Bad Taste
A resourceful New Zealand cult splatter comedy pits a determined investigator and his friends against aliens turning villagers into fast-food meat.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Graphic
- grotesque
- irreverent
- hyperactive
- late night viewing
- cult movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize the film's inventive low-budget practical effects and absurd gross-out energy, while finding its hyperactive execution uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Peter Jackson wrote, directed, and stars in a shoestring production made with friends and weekend shooting, using improvised effects and homemade masks.
The aliens harvest villagers for snack burgers, while chainsaw violence, grotesque effects, and cannibalistic imagery are framed as absurd jokes.
Derek and his friends investigate missing villagers before confronting big-headed aliens planning to process humans as fast food.
The film's alien masks, gore effects, overdubbing, and handmade production design foreground its low-budget construction.
Films like Bad Taste, and why
Evil Dead II
shares low budget splatter, absurd alien menace, grotesque practical effects, and anarchic comedy
Re-Animator
shares science fiction horror, outrageous gore, dark slapstick, and deliberately excessive practical effects
Slither
shares extraterrestrial invasion, gross-out humor, cult exploitation energy, and comedic violence
Movie Details
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Release Date
- 1987-12-11
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (951)
Cast
- Terry Potter
- Pete O'Herne
- Craig Smith
- Mike Minett
- Peter Jackson
- Doug Wren
- Peter Vere-Jones
- Ken Hammon
- Robin Griggs
- Michael Gooch
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- History Vault, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Bad Taste about?
- A resourceful New Zealand cult splatter comedy pits a determined investigator and his friends against aliens turning villagers into fast-food meat.
- What is Bad Taste like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bad Taste as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Bad Taste violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Bad Taste as graphic.
- What did critics think of Bad Taste?
- Critics broadly recognize the film's inventive low-budget practical effects and absurd gross-out energy, while finding its hyperactive execution uneven.
- Which films are like Bad Taste?
- Films with a similar feel include Evil Dead II, Re-Animator, and Slither.
- How long is Bad Taste?
- Bad Taste runs 91 minutes.
- Where can I watch Bad Taste?
- In United States, Bad Taste streams on History Vault, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel.
