Movie of the Day: January 8, 2003

IMDb Movie of the Day
What's with Peter Jackson's love affair with matricide? In the years before Frodo, his characters offed their mothers with gory gusto. The most whirling depiction of the act occurs in his third film, Brain Dead (known as Dead Alive in the U.S.). Jackson splendidly recreates a 1957 New Zealand village, where love is blooming between Lionel (Timothy Balme), a consummate mama's boy, and local shopgirl Paquita (Diana Peñalver). Lionel's overbearing mum (Elizabeth Moody) doesn't approve of the romance, and follows the couple on their first date: a trip to the zoo. It turns out to be quite a bad idea, as a zoologist has smuggled a rat monkey into said zoo, which bites Lionel's mother after she taunts the beast. The bite turns her into a zombie -- one that craves brains, naturally (as Jackson is an admitted disciple of George Romero). Determined to preserve his mum and his romance, Lionel locks her - and the others she's bitten, including the village's horny priest - in the basement. But soon Lionel’s Uncle Les (Ian Watkin) comes calling, discovers the scene, and lays claim to the house and mum’s money. To celebrate, Les throws a huge party at the house...which can only spell trouble. Certainly no stranger to the horror-comedy genre, Jackson had a big budget ($3 million, his largest at the time) to work with, as well as his trusty puppeteer, Ramon Aguilar, who worked on the director's shockingly gross Meet the Feebles. This allowed the director to create a mother of finales, the showdown between Lionel, what used to be his beloved mum, and a house full of zombies. It's a scene so uncivilized that several versions of the film exist on video, even different unrated versions. It's also a chance to see how one of today's premiere directors made bathtub gin before he started sipping Bombay Sapphire. (more)

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