Bad Taste (1987)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Ken Hammon (additional material)
Tony Hiles (additional material)

Release Date:

June 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

One thing the aliens hadn't counted on was Derek, and Dereks don't run!

Plot:

The population of a small town disappears and is replaced by aliens that chase human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Fast Food | New Zealand | Small Town | Chainsaw

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Terry Potter	...	Ozzy / 3rd Class Alien
Pete O'Herne	...	Barry / 3rd Class Alien
Craig Smith	...	Giles / 3rd Class Alien
Mike Minett	...	Frank / 3rd Class Alien
Peter Jackson	...	Derek / Robert
Doug Wren	...	Lord Crumb
Dean Lawrie	...	Lord Crumb SPFX Double / 3rd Class Alien
Peter Vere-Jones	...	Lord Crumb's Voice
Ken Hammon	...	3rd Class Alien
Robin Griggs	...	3rd Class Alien
Michael Gooch	...	3rd Class Alien
Peter Gooch	...	3rd Class Alien
Laurie Yarrall	...	3rd Class Alien
Shane Yarrall	...	3rd Class Alien
Philip Lamey	...	3rd Class Alien

Also Known As:

Roast of the Day (New Zealand: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min | Australia:86 min (1989 video release) | Belgium:98 min (DVD version)

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 (DVD release) | Finland:K-15 (DVD release) | Spain:18 | Australia:(Banned) (queensland only) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | USA:R (heavily cut) | Germany:18 (cut) | Germany:12 (heavily cut) | Austria:16 | Germany:Not Rated (uncut DVD version) | Germany:18 (re-rating, uncut) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:(Banned) (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Iceland:Unrated | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:R21 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Gear Homestead, Okowai Road, Papakowhai, Porirua, Wellington Region, New Zealand

Company:

New Zealand Film Commission

Trivia:

Peter Jackson made all masks in his mother's kitchen. The heads of the aliens are bent backwards because otherwise they wouldn't fit in the oven where the latex was hardened.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Frank is in the middle of the field being shot at by the aliens in the tree, the wires controlling the squibs are visible.

Quotes:

Derek: Well this sure has buggered your plans for conquering the world, eh? Hehe... my friend, the astro-bastard, time for talkies. By the time my colleagues get here I want to have you babbling in some extra-terrestrial language!

Movie Connections:

References The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Soundtrack:

BAD TASTE

Splatter fun for all the family!

Goofy and ridiculously exaggerated horror-comedy, obviously made by a group of unprofessional movie-lovers and friends. Dig this: big potato-headed aliens slice up an entire little town in order to serve them in an intergalactic chain of fast-food restaurants! Four eccentric lowlifes are after them (they form a government agency called A.I.D.S – Alien Investigation and Defense Service). Peter Jackson (yes, THE Peter Jackson) desperately tries to hide the fact that he doesn't have the story by showing a whole lot of nasty gunfights and immature butchering. Buy hey…who's complaining? Bad Taste is great fun and one of the most hilarious horror-comedies ever. Nobody in the cast knows how to act, the make-up effects are cheesy and the cinematography is laughable. Jackson himself plays Derek, an obsessive freak that constantly has to re-install his own brain after he lost some cells in a fall of a cliff. There isn't one `scary' moment to detect in Bad Taste, but the vulgarity and nastiness-level is pretty high… Chainsaw dismemberments, crushed skulls…you name it and Peter Jackson shows it! Even drinking someone's fresh vomit is possible in his wicked imagination!

As Jackson's budget slowly increased, so did his filmmaking skills. He continued to make fresh New-Zealand horror with `Meet The Feebles' (brilliant and imaginative puppet adventure) and `Braindead' (perhaps the goriest film ever). When you see him here in Bad Taste, you'd never say he'll win an Oscar for best director once but it only gives more cult-value to the film. This is an ideal motion picture to watch with a group of friends, with lots and lots of alcohol and pizza. You're not missing out on anything if you haven't seen it yet, except for a real good time.