Four guys from the New Zealand National Air and Space Defense League arrive in a small fishing village to battle aliens who have slaughtered the townspeople to harvest meat for a new intergalactic fast-food chain. The four aren’t exactly sane themselves—and they seem to thoroughly enjoy the carnage.
As you might guess, this is a film packed with dark humour. Intestines and brains fly in all directions, so you’ll need a taste for the extreme to enjoy it. If not, you’ll likely just feel nauseated. Personally, the film hits the mark for me—there are so many outrageous, unforgettable scenes that I laugh just thinking about them. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say the moments involving a bit of exposed brain are among the wildest I’ve ever seen.
The man behind it all is Peter Jackson. Bad Taste is his debut film, and it reportedly took him four years to complete. The result is astonishing. For a low-budget project made with friends as the cast and crew, it looks incredible. The camerawork, frantic pacing, and surprisingly effective practical effects are all impressively executed. It’s no wonder Jackson would go on to become one of the world’s most acclaimed directors with The Lord of the Rings.
Jackson doesn’t just direct—he also stars as the character Derek and handled all the gory effects himself. His main inspiration for the film was George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978), and if you’re into splatter films with absurd humour, Bad Taste is essential viewing. It has everything a gore fan could want. That said, it’s a true ultra-low-budget production, and not everything is polished—but the scrappy charm is exactly what makes it such a cult classic.
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