Dead Alive
Speaking of expert directors and their early efforts (a recurring theme thus far), this shoestring budget gore-fest shows that even the most un-Oscar worthy film can be made by a very Oscar-worthy director. In this case, the man behind the lens was Peter Jackson. Will the Academy ever give an award to a movie like this? Let's imagine how they would intellectualize some of its scenes, were they so inclined: • A priest busts out karate moves on the undead. Academy interpretation: Truly, the deviant life of the clergy is not without its merits. In this case, without the typical restrictions of secular life, individuals have the time to think of the lord and learn Tae Kwon Do. • An elderly woman eats her own ear. Academy interpretation: A symbolic act, Jackson shows how we as society turn a deaf ear to the elderly. • Our hero kills undead with a lawnmower, coating himself in blood. Academy interpretation: A smart metaphor for the blood we will cover ourselves in when we turn our tools of destruction (lawnmowers) on the environment (I realize zombies don't really parallel the environment here, but, well, it's a metaphor. Gimme some slack.)
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