Bad Taste

Peter Jackson's first cult classic didn't grab me as much as his later work, Braindead, which I absolutely adore. Considering the film was made without a script, it turned out pretty well. The beginning is fantastic and really hooks you, but then it takes a nosedive in the middle, becoming painfully dull and unnecessarily drawn-out. However, it's worth sticking with it because the ending is absolutely mind-blowing. The "rebirth" scene is particularly spectacular. The character played by Peter Jackson himself is the highlight of the film. The scenes where Jackson reattaches a loose piece of his skull with a belt and collects bits of brain are brilliant, as is the alien throwing pine cones after losing its legs. (01/20/2020)

I really don’t know what went wrong. Braindead is one of my favourite films and I consider it a cult movie, but Bad Taste completely missed me. It was so annoying that at some point I thought of turning it off and the only thing that prevented that was waiting for whatever it was that had made others give it five stars. And there wasn’t anything! It’s just awfully boring, with atrocious performances and cringe-worthy dialogues and scenes, and it’s not even the least funny. Braindead made me laugh at least twice a minute, this one had nothing that cheered me up. I just want to quickly forget it, it was crap. I’m glad I watched Braindead first, otherwise, after this one, I wouldn’t have had the courage. One star is too generous perhaps. (09/02/2008)

A non-stop parade of highly entertaining nastiness. Aliens shot to bits, a tasty lunch of vomit, and a snack of human brains eaten with a spoon as the icing on the cake. “I'm a Derek and Dereks don't run!” Peter Jackson kept his word, didn't give up his struggle as a filmmaker and made more great and extremely entertaining films like Bad Taste. (05/26/2002)

Peter Jackson has a very perverse sense of humor and an even greater talent. Although this film is amateurish from head to toe, it is shot much better than the vast majority of "official" splatter productions. Although all the props and used effects are horribly transparent, that's exactly what Bad Taste is all about. An ode to bad taste, a terrible script, a brain, gulls, intestines and a mobile BEATLES enjoys the amateur and B-movie style, rolls in it happily and benefits from everything good it can benefit from... entertainment, black humor, excessive perversity, truly tacky music, fooling around instead of acting (P.J. really enjoyed his role, you can see it from his numb eyes), and crystal clear action. It amused those who made it, and it amuses those who watch it. A simple equation. So, if you don't automatically pick up your suitcase when you hear the words splatter and gore, welcome to Jackson's deli. I'd like 200 grams of spleen, a meter of intestines, and cut that lying cerebellum finely with a chainsaw. (10/27/2004)

You can't be serious. Everyone else with a camera has done something similar with their mates and I believe it was funnier. Peter Jackson as Derek should be shot. Apart from a few good jokes (seagulls for example), it’s pretty dull and only occasionally impresses with decent enough cinematography for a debut. (11/30/2009)