G-men learn that aliens are harvesting New Zealanders for an intergalactic restaurant in this gory horror parody.
When I asked my followers to recommend older movies to review, one person put forward director Peter Jackson's early work. Of course, Peter Jackson is now a household name thanks to his work bringing The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit franchises to life. But before that, Peter Jackson came from humble beginnings. Bad Taste is his directorial debut. This debut is so low budget, that Jackson was also the writer, editor, producer, photographer, and performed more than one acting role in the film.
In all honesty, the appeal and charm of the film come from knowing what went on behind the scenes. From a modern-day standpoint, the film would not sit well with reviews and would largely receive critical panning for its rather silly plot, bad acting, and very basic effects. However, when you realise that this was a film that Jackson filmed on the weekends over four years and got his friends to help out as actors, then you start to feel those first nuggets of appreciation for Jackson's dedication to the craft (the continuity works pretty well all being considered, with even the facial hair managing to stay quite consistent throughout the film).
While the effects aren't the fanciest, they are incredibly gory and are mostly practical effects. Weapons were made from wood and aluminium with sound effects and muzzle flash added in post-production. Alien prosthetics were made by Jackson himself, limited in size by the dimensions of his Mother's oven. While incredibly cheesy at times, the gore in the film is undeniably creative.
Bad Taste is the epitome of the New Zealand No-Frills Horror/Splatter B-Movie. A tongue-in-cheek black comedy that twists every obstacle into a selling point. The acting in the film is quite laughable at times, but that is what they use it for, another source of comedy. Actors didn't turn up for filming? Peter Jackson can play multiple characters and carefully choreograph a fight scene with himself on a cliff!
There are many issues with the story, and the narrative takes quite a while to fully bring together all of the parts needed for cohesion. But overall, Bad Taste creates a great environment that feels truly isolated and plays out this battle of Aliens vs. Humans in a disjointed, but humorous fashion. There are so many little details that catch the eye, and enough blood and gore to make you squirm.
A great reminder of how Peter Jackson got to where he is now; through a hell of a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft.