Peter Jackson's 1992 cult classic Braindead aka Dead Alive rumored 4K & Bluray in 2024

Peter Jackson is well known for his outstanding adaptations of The Lord of Rings and The Hobbit, but years before those epic film trilogies, Jackson directed a much different film: the zombie comedy splatter film Braindead, known as Dead Alive in North America. Rumor has it the film will be released in 4k UHD.

According to President of Physical Media, a trusted source, Dead Alive will be released on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray in 2024.

Released as Braindead in New Zealand, Dead Alive required a name change for the North American release as another project had rights to that title. The film was released in two versions, a 97-minute unrated cut and an R-rated 85-minute cut, which deleted many of the gory scenes.

The film was written by Jackson, Stephen Sinclair, and Fran Walsh, from an original story by Sinclair, with Jim Booth producing. In contrast to the budgets of LOTR ($280+ million) and The Hobbit ($700+ million), Jackson's first four films were made on limited budgets; for example, Dead Alive only cost $3 million to make.

The story follows Lionel Cosgrove who lives in New Zealand in a Victoria mansion with his overbearing mother, Vera. While visiting the Wellington Zoo, Vera is bitten by a hybrid rat-monkey creature which gradually transforms her into a zombie. She then embarks on a feeding frenzy that infects many of the residents of their town.

The movie stars Timothy Balme as Lionel, Elizabeth Moody as his mother, Vera, and Diana Peñalver as his love interest, Paquita María Sánchez. It also stars Ian Watkin, Brenda Kendell, Stuart Devenie, Stephen Pepps, Jed Bropy, and more.

The official date of the 4K UHD and Blu-ray of Dead Alive has yet to be announced. In the meantime, you can rent or purchase the film via Prime Video. Jackson first discussed the restoration of some of his early films, including Dead Alive, Bad Taste, and Meet the Feebles to Hollywood Reporter in 2018.

Although Dead Alive did poorly at the box office, it became a cult classic and has an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

"The delightfully gonzo tale of a lovestruck teen and his zombified mother, Dead Alive is extremely gory and exceedingly good fun, thanks to Peter Jackson's affection for the tastelessly sublime."

- Rotten Tomatoes

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