Tag Archives: Lord of the Rings

Movie Review: Bad Taste (1987)

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Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Pete O’Herne, Terry Potter, Mike Minett, Craig Smith, Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson is very well known amongst all movie fans, either through his version of King Kong (2005) or especially The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. But most horror fans know Jackson from decades before, when he had made some over-the-top gory pictures that were just insane. Either with aliens invading a small town in New Zealand, a twisted version of what the Muppets could have been like had they actually been real, or one of the bloodiest and goriest zombie movies ever committed to film. Not to diminish any of those other titles, but THAT is why horror fans know Mr. Jackson.

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Ian Holm – Rest in Peace

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Ian HolmYesterday, we lost a incredible talent in the movie world, that of Ian Holm. He passed away at the age of 88, from complications of Parkinson’s. He appeared in so many role over the years, in all genres, that his was a face and name that as soon as you knew he was in the film, you were going to see something special. He could project more in a look than some actors could do in a 10-minute monologue! His genre appearances in films like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) and David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ (1999) showed his range. In fact, in 1968, on a TV series called Mystery and Imagination, he played both the creator and creature in an adaptation of Frankenstein. Of course, how can anyone forget his portrayal of Bilbo in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy?

But for most of us old horror fans, it was his role as the android Ash in Ridley Scott’s Alien when we became aware of this actor and his incredible talent. When his character goes off the deep end, I can remember thinking “what the hell is going on?” 

A great talent like this will be missed. But as I always say, at least those wonderful characters and performances have been captured in time that we can revisit time and time again. Rest in peace, Sir Ian. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Peter Jackson – The Naughty Years in 4K!

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Bad Tastse

Over a decade before Peter Jackson would be known across the world of the director that brought Tolkien’s famous books to the big screen, he was very well known to us horror fans for his early films. I can still remember reading about this wacky and gory new film from some chap down in New Zealand who made an alien invasion film called Bad Taste (1987), which not only had Jackson directing, but starring in the film in two main roles, no less! His next feature was Meet the Feebles (1989), which was a twisted take-off of the Muppet Show, but if their world was filled with sex, violence, drugs, and everything else that made the world go round! Then of course, his next feature, Braindead (1992), also known as Dead Alive, became probably the goriest and bloodiest zombie film ever made. And all blood and guts aside, it was also a damn good movie! His fourth feature, Heavenly Creatures (1994) was a huge departure from those first three, but still a film to grab your attention, not by comedy and gore, but by an entrancing tale of murder. I can still remember when Jackson won the Oscar for the last Lord of the Rings feature, and during his acceptance speech, mentions Bad Taste and Feebles. I can only imagine some critic who didn’t know Jackson’s earlier work before the Rings trilogy and would seek them out, only to probably be shocked and appalled at them!

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