Dead Alive

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Dead Alive

R

1993

1h 41m

Horror

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Overprotective mother Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody), spying on her grown son, Lionel (Timothy Balme), as he visits the zoo with the lovely Paquita (Diana Peñalver), is accidentally bitten by the fearsome Sumatran rat-monkey. When the bite turns his beloved mother into a zombie, Lionel tries to keep her locked safely in the basement, but her repeated escapes turn most of the neighbors into the walking dead, who then crash a high-society party thrown by Lionel's boorish Uncle Les (Ian Watkin).

Critics Consensus

The delightfully gonzo tale of a lovestruck teen and his zombified mother, Dead Alive is extremely gory and exceedingly good fun, thanks to Peter Jackson's affection for the tastelessly sublime.

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Scott Tobias

AV Club

Oct 5, 2019

[O]nce Lionel stops trying to cover up the zombie threat and starts fighting it, Dead Alive becomes a delirious showcase for molds, squibs, and other old-fashioned horror effects.

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Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Times

Oct 19, 2016

After you see it, you want to race out of the theater and recommend it to your sickest friends right away.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Oct 19, 2016

Ordinarily I don't care for this kind of thing at all, but something must be said for Jackson's endless reserves of giddy energy, which are clearly meant to be silly.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 27, 2024

3/4

A film so excessively gory that it makes the Pacino version of Scarface look like a vintage episode of Reading Rainbow by comparison.

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Kristy Strouse

Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying

Oct 26, 2022

Dead Alive has killer effects and eccentric hilarity, and it thrives through Jackson's passion. This is a must-see for any horror-comedy fan.

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Apr 6, 2022

4/5

Made with extraordinary, obvious joy by a filmmaking team besotted with the idea of making a movie.

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Alejandro E

@Alex970 Oct 16, 2026

A possessive, domineering woman is bitten by a strange creature and turns into a zombie; her timid son protects her rather than killing her… and all sorts of things happen. From humble beginnings, Peter Jackson goes further than his colleagues George A. Romero and Sam Raimi ever did, with a story in which the lines between the repulsive, the comical and the terrifying are blurred.

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Justin T

@RT08580778 Oct 8, 2026

Only a badass priest would say "I kick ass for the Lord". Lawnmowers are better at massacres than chainsaws. It’s so over the top with crazy camera angles and insane gore, it’s so much fun. There are so many excellent practical effects. The characters are so ridiculous, I love it. There are no boring moments, there are so many chaotic ones. It’s like a chaotic version of Psycho (1960). It also reminds me of Evil Dead II (1987) but slightly less memorable.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 2, 2026

Definitely Recommend It

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Christopher S

@MrRedband Jul 13, 2026

Incredibly underrated. This film still stands as one of if not the best zombie movie ever made. Its hilarious, well written, action packed and full of some of the best practical SFX ever. Not to mention the buckets and buckets of blood. This movie is incredible. Must watch.

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Aiden E

@RT13770629 Jul 4, 2026

this movie is so incredibly gory that it is a hilarious masterpiece

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Jasmine W

@jasniquejewels Jul 4, 2026

when there’s evil kick ass for the lord Lionel lowkey is braver than me fr, this film was so horror camp they don’t make em like this anymore

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Peter Jackson

Director

Timothy Balme

Lionel

Diana Peñalver

Paquita

Elizabeth Moody

Mum

Ian Watkin

Uncle Les

Brenda Kendall

Nurse McTavish

Dead Alive: Official Clip - Baby Face

1:24

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - I Kick Ass for the Lord

3:00

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - You Don't Scare Me, Mum

3:02

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - Party Crashers

2:51

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - You've Got the Bite

3:00

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - Rat Monkey Attacks

2:46

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - You're Not Well

2:45

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - Your Mother's Dead, Lionel

2:59

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Dead Alive: Official Clip - Hyperactive Baby

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Synopsis

Overprotective mother Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody), spying on her grown son, Lionel (Timothy Balme), as he visits the zoo with the lovely Paquita (Diana Peñalver), is accidentally bitten by the fearsome Sumatran rat-monkey. When the bite turns his beloved mother into a zombie, Lionel tries to keep her locked safely in the basement, but her repeated escapes turn most of the neighbors into the walking dead, who then crash a high-society party thrown by Lionel's boorish Uncle Les (Ian Watkin).

Director: Peter Jackson
Producer: Jim Booth
Screenwriter: Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Distributor: Trimark Pictures
Production Co: Avalon/NFU, WingNut Films, NN Film P, New Zealand Film Commission
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 1993, Original
Release Date (DVD): Sep 8, 1998
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.5K
Runtime: 1h 41m

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