A Month of Horror
I have always wanted to do a marathon of "HORROR" throughout the month of October, one where I would revisit a new horror movie every day from the first to the thirty-first. I will revisit the classics as well as new entries into the canon. There are many movies that define this time of year, and I hope to showcase 31 of them this month...
October 12: Dead Alive (1992)
While not quite oedipal, Lionel Cosgrove certainly had some "mother" issues, especially once she was bitten by the infamous Sumatran Rat Monkey in Peter Jackson's splatterific "Dead Alive" (a.k.a. "Brain Dead").
While not without its horrific moments, "Dead Alive" does tend to lean more towards the comedic end of the horror spectrum as the bumbling Lionel does his best to keep a lid on what becomes only too clearly a zombie-like outbreak. His overbearing mother is the first victim, bitten by a WETA generated Sumatran Rat Monkey (a creature that was also eluded to in Jackson's 2005 redo of "King Kong").
Things quickly spiral out of control for Lionel as the plague spreads and he is forced to lock more and more infected away in the home he shares with his mother.
"Dead Alive" is a fantastic film that shows many of the kinetic cinematic flourishes its director would become known for. It also pays loving homage to the zombie genre while mixing the tender drama and slapstick comedy that Jackson and others of his kind use so effectively.
From the preacher who "kicks ares in the name of the lord" to the disgustingly hilarious denouement that sees hapless Lionel enter his home armed with a lawnmower to break up a zombie bacchanal, this is a delightful showcase of practical effects and practical storytelling.
Definitely worth a watch (as are Jackson's other horror efforts "The Frighteners" and "Bad Taste"). Tomorrow, we go to camp...
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