The Kiwi Evil Dead: A Lookback at Peter Jackson’s First Film, Bad Taste
Nine years before he worked with Michael J. Fox on The Frighteners, sixteen years before winning three Oscars with Return of the King, and eighteen years before remaking King Kong, Peter Jackson started his feature film career with the action packed, alien invaded, blood and guts soaked, kiwi to the core, sci-fi horror comedy Bad Taste, and I think it deserves to be held in the same regard as The Evil Dead.
We’ve all seen the standard plot of “aliens secretly live among us and have nefarious plans” ten times over; but, Bad Taste isn’t your standard alien invasion movie. It’s got aliens who intend to sell human meat as intergalactic fast food. It’s also got homemade effects, props, and gore (the last of which is turned up to eleven). And, to top it all off, it’s got some non-actor, average kiwi dudes playing the roles of alien blasting action heroes. Does all that sound interesting to you? If you’re in disbelief you haven’t seen something that sounds this amazing, then Bad Taste is right up your alley.
As alluded to above, Jackson’s Bad Taste depicts the exploits of four members of New Zealand’s “Astro Investigation and Defense Service” as they discover and face off against a horde of aliens disguised as humans, who intend to start selling human as the new intergalactic fast food sensation. We watch as our heroes do battle against the dastardly alien foes with everything from guns (which were mostly crafted of wood and scrap metal by Jackson and the crew) to chainsaws, to a rocket launcher.
The aliens upon shedding their human disguises
As one would guess, such action leaves quite the mess, so Bad Taste has no shortage of DIY gross out gore, so intentionally over the top you can’t help but laugh. Some notable moments include a head explosion via gunshot, the bisecting of an alien, a person violently entering an alien through its mouth and exiting from the other end, Peter Jackson violently puking green goo, and an exploding sheep. In the 1988 behind the scene special, Good Taste Made Bad Taste, Jackson details how some of these effects, most of which he made himself, were created and used. For instance, for the aforementioned scene were a character Jackson plays violently vomits for a prolonged time, he made a casting of his face using alginate, which he then used to create a rubber puppet of his head, with a tube running through it to dispensing the vomit, all so it would appear as if it was him doing the puking.
Post-head explosion
Much like The Evil Dead, Bad Taste was made on a next to nothing budget, over the course of several years (in this case four), with a cast of non-actor friends, the core of which consisted of an employee of the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, two Photolithographers, and a records clerk. Part of Bad Taste’s charm is in its ingenuity and low budget nature. One scene features the two characters Jackson plays himself fighting one another, which was accomplished via body doubles and filming different shots months apart. The destruction of a historical site, which serves as a major location for the film, was pulled off by the use of detailed models and trick photography (a skill Jackson would go on to use with great effect for the size differences of characters in his Tolkien adaptations). Camera cranes, steadycam rigs, and dollies used in filming where homemade with scrap metal, wood, and household items. The majority of the film was shot on a simple 16mm Bolex camera, mostly by Jackson himself, and the cast all doubled as background alien characters, as well as crew for the film.
The model houses used for effects shots
Much like production, the editing and post-production of Bad Taste took a significant amount of time. Ken Hammon, one of the writers and actors in the film, in his “making of” essay, This Has Buggered Your Plans For Conquering The Universe, explained, “more money was spent on post-production than was spent on the production.” He goes on to describe how the film was shot entirely without sound, meaning the whole soundtrack was added in post.
After editing was completed, Jackson took the film to the Cannes Film Festival Film Market, where it proved successful, selling for distribution to ten countries in only six days. The film went on to garner international appreciation for its humor, wit, and action, and launched the career of the young Peter Jackson. It remains a fan favorite of the gore genre to this day. Similar to Sam Rami and The Evil Dead, the influence of Bad Taste would continue to be seen in Jackson’s future work, even in his Tolkien adaptations, with their fantastical elements and creative effects.
Bad Taste is a creative, fun, and passionately made spin on the alien invasion genre in the same way The Evil Dead put a new spin on the possession genre. The film serves as yet another example that polish and perfection are not what makes a film endearing and enjoyable, but instead ingenuity, earnestness, and passion. If you love The Evil Dead, the craft and creativity that are involved in filmmaking, ridiculously enjoyable gore, or over the top action, I highly recommend you check out Bad Taste, as you will no doubt find yourself having a great time.
Director and actor Peter Jackson chows down on some brains
Want more deep dives into movies? Just search below:
