This should come as no surprise if you've seen UNDEAD, the Australian zombie film from the Spierig brothers, but it is always nice to have confirmation: the twin brother directing team told Sci Fi Wire that their inspiration was Peter Jackson's low-budget 1992 zombie gorefest BRAINDEAD (known as DEAD ALIVE in the U.S.). In fact, they were so thrilled with that film that they sought out an even earlier blood-and-guts alien invasion film that Jackson made, called (appropriately enough) BAD TASTE. One can see a similar sensibility at work in the Spierig brothers' film: horror handled so well that it cannot be called campy but also pushed so far past the limit that it is funny.

Undead opens in the U.S. on Friday in limited engagements.