“Bad Taste” is a practically unwatchable film from director Peter Jackson (“Braindead”). Based on this film, I cannot believe that Jackson would go on to direct “The Lord of the Rings” films and the 2005 remake of “King Kong”. However, this was a little independent film he shot with a few friends. He apparently took a whopping four years to shoot it.

A small New Zealand town comes under attack by aliens that run an intergalactic fast-food chain and they want humans on the menu. A team of men dispatched by New Zealand’s government go to investigate and must do battle with the alien invaders.

Jackson himself stars in “Bad Taste” in multiple roles. Various other roles are occupied by his friends. The characters are just all awkward and boring. The only real positive I can talk about is the design of the aliens. For most of the film, they are disguised as humans but when their true form is revealed, the designs are fairly unique. The costumes don’t exactly look good but you can see that a lot of effort went into them and the gory effects when they are killed show that this was a passion project for the chaps that made this film.

The premise of “Bad Taste” actually sounds kind of fun and I went into this expecting the same form of goofy fun I got from Troma films such as “The Toxic Avenger” and “Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.”. However, this is just an abysmal picture. The movie is not long yet it felt like an eternity. Every scene is uncomfortable and there is no clear structure. It’s got all the same trashy components as a Troma film, it just lacks the witty writing. If you are a fan of Jackson’s later movies then maybe you might get a kick out of seeing just how bizarrely his first movie is from the work that he has become famous for.