Bad Taste

"Watch out Aliens... here comes Derek!"

1987 1h 31m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

73%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 953🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes●52Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 50,526

ActionComedyHorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A team from the intergalactic fast food chain Crumb's Crunchy Delights descends on Earth, planning to make human flesh the newest taste sensation. After they wipe out the New Zealand town Kaihoro, the country’s Astro-Investigation and Defense Service (AIaDS) is called in to deal with the problem. Things are complicated due to Giles, an aid worker who comes to Kaihoro the same day to collect change from the residents. He is captured by the aliens, and AIaDS stages a rescue mission that quickly becomes an all-out assault on the aliens’ headquarters.

“Watch out Aliens... here comes Derek!”

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Cast

Terry Potter
Ozzy / 3rd Class Alien
Pete O'Herne
Barry / 3rd Class Alien
Craig Smith
Giles / 3rd Class Alien
Mike Minett
Frank / 3rd Class Alien
Peter Jackson
Derek / Robert
Doug Wren
Alien Leader
Peter Vere-Jones
Alien Leader (voice)
Ken Hammon
3rd Class Alien

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Peter Jackson
Languages: English
Countries: New Zealand

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Jackson, shot by Peter Jackson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michelle Scullion. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jamie Selkirk shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Terry Potter and Pete O'Herne and Craig Smith carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Watch out Aliens... here comes Derek!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0092610 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Jackson directs. Peter Jackson behind the camera. Michelle Scullion scores. Jamie Selkirk cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in New Zealand. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Peter Jackson, shot by Peter Jackson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Michelle Scullion. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jamie Selkirk shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Terry Potter and Pete O'Herne and Craig Smith carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Watch out Aliens... here comes Derek!".
8IMDB entry: tt0092610 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Jackson
Original score: Michelle Scullion
Editing: Jamie Selkirk
Makeup / hair: Peter Jackson
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Bad Taste (1987)
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 52/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 50,526 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

1 win & 1 nomination total

Also by

Peter Jackson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

furious_iz2018-01-03
★ 6/10
So it begins... Made on a shoestring budget, starring friends and shooting on the weekends, this is how NZ's blockbuster director Peter Jackson got his start. Gross, silly, with terrible masks and effects, weird acting and bad overdubbing, this film is an utter classic in DIY splatter. The sheer passion and ingenuity oozes from every frame. Hasn't dated too well, but it still has serious charm, and I am pleased to have grown up watching it. For fans of late night B films
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-10-06
★ 1/10
The humble (and repulsive) beginnings of Peter Jackson's career. This film fell into oblivion a long time ago, and it's good to let it be where it is: it has no truly notable qualities and doesn't deserve a recap at a time when there are so many much better films to see. In fact, it's hard to think that the great director Peter Jackson, who is so widely respected today, started out with such bad work. Apparently, Jackson was enchanted by the cheap horror of the 80s and the bad taste comedies that also populated this decade, where it seems that tastes were all changed. The film is completely amateurish and this can be seen in the terrible cinematography full of grain and the clumsy and disconnected editing. There are some effects, but almost everything is cheap and sounds plastic, fake and ugly. Still, considering the modest budget and lack of quality resources, I think Jackson did a decent job. Perhaps the director himself, however, would prefer not to be remembered for this film! The story couldn't be more oily and greasy: we have an alien invasion of a small rural community, in which the aliens are simply looking for a good source of protein, which is obviously us, humans. There is a lot of gore and blood and human flesh everywhere, it is a film where some stomachs may feel upset, and with good reason. It's not a horror film, it's a comedy with a lot of action and scenes that are disgusting and make us lose the desire to eat popcorn or even question the intelligence of some characters, who seem to act randomly instead of using their heads.