Film

Bad Taste

Name: Bad Taste
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction
Released: 1987
Cast: Terry Potter, Pete O'Herne, Craig Smith, Mike Minett, Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson's debut is a gloriously disgusting sci-fi comedy about aliens farming humans for intergalactic fast food. Shot on a shoestring in rural New Zealand with practical effects that prioritize splatter over polish, it's gleefully committed to its premise and its gore. For anyone who loves horror that doesn't take itself seriously and comedy that's willing to get genuinely gruesome.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you revel in gleefully disgusting splatter where the gore is so excessive it turns into slapstick, and you're happy to forgive a scrappy homemade look for sheer inventive nerve.

Skip it if you want slick production or real suspense, since the budget shows in nearly every frame and the splatter comes so often it can feel like wallpaper.

What it asks of you: It runs about ninety minutes and sprints from one set piece to the next, so you need to meet its loud, cheerfully rough energy on its own terms.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Evil Dead II1987

Sam Raimi's horror-comedy masterclass: same year, same budget constraints, same commitment to making you laugh while covering the screen in blood. It's the gold standard Bad Taste reaches for.

But The slapstick and possession horror might feel dated if you're coming to it fresh, and the tonal whiplash takes adjustment.

Tremors1990

Giant worm monsters terrorize a small town; Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward turn survival into comedy gold. It has Bad Taste's playfulness with genre and its faith that practical creatures beat CGI.

But It's considerably more polished and mainstream, so you might miss the grimy punk energy of Jackson's film.

Dead Poets Society1989

A teenager uncovers a grotesque conspiracy among the wealthy elite. Wildly inventive body horror played with darkly funny earnestness and practical effects that are genuinely disturbing.

But The third act descends into surreal grotesquerie that loses narrative coherence—brilliant if you're with it, exhausting if you're not.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bad Taste

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom1976

Both use extreme images of consumption and bodily horror as their central metaphor; both are formally inventive in service of genuine ideas rather than just shock value.

Pasolini's final film uses exploitation aesthetics and extreme content to build something genuinely transgressive about power, consumption, and society. It's formally brilliant and morally serious. Both films use transgression as their engine, but where Jackson plays with genre, Pasolini weaponizes it.

But It's genuinely unwatchable for most viewers—not fun, not entertaining, designed to be difficult. It's three hours of escalating atrocity. You need to know what you're signing up for.

The Return of the Living Dead1985

Punk rockers vs. zombies in a film that treats comedy and horror as the same language. It's junky, energetic, and funny without winking at you.

But The 80s aesthetic is very present; if that's a barrier for you, nothing here will change your mind.

Puppetmaster1989

Creepy dolls, cheesy premise, committed practical effects and creature design. Low-budget horror that knows exactly what it is and has genuine craft despite (because of) the constraints.

But It's slower and more atmospheric than Bad Taste, and the acting is considerably more wooden.

Re-Animator1985

Obsessed scientist reanimates corpses; it's grotesque, hilarious, and deeply wrong in ways that feel transgressive. The practical gore is inventive and the humor never undercuts the horror.

But It's considerably more polished than Bad Taste, which might make it feel less dangerous.

Night of the Comet1984

A comet wipes out most of humanity; survivors navigate a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles with genre smarts and genuine warmth. It's scrappy sci-fi comedy that trusts its premise.

But The pacing is uneven and the plot meanders; it's a cult film for good reason, not a crowd-pleaser.

The Hidden1987

A parasitic alien inhabits human bodies; it's a visceral action-horror hybrid with genuine thrills and dark humor. Jackson's exact contemporary and equally committed to its B-movie premise.

But Kyle MacLachlan is stiff and the middle section drags; it doesn't have Bad Taste's anarchic energy.

Eating Raoul1982

A conservative couple kills swingers and sells the bodies to a cannibal restaurant. It's a pitch-black satire with real stakes and genuine comedy from genuine conflict.

But It's slower, more satirical than visceral, and the humor is situational rather than shock-based—a different beast entirely.

The Happiness of the Katakuris2002

Both films treat genre as play rather than gospel; both are willing to pivot tonally in a single scene; both have genuine pathos underneath the weirdness.

Takashi Miike's musical horror-comedy about a family inn plagued by guest deaths. It's bizarre, gorgeous, genuinely moving, and wildly genre-fluid—musicals become horror becomes romance becomes tragedy. Bad Taste as written by someone who loves Douglas Sirk.

But If you can't hold contradictory tones in your head—or if sudden musical numbers feel gimmicky rather than earned—this will lose you immediately.

Come and See1985

Both films use extreme imagery of human consumption and destruction as their central image; both emerged from countries with no studio oversight; both are formally daring in service of an idea that matters to their makers.

Soviet WWII film following a boy-soldier through escalating atrocity. It's visually stunning, historically crucial, and emotionally devastating. It proves that extreme content can be used for something beyond entertainment—to make trauma visible.

But It is deeply, seriously hard to watch. Not fun, not cathartic, designed to scar. It's the inverse of Bad Taste's comic nihilism—same content, utterly opposite register.