Braindead(1992)
1992 · Peter Jackson · 103 min
When a Sumatran rat-monkey bites Lionel Cosgrove's mother, she's transformed into a zombie and begins killing (and transforming) the entire town while Lionel races to keep things under control.
Horror · Comedy
7.41.9k votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
5/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Braindead scares
Braindead is less a horror movie meant to scare you and more a gore comedy that piles on absurd amounts of blood until it becomes a joke. The pace starts as an odd, campy family drama before exploding into a nonstop flood of splatter, with zombies and body parts flying everywhere. Nothing here is meant to unsettle you psychologically; it's all shock, slapstick, and over-the-top gross-out spectacle played for laughs. Great for viewers who love ridiculous practical effects and can laugh at buckets of fake blood rather than anyone looking for real dread.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Braindead rates psychological 1/5, visceral 3/5, gore 5/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 1 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 5 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 30 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 20 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 5 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
Starts as a quirky slow build and escalates into an absolutely relentless, over-the-top bloodbath by the end.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5.
How scary is Braindead?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Braindead rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It attacks the body more than the mind — physical, in-your-face horror. Expect it to be heavy on gore and fun-first. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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