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Thursday, October 4, 2012

HMM '12 Day 4: Dead Alive

It's finally October! That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are almost here, and Halloween is near! My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season. Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel. Anyway, let's get to Day 4 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

I need to start this one with a word of warning: This post is NSFW.  Don't read this one if lots of gore upsets you.

Dead Alive
(Trimark Pictures, 1993)


Now that we got that out of the way, tonight’s movie is Dead Alive, also known as Braindead, also known as one of the goriest movies of all time. When I first saw this movie, I had never heard of the director.  Now, almost everyone has heard of him.  He directed a pretty popular trilogy about a ring.  Yes, this movie came from the mind of Peter Jackson.  It is also the first of two of his movies that will appear in HMM '12.  This is the only movie that, no matter how many times I watch it, still makes me gag in certain parts. Hell, even just thinking about a few scenes in particular makes me feel nauseous.


The movie starts out on Skull Island, where three men have captured the Sumatran rat monkey. They are being chased by the natives, and during the fracas, the "Zoo Official" is scratched by the creature. The other two men notice this, and remove the official's hand. Then arm. Then they see the scratch on his face.

See how friendly he is?
Hi there!
The two other guys still take the monkey to the airport, get paid for the delivery, and the monkey is off to New Zealand. Shortly thereafter, we are introduced to the three main characters: Lionel, the ultimate Mama's Boy, Paquita, the love interest, and Lionel's dear, sweet mother. Wait, I mean raging, manipulative, evil mother.

Lionel's mother doesn't like the fact that her boy is being taken from her by this other woman, so she follows him to the zoo. Guess what else is there? That's right, it's our friend, the rat monkey. We even get to learn that the rat-monkey is a result of monkeys on Skull Island being raped by rats. And after watching the rat monkey kill a regular monkey, we get to see it attacking Lionel's mum, who then proceeds to crush it's head with her foot. This is one of the scenes that makes me gag.


Of course, the bite slowly turns mum into a zombie, and we in turn get a zombie nurse, zombie punks, a zombie priest, zombie sex, and a zombie baby.  And yes, mostly-zombie mum eating a german shepherd.

We also get gore. Lots and lots of gore. We get to see heads ripped in half, rib cages pulled out, faces pulled off, and a lawn mower of mass destruction.

Origin of the Red Skull?
Curse you, Captain America!
Trust me when I say that this movie is not for those with a weak stomach.  I love horror movies and gore, and there are things in this movie that still make me feel like I'm going to spew.

I'm going to stop putting what is coming soon, because I am planning on making some changes to the line up, but I don't know exactly where yet.