What is the title of Peter Jackson's first feature film?
Answer
Bad Taste
Answer
Bad Taste
Peter Jackson's first feature film was Bad Taste. The 1987 New Zealand science-fiction horror comedy was written, produced, directed, filmed, edited, and partly acted by Jackson, who made it independently with help from friends and collaborators.
The film follows a paramilitary team defending the fictional village of Kaihoro from aliens who plan to harvest humans for an intergalactic fast-food business. Its deliberately outrageous gore and homemade special effects established the inventive, darkly comic style that would characterize Jackson's early work.
Bad Taste began as a short film called Roast of the Day and was shot mainly on weekends over roughly four years. Jackson used a 16mm Bolex camera, and the initial budget was about NZ$25,000. Support from the New Zealand Film Commission helped him finish the production and secure wider distribution.
Viewers sometimes choose Heavenly Creatures because it was Jackson's first widely recognized dramatic film, or Braindead because it became a prominent cult horror title. Neither is correct: Bad Taste was Jackson's first feature, while Heavenly Creatures was his breakthrough into more serious filmmaking.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026