Braindead

"I kick ass for the Lord!" Going a bit backwards with my watch of Percy’s first 3, supposedly horrific cinematic endeavors. & Brain Dead is just about the the goriest episode of Tales from the Crypt I’ve ever seen starring the luckiest most unlucky motherfucker to enter the steep pool of unlucky motherfuckers in horror movies. This movie has a scene where a man throws a swing set at a zombified child’s head into a community park in an effort to stop it from attacking the kids, of course in front of about a dozen people who are unaware that there is a virus at all, yet alone that the baby was the one infected. It’s a miracle they didn’t call the police the same way it’s a miracle that the man didn’t get eaten alive after spending roughly 30 seconds jogging in place in a pool of blood, shifting back & forth, gradually speeding up in the attempt to avoid the zombified houseguests that decided to crank snail speed to a hundred percent, for maximum horsepower in pursuit. So when I say this movie is for me. I mean it is for me. Yes, the opening is a bit tone-deaf by todays standards; but for the movie where the zombie baby gets trapped to a nail by its umbilical cord, it’s the least of my worries. Peter Jackson, who need I remind you would proceed to make arguably the most influential fantasy trilogy of all time; not only exceeded my expectations in making “the goriest film of all time” but also the creativity in how the zombie can be utilized, especially to create effective black comedy. Oddly enough striking a balance between genuinely intense horror & heart stopping humor where coincidence reigns supreme in pulling both together. It isn’t all just an attempt to hit the funny bone. No. Here we have a slept on cinematic marvel responsible for inspiring fan-favorites in the genre such as ‘Shaun of the Dead’ which through all its violence finds a way to make an effective rom-com that relays themes of overcoming guilt whilst breaking parental shackles with the aesthetic of the aformentioned John Kassir anthology classic in every way from the spine tingly sound affects to the campy cinematography, soaked, but never drowned in even campier over-the-top effects. Needless to say I love this film, & will come back to deck the halls in blood whenever I next get a chance. This is how you do horror folks.