Bad Taste (1987)
By: Craig Villinger on March 11, 2002. 
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| Anchor Bay (USA). Region 1, NTSC. 1.66:1 (16:9 enhnaced). English 2.0, English DD 5.1, English DTS 6.1. 91 Minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Pete O'Herne, Mike Minett, Terry Potter, Peter Jackson, Doug Wren
Screenplay: Peter Jackson, Ken Hammon, Tony Hiles
Country: New Zealand |
Members of the Astro Investigation and Defence
Service are sent to the small kiwi town of Kaihoro
to investigate reports of "Extra Terrestrial
Activity". They discover that the town is
completely deserted, and it isn't long before
the shocking truth is revealed: New Zealand has
been invaded by evil aliens intent on turning
human beings into an intergalactic fast food feast,
and the only thing standing in their way are the
boys from A.I.D.S.
Director Peter Jackson's debut feature is one
of the great triumphs of "do it yourself"
filmmaking. Shot on weekends over a period of
four years with the directors drinking buddies
in the starring roles, the end result looks much
better than one would expect from such a low budget
exercise. The film was originally financed out
of Jackson's own pocket, and it was not until
the latter stages of the production that he received
some additional finances from the New Zealand
film commission, who were suitably impressed with
what they had seen.
If you are looking for top-notch acting performances,
an intricately detailed storyline and an overall
sense of higher enlightenment, then you may be
best served by staying away from this one. If
however you are looking for ninety minutes of
entertainment with no strings attached, this may
very well be the film for you. Jackson combines
gross-out gore, over-the-top action sequences
and slapstick humour to create one of the most
interesting horror comedies you are likely to
see. Although the director will ultimately be
remembered by film fans for his big budget Hollywood
efforts like The Lord of the Rings, this small
scale flick will always hold a special place in
the hearts of horror film fans around the world. |
| Video |
| The film is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio
and is enhanced for 16x9 television sets. For something
that was shot on 16mm film, the transfer looks fantastic.
The image appears grainy at times and occasionally
lacks detail, but this is no doubt due to the original
source material and in no fault of Anchor Bay's.
It's worth noting (for the purists) that Bad
Taste was orignally shot in a 4:3 aspect
ratio, meaning that this 1.66:1 transfer from Anchor
Bay is missing a minor amount of picture information
from the top and bottom of the screen. Personally,
this doesn't bother me any, and I found that the
widescreen framing helped to add a more "cinematic"
touch to the film. Still, there are some people
that would be annoyed by the cropping of the picture,
and rightly so I suppose. |
| Audio |
| Anchor Bay have pulled out all the stops in the
audio department. As well as the standard 2.0 soundtrack,
we are treated to a THX mastered 5.1 channel soundtrack
and a DTS-ES 6.1 track. One could almost say that
Anchor Bay have gone a little too far with the audio
options for such a low budget film. Obviously the
original audio track that Anchor Bay had to work
with was nothing special, but they have done a great
job in improving it. |
| Extra Features |
| Bad Taste is available in two versions. The single
disc version features the films trailer and a Peter
Jackson biography. The special edition version features
a second disc containing a 25 minute documentary
on the making of the film. |
| The Verdict |
| Bad Taste is a thoroughly enjoyable
film. Director Peter Jackson makes up for his lack
of budget with a wealth of imagination, and the
films frequent moments of gore and gross humour
ensure that it lives up to it's title. Anchor Bay
have done a great job of bringing this movie to
DVD, although one wonders if it is worth paying
almost twice the price for the special edition release
which features only a short documentary and different
packaging. Regardless of which version you choose,
you shouldn't be disappointed with the quality of
this fantastic release. |
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