Optic Film Screenings

Good horror at its most basic should do one of two things, scare you or disgust you. If you can’t do one then you should exceed at the other. If one film follows this it’s ‘Braindead’, to describe it as scary would be at best a lie. Peter Jackson’s third film won’t scare you but it will disgust you. It’s easily the bloodiest film ever made and anyone who’s seen it will agree and any doubters will be converted by the final scene involving a room full of zombies, a lawnmower and 300 liters of blood.

This isn’t it’s only high point of violence throughout flesh is torn, heads are severed, necks are bitten. “Boring” I hear you cry “this is 2012 we’ve had about a dozen ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’ films we can’t be shocked by your crappy early 90’s stuff”. All this will be proved wrong by a fat man eating custard, and a couple of drops of blood. This is where ‘Braindead’ excels and where your newer gore films fail. The little details. Not only is the violence disgusting but so is everyday life, Peter Jackson manages to turn everyday 50’s New Zealand into a grotesque spectacle of repression and repulsive characters. I’m still undecided as to whether the mother being turned into a zombie is an improvement on her character. It’s almost a relief when rabid monkey/rats and zombies turn up, at least the lead Lionel can start to lead a normal life.

 ‘Braindead’ never did great at the cinema and like most films of it type only really got noticed on VHS. Surprisingly the UK was one of the few countries that didn’t cut the film or ban it outright. In truth it’s hard to be genuinely offended by ‘Braindead’, the disgust and violence is extreme but always has an element of fun to it. More ‘Evil Dead’ than ‘Cannibal Holocaust’. The German censors weren’t a fan trimming the film by nearly 10 minutes and for some reason the Americans even changed the title to ‘Dead Alive’ and gave it a really weird cover.  Again I don’t think all that blood helped.

It’s been said a few times and it’s not an argument some people take seriously but I ask again is Peter Jackson best work his early work? His first ‘Bad Taste’ was rough but inventive and ‘Braindead’ is obviously more of the same but better polished. We’re soon to see the huge spectacle of ‘The Hobbit’ which I’m sure will be technically flawless and break all sorts of box office records. Where is the fun? Where are the exploding sheep? Where’s the Kung Fu Priests? He’s refined his skill but is he as entertaining? It’s for you to decide but all I’m saying is there won’t be 300 liters of blood in ‘The Hobbit’.