Bad Taste (1987)

★★
Before he made a name for himself internationally by adapting J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings novels into the beloved trilogy we know today, Peter Jackson was a splatter movie director who made the hilariously over-the-top gorefest Dead Alive (1992) and his debut film Bad Taste (1987). His first shot at mainstream success was the astonishing Heavenly Creatures (1994), but seven years before that, Jackson released this labor of love made with his friends and on a shoestring budget. Like George A. Romero, John Waters and David Lynch before him, Jackson came out swinging, and while he doesn't land every punch, he makes sure that the ones that do connect are adequate enough in quantity to make an impression. They do. While not an entirely successful film, Bad Taste is an admirable attempt to combine comedy and graphic violence in a way similar to what Re-Animator did before it.

A seaside haven in New Zealand is the landing spot for a group of aliens on the lookout for fresh meat. Every inhabitant has disappeared, so the government sends in a squad of four agents (I use that term loosely) to investigate. Barry (Peter O'Herne) is the apparent leader, and he finds trouble right away when he is chased by humans all dressed in blue shirts. His colleague Derek (Peter Jackson himself) has captured one of the aliens and tortures him while he's hanging over the side of a cliff. Derek makes an early exit when he falls over the cliff and lands on the rocks below, although this is only a temporary setback. Elsewhere, Ozzy (Terry Potter) and Frank (Mike Minett) join up with Barry to track down the alien hideout and find out what happened to the townspeople.

The aliens capture a traveler named Giles (Craig Smith), who was passing through the area seeking donations for charity. The trio of Barry, Ozzy and Frank eventually find the aliens' hideout—a mansion—and free Giles, who was about to be turned into human stew. It appears that the aliens love human meat and visited Earth to harvest humans to box them up and send them home where they will be used for food. Derek will have none of it. He recovers in time to disrupt the alien plan, all the while ensuring that his brain doesn't fall out of his skull by strapping a belt around his head to seal the opening.

The movie is cheerfully violent and gory, a lot of it resulting from the fighting between the humans and aliens. Limbs are torn off, and organs both recognizable and not are exposed in the most comically gruesome ways imaginable. Jackson has a sense of humor. He presents his homemade special effects in plentiful quantities, but he takes the edge off by taking a sly approach to the material. The accompanying sound effects for much of the violence resemble a wet sponge being squeezed. Jackson's camera goes in for close-ups and zips around quickly as if trying to get the best view for us to appreciate his creativity. We don't see the creature effects until the third act, when the aliens show their true selves and sprout jagged glutes from their pants. The leader, Lord Crumb (Doug Wren), appears on the movie's cover art giving the finger, which gives you just a glimpse of what's to come.

Bad Taste was Peter Jackson's way of introducing himself to the world. Eager to make a splash, he developed this tale of blood and guts to make sure viewers would take notice. He went on to do great things, but this little experiment, goofy as it is, is ultimately a one-trick pony. The acting isn't that good. The special effects are adequate given the budget. He would do better with Dead Alive. Watching this movie is like watching a kid given the keys to the toy store and having fun playing with everything in sight. It's amusing, but this is more of a dry run to test Jackson's potential. He passed.

© 2023 Silver Screen Reviews