Dead Alive (1992)

Dead Alive (1992)

Author: Film Trace April 21, 2022 Duration: 1:02:21

The fourth film in our Self-Aware Horror cycle is 1992's gonzo horror splatterfest Dead Alive aka Braindead

Dead Alive is a shocking film for a variety of reasons, but perhaps most astonishing is that it came from the same man who helped create the most recognized and beloved films of the last 20 years. Peter Jackson became famous for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film series. They exist alongside the Star Wars and MCU films as some of the most popular global cinema ever made. But Jackson started out where most young aspiring filmmakers do, in the free-for-all low-budget haven of horror. It was there that Jackson developed as a great filmmaker. Dead Alive was his first masterpiece, a zombie comedy masquerading as a bizarre period piece that devoured all notions of good taste with its insatiable appetite for blood, guts, and pus. Beautifully deranged.

Special Guest: Brian Eggert, RT approved film critic of Deep Focus Review 

For our chaser film, we had no other choice than Evil Dead 2 (1987). Two of the best horror comedies ever made, back to back. We talk at length about how comedy and horror overlap, and how they work together to tickle and titillate a piquing audience.


Ever find yourself falling down an internet rabbit hole after the credits roll, clicking from a film’s trivia page to the director’s biography and then to some obscure piece of production history? That’s the exact feeling Film Trace aims to capture and expand upon in audio form. This isn't just another review show. Instead, each episode is a deep, meticulously researched excavation of a single movie’s entire journey. We start with the initial spark of an idea-the script found in a drawer, the chance meeting that got it greenlit-and follow every twist and turn through casting, chaotic production, and post-production. The story continues to the film’s release, its critical and cultural reception, and what legacy it holds now. Think of it as a comprehensive, narrative-driven biography of a film, built on primary sources and genuine curiosity. The hosts at Film Trace use their collective nerd superpowers to do all that obsessive digging for you, weaving together context, history, and behind-the-scenes details into a compelling story about how art gets made. You’ll come away from each installment of this podcast not just with an opinion on a movie, but with a real understanding of its place in the wider world of TV and film. It’s for anyone who believes the story off-screen is just as fascinating as the one projected on it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 131

Film Trace
Podcast Episodes
Scream (2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:21
We are back! We are doing something different this season of Film Trace. Instead of covering new and old films at random, we are choosing a theme for each group of episodes. Our first theme is Self-Aware Horror. First up…
The French Dispatch (2021) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:32
A Wes Anderson double-header to close out Season 5 of Film Trace. Chris and I return to our roots as teenage film nerds. Wes Anderson was our first love as budding cinephiles, and despite the tumultuous last 20 years (Da…
The Cable Guy (1996) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:28
At the height of Jim Carrey's fame in the mid 1990s, this bizarre pitch-black comedy was released as a summer blockbuster. The Cable Guy is a historical and creative anomaly, especially for millenials old enough to have…
We Need to Do Something (2021) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:26
As the box office finally begins to be resuscitated, albeit largely with the help of the comic book movie crowd, straight-to-streaming films now seem to either cater to cinematic schlock addicts or art film dorks, and th…
Children of Men (2006) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:56
Let's get bummed. Back in 2006, the USA was deep in the 2nd term of George Bush II, aka the idiot king, and his 2nd Iraq war was raging. As a leftist, it felt like a total nightmare, but Alfonso Cuarón heard our cries. H…
Home Sweet Home Alone (2021) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:00
Is nostalgia poison? It felt nearly impossible to avoid cynicism while watching this new Home Alone film, the 6th film in the series unceremoniously shipped off to Disney Plus. The critical response has been contemptuous…
Body Heat (1981) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:06
Put on your finest linen sports coat and/or effortless flowy sundress. Pack a handkerchief as well. This week we tackle the moistest noir seared onto film, 1981's Body Heat. We take exotic thrillers for granted now, but…
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:48
When Paranormal Activity came out in 2007, old school ads showing actual audience members jumping in their seats in night-vision green theaters gave the whole thing a real gimmick feel. The Blair Witch Project wasn't the…
Young Adult (2011) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:36
Juno landed like an atom bomb. Diablo Cody's zeitgeist script mixed with the chemistry of Elliot Page and Micheal Cera became a cultural phenomenon in the winter of 2007-8. Millennial hipsters and their boomer parents, a…
Halloween Kills (2021) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:26
Where did it all go wrong? The Halloween films have been an uneven mess since John Carpenter forsook his creation back in the 1980s. Much like the Nightmare on Elm Street series, nothing quite touches the original. Hallo…