Peter Jackson’s film banned in several countries for its extreme gore was Braindead. Released in the United States as Dead Alive, this 1992 New Zealand horror-comedy follows Lionel, whose mother is bitten by a rat-monkey and begins turning people into zombies.
Jackson co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Sinclair and Fran Walsh, expanding an original story idea by Sinclair. The film was made on a budget of about $3 million, making it Jackson’s most expensive production at the time. Its elaborate prosthetic effects and cartoonishly excessive violence became its defining features, including the notorious lawnmower sequence.
Censorship varied by country. The film was initially banned, left unrated, or heavily cut in places where authorities objected to the gore. Germany banned the uncut film and several edited versions, while South Korea and Singapore also prohibited it. Finland later lifted its ban and released the film uncut in 2001. The United Kingdom instead gave it an adults-only 18 certificate. A common mix-up is the title: Braindead is the original international title, while Dead Alive was used for its U.S. release.