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| Region 4, PAL. 1.77:1 (16:9 enhanced). English DD 5.1, English DD 2.0. Universal (Australia). 91 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Terry Potter,
Pete O'Herne, Craig Smith, Mike Minett, Peter
Jackson, Doug Wren
Screenplay: Peter Jackson,
Ken Hammon, Tony Hiles
Country: New Zealand |
The bastards have landed! Peter Jackson's superlative
splatter comedy finally emerges unscathed in Australia
after previously suffering over a minute of cuts
thanks to those humourless chaps from the Office
of Film and Literature Classification, and with
a wealth of extra features to boot!
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 is not 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.
Shot on weekends over a period of four years
with a script that made itself up as it went along
and the directors co-workers and school friends
in the starring roles, Academy Award winner Peter
Jackson's debut feature is one of the great triumphs
of "do it yourself" filmmaking. Financing
originally came out of Jackson's own pocket, and
it was not until the latter stages of the production
that he received some additional funding from
the New Zealand film commission, and the end result
looks far more professional than one would expect
from such a low budget exercise.
If you are looking for top-notch acting performances,
an intricately detailed storyline and an overall
sense of higher enlightenment, then you might
want to stay 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 may not have had much
cash to work with but he makes up for it with
a wealth of imagination and talent, combining
gross-out gore, over-the-top action sequences,
inventive camera trickery, slapstick humour, and
surprisingly competent visual effects to create
one of the most interesting horror comedies you
are likely to see. Vomit drinking, exploding sheep,
hideous displays of alien arse-cheek – this
film certainly lives up to its title, and Jackson
is thankfully not afraid to take a few chances
in the comedy department to keep us entertained.
Mainstream film fans will ultimately remember
Peter Jackson for his big budget Hollywood efforts
like The Lord of the Rings, but
you can store those films towards the back of
your shelf for all I care because this small-scale
flick will always hold a special place in my splatter
loving heart. No doubt inspired by the success
of his Hobbit-ridden trilogy Jackson's debut
feature has finally received a respectable release
in Australia, so with a bit of luck it will only
be only a matter of time before his other pre-Hollywood
jaunts such as Braindead receive
the deluxe digital treatment as well. I wait patiently… |
| Video |
| Considering the bargain basement camera equipment
used for the production Bad Taste scrubs up quite well on DVD. Minor print damage
and traces of film grain are noticeable from time
to time, but the image is surprisingly sharp and
colours are perfectly acceptable. |
| Audio |
| Bad Taste comes with a remixed
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack as well as the original
2.0 mono track, however the 5.1 channel remix is
the clear winner. The rear channels come in to play
quite regularly, particularly during the films numerous
action sequences, and dialogue is crisp and clear
at all times. |
| Extra Features |
| Kicking off this "Collectors Edition"
release is an audio commentary track from actors
Craig Smith, Mike Minett, Pete O'Herne, and
Terry Potter. The discussion is generally quite
animated with many amusing anecdotes and much praise
for the noticeably absent PJ, as well as the occasional
piss-take. You won't learn too much about
the technical side of the production but the constant
laughter and tomfoolery from "The Boys"
makes this an interesting talk-through from start
to finish. This is followed by Good Taste
Made Bad Taste - a fascinating twenty three
minute documentary featuring a young (and slim)
Jackson showing us some of the props and production
equipment used during filming, as well as interviews
with his parents (whose oven was used to bake most
of the films latex masks) along with cast and crew
members, and several clips from some of PJ's
earlier short films. Next up is a twenty eight minute
slide show of behind-the-scenes stills with narration
from Jackson originally recorded in 1990; a Kiwi
news clip from 2002 featuring cast members heaping
more praise on Jackson, a photo gallery containing
on set stills and poster/promo artwork, and last
but not least the original Bad Taste trailer. |
| The Verdict |
Compared with the Anchor Bay USA release we gain
an audio commentary, slide show, interviews, TV
news clip, and photo gallery but miss out on an
outdated Peter Jackson text biography and DTS sound.
We aren't missing much however as the difference
between the DTS and our own 5.1 track is negligible.
Unless someone manages to round up Jackson himself
for a commentary this Region 4 release from Universal
should be the definitive version of Bad
Taste on DVD, and gets my highest possible
recommendation.
Got something else to say? Spill your guts on the
Digital Retribution Message Forum! |
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