Overview
A hapless bachelor faces the ultimate nightmare when his mother becomes a flesh-eating zombie.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- irreverent
- grotesque
- manic
- cult movie night
- late night horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an exceptionally inventive and entertaining cult splatter comedy, praising its humor, acting, technical craft, and extreme gore while acknowledging that its excess can repel or exhaust viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film turns zombie attacks, dismemberment, reanimation, and an infamous lawnmower massacre into escalating physical comedy.
Vera's transformation, the Sumatran Rat-Monkey, decomposing zombies, and the film's extreme blood effects are central to its identity.
Lionel remains dominated by his despotic mother Vera and must confront her undead form alongside the family's ugly secret.
The film builds its entertainment around puss, entrails, flesh-eating undead, attempted sexual violence, and increasingly extravagant gore.
Films like Braindead, and why
Re-Animator
shares extreme splatter, grotesque practical effects, and irreverent black comedy
Shaun of the Dead
shares zombie horror, outrageous gore, and buoyant comedic energy
The Return of the Living Dead
shares tastelessly comic body horror, escalating undead chaos, and cult-film sensibility
Evil Dead II
shares gonzo practical gore, horror-comedy tonal collision, and transgressive humor
Movie Details
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Release Date
- 1992-08-13
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (1926)
Cast
- Timothy Balme
- Diana Peñalver
- Elizabeth Moody
- Ian Watkin
- Brenda Kendall
- Stuart Devenie
- Jed Brophy
- Elizabeth Brimilcombe
- Stephen Papps
- Murray Keane
Common questions
- What is Braindead about?
- A timid Wellington bachelor battles his zombified mother and an expanding basement full of undead misfits in an extravagantly gory horror-comedy.
- What is Braindead like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Braindead as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Braindead violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Braindead as graphic.
- What did critics think of Braindead?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an exceptionally inventive and entertaining cult splatter comedy, praising its humor, acting, technical craft, and extreme gore while acknowledging that its excess can repel or exhaust viewers.
- Which films are like Braindead?
- Films with a similar feel include Re-Animator, Shaun of the Dead, The Return of the Living Dead, and Evil Dead II.
- How long is Braindead?
- Braindead runs 103 minutes.
