Braindead · reception & legacy
1992 · Peter Jackson
How Braindead has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
Too gory for many markets in 1992 — it was cut or banned in several countries and stayed a horror-circuit secret — but it's since been canonised as the pinnacle of splatter comedy and the go-to 'can you believe the LOTR guy made this?' watch.
What's debated
A persistent strain of horror fans argues early, feral Peter Jackson was the best Peter Jackson — and that he never topped this.
Its footprint
'I kick arse for the Lord!' is one of horror's most quoted lines, and the lawnmower finale — routinely called the goriest scene ever filmed — is endlessly clipped, ranked, and referenced in gore-hound circles.
Where it stands
A stone-cold cult classic and midnight-movie staple — among horror fans it's a 'you must have seen this,' usually mentioned in the same breath as Evil Dead II.