Dead Alive

R

Released Feb 12, 1993

1h 41m

Horror

Comedy

List

89%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

87%

Audience Score

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).

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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

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

Anton Bitel

BFI

Peter Jackson’s hilarious Oedipal apocalypse vies as one of the goriest films of all time.

Oct 22, 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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Don S

not the kind of movie i expected from the director of LOTR,, but HELL YEAH!! I KICK ASS FOR THE LORD!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/17/24

Full Review

Rian Johanne M

SO MUCH BLOOOOD SO MUCH GOORE THIS IS WAY TOO FAR FOR A HORROR MOVIE

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

Teddy B

Peter Jackson's dangerously infectious enthusiasm and charm as well as a breathlessly delightful last act make 'Braindead' (or 'Dead Alive') a gem from an age where Peter seemed to have fun with himself whilst making films.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/24

Full Review

Cesar D

Esse é um Trash Zumbi mais completo de todos os tempos, a criatividade neste filme não tem fim, assim como as saguinolencia. Sou super fã deste filme acho que assistir umas 50x e assistiria novamente com outra pessoas, só pra ver a reação do colega ao lado. É um filme que merecia um Remake ou quem sabe até uma continuação. ❤️

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/07/24

Full Review

Marco V

First time watch in 2023 can you believe it ! And it was pretty awesome . It wasn't boring. It did seem to drag a little towards the end if they cut 15-20 minutes out may have been more of a non stop ride . But overall it is definitely worth seeing !

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/18/23

Full Review

Scott A

This is the love story of a generation.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/07/23

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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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

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