Bad Taste (1989)

Terrific splatter-comedy from the now highly successful Peter Jackson. This one was originally a 15-minute short that expanded through the years into a full-length movie. Story wise, things are pretty simple folks. Aliens have landed in a small New Zealand town with one purpose in mind: to use the town's residents as the main food source for their intergalactic fast food chain! Apparently human flesh is the new taste sensation of the galaxy, and planet earth is ripe for the pickings. It's up to a crack anti-alien team consisting of Jackson and his buddies to stop them and thus save the planet from impending doom. For a super low budget flick ($400,000) this one has much going for it. The blending of comedy and gore comes off very nicely, and is loaded with tons of nifty sight gags. Think a sheep and a missile launcher and you'll get the picture. The gore is all rather cartoony looking (reminded me of a GWAR concert), and is made more to have fun with than to disgust. Tons of blood squibs, splattered aliens, and more show up every couple of minutes or so. Watch out for the "pass the bowl of green alien puke" scene, good fun there. The camera work and editing is also top notch; thanks to Mr. Jackson I'm sure. Reminded me a lot of Sam Raimi's stuff in "Evil Dead". Good fun and a great party flick.