Meet the Makers: Early Films of Peter Jackson

[Jackson was born on 31 October 1961 in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand, an only child to Bill and Joan Jackson, both of whom were immigrants from England. As a child, Jackson was a film fan, growing up on Ray Harryhausen films as well as Thunderbirds and using his parents’ Super 8 cine-camera. Citing King Kong as his favourite film at age 9, he attempted to remake it with his own stop-motion models.Jackson started his career in film as a fanatical hobbyist, creating small films with simple technical means and with the help of his friends. He had no formal training in film-making, and was turned down for a job with the National Film Unit, the government body which produced publicity and tourist films about New Zealand.] — from Wikipedia

Bad Taste (1987) was director Peter Jackson’s first feature length film and would mark his first of three extremely ultra-extreme movies of a style few have truly emulated since. The story begins as Derek, played by Peter Jackson himself, realizes that people are disappearing from his small town and decides to investigate. He discovers that hostile aliens have invaded and are replacing the population as they hunt down human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food restaurant chain. It is up to Derek, armed with his chainsaw, to save his town and the world. WARNING! This movie is classic camp fun like no other, but beware: it is not for the faint of heart or stomach, or the easily offended. Actually, go ahead and apply this warning to all three movies I am featuring in this post.

Meet the Feebles (1989), Jackson’s second film, is most easily described as The Muppets blended generously with South Park-style humor, equal parts sexploitation and ultra-violence, seedy film noir and cheesy soap opera. Yes, I said Muppets. This movie was so controversial it was actually banned in several countries and was reluctantly released on DVD in the United States.The story follows Heidi the hippo and her fellow actors and stagehands through the trials and tribulations of making their Meet the Feebles Variety Hour show. During the production, each character must deal with their own dilemmas, including: extortion, robbery, drug abuse, adultery, murder and even AIDS. While all of this wholesome fun illuminates the screen, the relationship of Heidi and her co-star is threatened by Trevor the Rat, who wishes to exploit her for his own profit.

Dead Alive (1992), also well-known as Brain Dead, was Peter Jackson’s third film and marked a return to the ultraviolet, but this time combined two very different elements to accomplish something of a new genre. Jackson wasn’t the first to infuse horror and comedy, but he was the first to do so on such a level that many viewers would find themselves laughing hysterically and feeling nauseous simultaneously. Jackson’s gory special effects and creatively humorous approach to the zombie movie truly set fire to a new genre of film that is still running strong.The story follows Lionel, a pathetic man who begrudgingly has the duty of caring for his elderly mother. Lionel falls in love with a local girl, but his mother ends up bitten by an escaped monkey, mysteriously turning her into a zombie. Lionel attempts to control the situation, but it soon spirals out of control and the body count begins to rise.