Bad Taste

An offbeat invasion arrives in a quiet New Zealand town when a fast food sci fi squad from Crumbs Crunchy Delights lands with a ridiculous premise and a dangerous appetite. The alien travelers intend to turn humans into the latest flavor, leaving a wake of property damage and chaos in their wake. The local emergency squad AIaDS arrives to contain the threat as ordinary townsfolk try to carry on with life. A visiting aid worker named Giles is drawn into the turmoil when he comes to collect change from residents and is captured by the intruders. A forced rescue mission escalates quickly into a chaotic onslaught as teams clash in a low budget melee.

Released in 1987, Bad Taste marked Peter Jackson's feature debut. He wrote and directed the film on a shoestring budget around 150,000, relying on practical effects, handmade props, and a hands on crew to create a rough energetic sci fi horror comedy. It became a cult success through festival screenings and midnight cinema shows.

Bad Taste is widely hailed as a touchstone for New Zealand cinema and for Jackson's breakout style. Its gleefully low budget spectacle, inventive gore, and improvised charm helped put NZ genre filmmaking on the map and influenced a wave of independent horror comedies. Its impact echoes in later NZ indie films and in Jackson's own career trajectory toward grander productions.

Critics noted the film's raw energy and clear love of genre fusion, even as its rough edges exposed the budget realities. Its sharp satire of consumer culture and the appetite driven by media sensationalism underlines a sly humor that lingers beyond the splatter. Some critics compared its audacity to classic exploitation cinema while praising inventive staging and practical effects.

Box office: Worldwide gross figures are not widely reported for Bad Taste, reflecting its status as a cult favorite with a limited release and strong home video life. The film found a long life on video and in international retrospectives as a pioneering example of grassroots film making.