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Story: Feature film

Braindead, 1992

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Zombie films had not yet gone mainstream when Peter Jackson made his third feature, Braindead(which was released in the United States as Dead alive)His careful evocation of 1950s New Zealand called on the talents of the team who would later become special-effects company Weta Workshop. Broadcaster Bill Ralston practically steals the show as an actor trying to make a version of King Kong, clearly another of the director's obsessions – Jackson went on to remake King Kong  in 2005.

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NZ On Screen

Reference: Braindead. Producer, Jim Booth; writer, Peter Jackson. Wellington: WingNut Films, 1992.

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How to cite this page

Helen Martin, Feature film – The 1990s: deregulation, accolades and a maturing industry, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/42488/braindead-1992 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Helen Martin, published 9 September 2013, reviewed and revised 21 May 2024 with assistance from Emma-Jean Kelly.