Braindead (1992) Director: Peter Jackson Starring: Timothy Balme, Elizabeth Moody, Diana Penalver, Ian Watkin
Two words: zombie monkey. Two more words: zombie baby. And two last ones: zombie vicar. This trio of characters tells you everything you need to know about Peter Jackson's Braindead: it's very, very gory, and very, very funny. Dragging the undead into genteel suburbs for humorous effect way before Shaun Of The Dead was conceived, the movie delights in breaking taboos and mixing up its big laughs with sick thrills. The sight of a man using a lawnmower to decimate multiple human bodies should be off-puttingly disgusting, but somehow Jackson manages to turn it into a comedy set-piece with the panache of a Marx Brothers skit. Bloody genius.
The Fly (1986) Director: David Cronenberg Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Two decades of reflection have rightfully identified a tragic love story beneath the chilling horror mechanics of David Cronenberg's masterful remake, but let's not forget the visceral power this movie exhibited upon its release. A 'dare you to see it' campaign, revolving around a resoundingly enticing tagline ("Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid"), even led to tabloid featurettes pronouncing The Fly the scariest movie ever made. And it sure delivered - in buckets. From the twitching inside-out baboon to the squirmy baby-maggot birth (and let's not forget the penis in a jar), The Fly revels in its certificate, and still offers a refreshing, if upsetting, antidote to scrubbed family sci-fi.
