The Verdict: This film is great fun from beginning to end. It’s funny and it’s gory (“splatstick” as Peter Jackson calls the mixture of humour and gore). It’s low budget and it shows...but the film really embraces its low budget and even seems to take great delight in this. Dead Alive does not hold back on the splatter – and despite the last third of the film being basically dedicated solely to this, it never gets boring thanks to the countless inventive ways of showing it. I love the fact that poor old Lionel can’t think of anything better to do with the increasing number of zombies than to set them up with their own lounge type area below the house. He feeds and cares for them as if he is running a retirement home. The custard scene is an early favourite of the film featuring Lionel’s mother pretty much decomposing as she sits at the table attempting to appear normal – expect to see people unknowingly eating blood splattered custard and ears falling off and being eaten...very funny stuff! How about the kung fu priest delivering his own form of “Divine intervention” to graveyard zombies – it’s yet another great scene. Oh yeah did I mention that amongst all of this there is a love story? Oh, I seem to have somehow forgotten to mention that...

There’s never a moment to rest in this film. It gets gorier and gorier as it goes, as well as getting more funny and ridiculous by the minute. A great time to be had by all.

(5 Craptastic Stars)


Golden Craptastic Moment: Just nudging out the custard scene for the golden craptastic moment is the lawnmower scene. What a classic scene it is, it has everything you could ever want: blood splatter (to absolute excessive amounts!), flying limbs, zombies and a light sprinkling of comedy. Such an ingenious idea.