Dead Alive (1992)
"Braindead" (original title)

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.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Stephen Sinclair (story), Stephen Sinclair (screenplay),

Stars:

Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody

13 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Lionel, a Mama's boy has the unwanted honor of having to look after his overbearingly evil mother. He ends up falling in love with a local woman who believes that they're destined together. In a moment of intentional sabotage of one of their dates, his mother is bitten by a mysterious creature that ends up zombifying her. It's only a matter of time before she rises from the dead a powerful, bloodthirsty zombie. It's only a matter of time before she starts infecting residents of the town and Lionel has to stop her...and them.

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Plot Keywords:

zombie | love | monkey | zoo | new zealand | 

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Taglines:

The rot has set in....

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for an abundance of outrageous gore

Details

Official Sites:

NZonScreen listing

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead-Alive

Filming Locations:

Karori Cemetery, Karori, Wellington, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$242,623 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

WingNut Films, New Zealand Film Commission, Avalon/NFU Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 85 min (R-rated) 97 min (unrated) 80 min (FSK 16) 92 min (1992) (1993) (cut) 85 min (heavily cut) 99 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in eleven weeks.

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Goofs

When Lionel's mum gets bitten at the zoo, the color of her sleeve material changes from black/dark blue to light blue.

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Quotes

Mr. Matheson: What we need is another war!

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Connections

Featured in The Nostalgia Chick: The Fellowship of the Ring (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Barwick Green (Theme from The Archers)"
Composed by Arthur Wood
Published by Boosey and Hawkes

User Reviews

Faster! Harder!! BRAINDEAD!!!

I LOVE THIS FLICK!!! Probably the greatest splatter comedy ever made, because "Braindead/Dead Alive" is a fast-paced, gut-wrenching, disgusting, adrenalin-pushing and ultra-funny cult movie!!! The nightly martial arts-performance on the cemetery is as great as Lionel´s baby sitting-trip on the playground and the final zombie massacre at Uncle Les´ party beats everything you´ve seen before!! "From Dusk Till Dawn", "The Evil Dead 2"... just peanuts in comparison to the galore of blood´n guts that is featured in this film! I´m also a huge fan of Peter Jackson´s elder shots "Bad Taste" and the weird Muppet Show-parody "Meet the Feebles", but with this masterpiece the director was able to excel himself!! Not to forget the great performances of Timothy Balme as mummy´s darling Lionel, Diana Penalver as resolute Spanish chica Paquita, Ian Watkin as Lionel´s rockabilly-like Uncle Les, Elisabeth Moody, Brenda Kendall, Stuart Devenie... all great!!! "Braindead/Dead Alive" is one of the best party-movies you can imagine! Watch this together with your friends and you will laugh your heads off, I promise!!!