Dead Alive

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Dead Alive

R

Released Feb 12, 1993

1h 41m

Horror

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Overprotective mother Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody), spying on her grown son, Lionel (Timothy Balme), as he visits the zoo with the lovely Paquita (Diana Peñalver), is accidentally bitten by the fearsome Sumatran rat-monkey. When the bite turns his beloved mother into a zombie, Lionel tries to keep her locked safely in the basement, but her repeated escapes turn most of the neighbors into the walking dead, who then crash a high-society party thrown by Lionel's boorish Uncle Les (Ian Watkin).

Critics Consensus

The delightfully gonzo tale of a lovestruck teen and his zombified mother, Dead Alive is extremely gory and exceedingly good fun, thanks to Peter Jackson's affection for the tastelessly sublime.

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Scott Tobias

AV Club

[O]nce Lionel stops trying to cover up the zombie threat and starts fighting it, Dead Alive becomes a delirious showcase for molds, squibs, and other old-fashioned horror effects.

Oct 5, 2019

Full Review

Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Times

After you see it, you want to race out of the theater and recommend it to your sickest friends right away.

Oct 19, 2016

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Ordinarily I don't care for this kind of thing at all, but something must be said for Jackson's endless reserves of giddy energy, which are clearly meant to be silly.

Oct 19, 2016

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A film so excessively gory that it makes the Pacino version of Scarface look like a vintage episode of Reading Rainbow by comparison.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 27, 2024

Full Review

Kristy Strouse

Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying

Dead Alive has killer effects and eccentric hilarity, and it thrives through Jackson's passion. This is a must-see for any horror-comedy fan.

Oct 26, 2022

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Made with extraordinary, obvious joy by a filmmaking team besotted with the idea of making a movie.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 6, 2022

Full Review

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Audience Member

One of my favorite zombie movies. The fact that Peter Jackson directed it makes it more fun. The gore, action, old school vibes, funny scenes, the lines you remember, everything is just fun about the movie. Great ending too in my opinion. Definitely a movie you can rewatch and never gets old.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

Full Review

Landon J

Peter Jackson's (Lord Of The Rings) early career entry starts off with a slow roll, although corny, has decent character development. This movie builds and builds until an amazing spectacle of over the top zombie mayhem in the last 30 minutes. Goofy, gory, and absolutely mental. Nothing else like it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/31/24

Full Review

Rob G

ok, if you like gore for the sake of gore I guess go ahead and watch this but that's all this is. Hard to believe this is the same guy who ended up directing Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/19/24

Full Review

Damian M

This movie "kicks arse for the lord" Horror comedy thriller, with visuals that will give you nightmares and gagging on your popcorn.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/07/24

Full Review

Finny L

Peters early films are possibly my favourites out of all of his films 1993's Dead-alive showed the world who peter Jackson is and his amazing world of fantasy horror and adventure and this film specifically showed all of that NOT A FAMILY MOVIE!!!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/01/24

Full Review

Tara B

Spectacular! Absolutely disgusting and hilarious. What’s not to love?

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/01/24

Full Review

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Peter Jackson

Director

Timothy Balme

Lionel Cosgrove

Diana Peñalver

Paquita Maria Sanchez

Elizabeth Moody

Mum (Vera Cosgrove)

Ian Watkin

Uncle Les

Brenda Kendall

Nurse McTavish

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - Baby Face

1:24

Dead Alive: Official Clip - I Kick Ass for the Lord

3:00

Dead Alive: Official Clip - You Don't Scare Me, Mum

3:02

Dead Alive: Official Clip - Party Crashers

2:51

Dead Alive: Official Clip - You've Got the Bite

3:00

Dead Alive: Official Clip - Rat Monkey Attacks

2:46

Dead Alive: Official Clip - You're Not Well

2:45

Dead Alive: Official Clip - Your Mother's Dead, Lionel

2:59

Dead Alive: Official Clip - Hyperactive Baby

3:00

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Synopsis

Overprotective mother Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody), spying on her grown son, Lionel (Timothy Balme), as he visits the zoo with the lovely Paquita (Diana Peñalver), is accidentally bitten by the fearsome Sumatran rat-monkey. When the bite turns his beloved mother into a zombie, Lionel tries to keep her locked safely in the basement, but her repeated escapes turn most of the neighbors into the walking dead, who then crash a high-society party thrown by Lionel's boorish Uncle Les (Ian Watkin).

Director: Peter Jackson
Producer: Jim Booth
Screenwriter: Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Distributor: Trimark Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 1993, Original
Release Date (DVD): Sep 8, 1998
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.5K
Runtime: 1h 41m