead. After this incident it gets harder for Lynol to keep her under control because he has more zombies to worry about! I am not going to give away anymore of the movie if you want to know more watch it I enjoyed every bit of it. WARNING this movie is not for the faint of heart it contains scenes of explicit violence and gore! If you do not have a strong stomac get the R rated version. But if you want to see this movie in all its gorey detail get the Unrated version of VHS or DVD. If you plan to buy it on DVD all the versions on DVD are unrated so dont worry. Now lets talk some about the DVD features. Unlike the VHS versions the DVD version is digitally masered and is letterboxed at 16x9. The DVD includes the theatrical trailer, Spanish and french subtitles, interactive menus, and scene access. Well thats it I hope whoever reads this decides to watch the movie.

P.S. the one review on here that says that the DVD goes out of sync when you press a button after it starts playing. It is definitly a problem with either his copy of the DVD or his DVD player I have consulted with several others who own the DVD version of Dead Alive and none of them have this problem and neither do I

Well thanks for reading my review I apriciate your support and if you have any other questions about any other versions of this film feel free to email me about it. Take Care

Thomas

This is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen...it has it all! A love story, a story of a man overcoming his fears, martial arts priests, and zombies... This movie is well known for both it's dark humor, and slapstick humor, but it's most known for it's gore factor...I honestly don't think there's ever been a gorier movie...unfortunately, Dead Alive, in it's purest form, is edited, even the Unrated version...there's basically 3 films: the R version of Dead Alive (EXTREMELY cut, but still good enough to make my friends scream at how sick it is); the unrated version; and Braindead, THE uncut version...unfortunately, Braindead is not sold in America, but you can get copies for a decent price on Ebay...you might be saying, "BUT VIC, HOW COULD BRAINDEAD POSSIBLY BE GORIER THAN DEAD ALIVE?!" watch the lawnmower scene on Braindead compared to the one on Dead Alive, you'll instantly notice a difference...buy this and then buy Braindead so you can compare and contrast ;D but seriously, THIS IS AN AWESOME MOVIE, IT'S BEST TO GET IT UNEDITED, BUT BUY IT ANYWAY YOU CAN