Bad Taste (1987)    Endeavour Productions/Sci-Fi-Horror-Comedy    RT: 91 minutes    No MPAA rating (graphic violence, language)    Director: Peter Jackson    Screenplay: Peter Jackson, Tony Hiles and Ken Hammon    Music: Michelle Scullion    Cinematography: Peter Jackson    Release date: December 11, 1987 (NZ)/June 16, 1989 (US)    Cast: Pete O’Herne, Mike Minett, Terry Potter, Craig Smith, Peter Jackson, Doug Wrenn, Dean Lawrie, Ken Hammon.    Box Office: $150,000 (NZ)

Rating: *** ½

 Before he entered the realm of mainstream moviemaking with The Frighteners and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson was known only to a handful of film geeks for low-budget cult movies involving cannibalistic aliens, degenerate puppets and 50s-era zombies. His debut feature Bad Taste, a completely DIY venture shot over four years on weekends, immediately establishes Jackson’s warped sensibility, goofball sense of humor and love for blood-soaked horror. It has all the earmarks of a first effort with the amateurish acting, cheap aesthetic, clumsy action scenes and fitful pacing. He makes up for it with a storyline that veers wildly between clever and kooky AND top-rate gore effects that bear the influences of Tom Savini.

 Four agents from Astro Investigation and Defense Service (notice the initials?)- Barry (O’Herne), Derek (Jackson w/o beard), Frank (Minett) and Ozzy (Potter)- are dispatched to the small New Zealand village of Kaihoro to investigate the disappearance of the entire town population. They find the place overrun with aliens (in human form) dressed in blue shirts. They’re there to harvest food-i.e. humans- for the leader Crumb’s (Wren) intergalactic fast food franchise. My guess is if they manage to pull it off, they’ll soon hit other villages, towns and major cities to restock. On top of this, the aliens abduct a charity collector (Smith) passing through Kaihoro and plan to have him for dinner (literally!). It’s on our heroes to rescue the poor dope and put a stop to their grisly plan.

 Perhaps I ought to modify my earlier statement about the special effects being “top-rate”. They’re top-rate for the movie’s $25,000 budget. To me, they look 100 times better than the best CGI. No computers were used during the making of Bad Taste. The alien masks were baked by Jackson in his mother’s oven. He uses makeup, latex, prosthetics and gallons of fake blood to simulate the graphic violence. There are a few cool OTT (Over The Top) scenes like when an agent punches through an man-alien’s stomach with gun in hand to shoot another man-alien. A man-alien gets half his head blown off. Another has half his head cut off with a chainsaw. One of the agents sustains a head injury that frequently causes pieces of his brain to fall out. All of it is accompanied by a generous amount of S&S (spurt and splatter).

 The cast of Bad Taste is mainly comprised of friends of Jackson who wears many hats on his maiden voyage. He’s the director, co-writer, producer, editor, cinematographer, makeup artist, special effects creator and dual co-star. In addition to Agent Derek, he plays a captured alien named Robert (w/beard). For all I know, he helped clean up the bloody mess at the end of each day’s shoot too. As you’d expect, the performances aren’t exactly Oscar material, but they’re just right for a low-budget horror-sci-fi flick with little more on its mind than showing the viewers a good time. Also, I must compliment the technical wizardry behind the scene where Jackson’s two characters fight each other. It took months of careful editing to get it right and it looks great.

 I’m sitting here carefully considering my next words about Bad Taste. I want to say it’s as assured a first effort as Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Raimi’s The Evil Dead but I’m concerned it may sound like overkill. Comparing it favorably to two iconic independent horror flicks might be seen by some as pushing it. At the same time, it’s how I feel about Bad Taste. It’s hardly perfect but it’s still a damn sight better than the pablum that passes for horror these days. It isn’t afraid to turn stomachs with scenes like the one where an agent disguised as a man-alien drinks from a bowl of green vomit. It isn’t afraid to offend sensibilities with its jokey attitude towards cannibalism and mass murder. It isn’t afraid to live up to its title. On that basis alone, Jackson earns my respect as an artist. Yes, I suppose I am referring to Bad Taste as art which we all know is subjective.

 For those who like simpler wrap-ups, Bad Taste is cool!