Bad Taste

For other meanings, see Bad taste (disambiguation).

Bad Taste
Directed by	Peter Jackson
Written by	Ken Hammon Tony Hiles Peter Jackson
Produced by	Peter Jackson
Starring	Terry Potter Pete O'Herne Peter Jackson Mike Minett Craig Smith
Cinematography	Peter Jackson
Edited by	Jamie Selkirk Peter Jackson
Music by	Michelle Scullion
Production company	Wingnut Films
Distributed by	New Zealand Film Commission
Release date	December 1987 (New Zealand) June 1989 (USA)
Running time	91 mins
Country	New Zealand
Language	English
Budget	$255,000

Bad Taste is a 1987 cult science fiction comedy horror film produced, edited, cinematographied, written, directed and starring Peter Jackson, who also made all special effects on the film. Produced on a low budget, it is Jackson's first feature film. The film stars Jackson and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen. The plotline sees aliens invade the fictional New Zealand village of Kaihoro to harvest humans for their intergalactic fast food franchise, where they face off against a four-man paramilitary force, of which at least one member appears to have gone insane. It was a film that provided Peter Jackson with the necessary leverage needed to advance in the industry.

Plot

The Astro Investigation and Defence Service (AIDS) sends Derek (Peter Jackson), Frank, Ozzy, and Barry to investigate the disappearance of everyone in the town of Kaihoro, New Zealand. They find the town has been overrun by space aliens disguised as humans. Barry kills one of the aliens and is attacked by others. After Derek notifies Frank and Ozzy, he begins torturing Robert (also played by Jackson), an alien they caught earlier. Robert's screaming attracts a number of aliens in the area. Derek kills the would-be rescuers, but he is attacked by Robert and falls over a cliff, to his presumed death.

Meanwhile a charity collector named Giles is passing through Kaihoro. He is attacked by Robert, who has been eating the brains of the alien killed earlier by Barry. Giles escapes in his car and stops at a nearby house for help. Another alien answers the door and captures Giles. He later wakes up in a tub of water and is told he is about to be eaten. Derek also wakes up to find that he landed in a seagull's nest. He also finds that his brain is leaking out the back of his head, so he stuffs it back in and uses a hat to hold it in place.

That night Frank, Ozzy and Barry sneak into the aliens' house and find a room filled with bloody cardboard boxes. They kidnap an alien and Frank wears its shirt to infiltrate an alien meeting. He finds out that Kaihoro is being harvested for alien fast food. Robert vomits into a bowl, which the aliens dine on, including the disguised (and disgusted) Frank. He escapes and tells the team members of the plan. They sneak out to save Giles as the aliens sleep.

At sunrise they try to leave but are attacked by the aliens. Derek's hat is shot off, and he starts losing more of his brain, so he uses his belt as a headband. He grabs a chainsaw from the boot of his car and heads for the alien house. As the boys leave with Robert, the alien leader (Lord Crumb) and his followers transform into their true form and follow. Ozzy uses a rocket launcher to blow up Frank's car, which has been overrun by aliens.

Frank and Ozzy hunt for Lord Crumb and kill a lot of aliens along the way. meanwhile, Derek kills an alien with his chainsaw and replaces the missing parts of his brain with alien brain. An alien prepares to shoot Frank and Ozzy, but it is beheaded by Derek after he bursts through the wall behind it. Frank and Ozzy are shocked to see him alive.

As they run, Lord Crumb shoots Ozzy in the leg and Frank fires his rocket launcher at the leader, but it misses and almost hits Derek, finally taking out a sheep in a nearby meadow. Derek is knocked out by the alien leader and the house transforms into a giant space ship, which blasts off into space with Derek still aboard.

On board, Derek looks out the window to see that he is leaving Earth. Lord Crumb hears a strange, loud noise and investigates. He is killed by Derek, who ambushes him and cuts the alien in half with his chainsaw. Derek proclaims into his phone: "I'm born again! I'm coming to get you bastards!" He then puts on the alien leader's skin, laughing maniacally as he rockets towards the alien planet. On Earth, Frank, Ozzy, Barry, and Giles drive away into the sunset in Derek's car.

Production notes

Much of the film was shot in and around Peter Jackson's home town of Pukerua Bay, north of Wellington, New Zealand. Originally begun as a short film, Bad Taste was shot primarily on weekends over the course of four years, at a total cost of around $25,000. Toward the end of the shoot the New Zealand Film Commission invested around NZ$235,000 into the film to ensure its completion. Heavily influenced by special effects pioneer Tom Savini, Peter Jackson incorporated camera tricks and many absurdly gory special effects.

Jackson himself plays at least two acting roles, and his friends and workmates play most of the rest. In one scene halfway down a cliff, careful editing, utilising shots taken months apart, makes it possible for one character played by Jackson to fight another (Robert has a beard, Derek does not).

Bad Taste begins Jackson's penchant for using the Morris Minor in his films - Giles drives a Morris Minor. Subsequently, every car in Meet The Feebles is a Morris Minor (including a limousine) and several are seen in Braindead.

The weapons used in the movie were made using aluminium tubing and the actors had to shake them to simulate the recoil. A flash and sound effect was added later.

All the masks in the film were baked in Peter Jackson's mother's oven.

Kaihoro, the name of the town whose inhabitants are butchered, is a Māori word coined by Jackson and his crew early in the shooting of the film. It has two parts - "kai" which means food and "horo" which means town or village. Foodtown is also the name of a New Zealand chain of grocery stores. Kai horo in Te Reo Maori means 'greedy' - but is made up of the words Kai (food) and horo (quickly) which, loosely translated, could be said to mean 'fast food', a play on the fate of the villagers.

The sheep in the film was to have played a larger role as a running gag, being surprisingly aggressive and chasing "The Boys" at various points throughout. This was reduced to the single sheep/rocket launcher moment of the final film.

There are no female cast members.

Main cast

• Terry Potter - Ozzy/3rd Class Alien
• Pete O'Herne - Barry/3rd Class Alien
• Craig Smith - Giles/3rd Class Alien
• Mike Minett - Frank/3rd Class Alien
• Peter Jackson - Derek/Robert
• Doug Wren - Lord Crumb
• Dean Lawrie - Lord Crumb SPFX Double/3rd Class Alien
• Peter Vere-Jones - Lord Crumb's Voice

Release and legacy

The film secured international distribution after playing at the Cannes Film Festival.

The banning of an already cut version of Bad Taste in Queensland, Australia, three weeks into its run, led to the firing and dissolution of the Queensland Film Board of Review in 1990. The film had to be trimmed for release in Australia at the time, as the OFLC felt the gore too excessive. The uncut version was released by Universal Home Entertainment on DVD in 2005.

Apart from the uncut version, there is a heavily cut FSK 18-rated and an even more censored FSK 12-rated version in Germany available on DVD. The earlier is cut by appr. 6 minutes, the latter by appr. 10 minutes.

In Germany, the movie was released theatrically in 2000, thirteen years after its making. The German posters used the advertising tagline "From the director of the Lord of the Rings".

2001 Armageddon Convention

On September 15, 2001, the Michael Fowler Center in Wellington, New Zealand hosted Armageddon. One of the main features for the 2001 convention was the cast of Bad Taste attending for a quick Q&A on the main stage, and a screening of the film.

The cast members that attended were; Craig Smith (Giles), Pete O'Herne (Barry), Mike Minett (Frank), Terry Potter (Ozzy), Ken Hammon (Writer, 3rd Class Alien) and Dean Lawrie (Lord Crumb SPFX Double, 3rd Class Alien).

Sequel plans

The first official biography on Jackson (Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey by Brian Sibley), reveals that in 1993, after Jackson's third film, Braindead, he approached the New Zealand Film Commission with plans to make Bad Taste 2 and 3 back-to-back for $7 million.

In Bad Taste 2, the heroes of the first film would travel to an alien planet to save alien hunter Derek, played by Jackson. In Bad Taste 3 the aliens plan to enact revenge on Wellington with "a spectacular aerial battle over the city with dozens of flying houses, buzzy bees and Santa Claus".

Peter Jackson told a New Zealand newspaper The Dominion Post he is still interested in making a sequel of the movie.

Influence on pop culture

• The Brazilian grindcore band Flesh Grinder made a concept album of the movie called Crumb's Crunchy Delights Organization.
• Some dialogue of the Spanish translation of the film is featured on the famous demos "46 Cabezas Aplastadas Por Un Yunque Oxidado" and "Realmente Disfruto Comiendo Cadáveres" of the Spanish grindcore/death metal band Machetazo.
• Segments of the film were also featured in Canadian band Skinny Puppy's music video for Worlock.
• The final song on Australian grindcore/stoner rock band Blood Duster's debut album Yeest is titled "Derek" and features a sample of dialogue from the film in the penultimate "Intro" track.
• In English rapper Plan B's song 'Rakin' The Dead' he quotes "I haven't felt this sick since I saw that film 'Bad Taste'".
• The final version of technical death metal band Lethargy's song "Humor Me" begins with a sample of dialogue from the film.
• The Finnish stoner metal band Kaihoro borrowed their name from the fictional town.

External links

• Bad Taste at IMDb
• Bad Taste at AllMovie
• Bad Taste at Curlie
• Big appetite for Bad Taste
• Bad Taste 2 and 3?