Recently, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy hit theaters, and as you may have seen, it was quite a big deal. Director Peter Jackson was subsequently propelled to major mainstream success. What you might not be aware of that the disheveled fellow is also a B-movie icon.

Before the deluge of critical and popular acclaim, cutting-edge special effects and huge Hollywood budget, there was "Bad Taste." Released in 1987, it is 91 minutes of low-budget goodness, and it is classic among gory comedies.

It took Jackson and a group of friends four years to complete what was originally meant to be a 15-minute short film. According to the International Movie Database, the film's estimated budget is $150,000, compared to "The Fellowship of the Rings" at $93 million.

There's no zombie sex, a-la "Dead Alive," but there is an exploding sheep.

There are no pretty boys with elf ears, but there is a crew of rugged men with bad haircuts. There's no army of Orcs, but there are aliens with disproportionately large heads and butts.

"Bad Taste" opens with the Astro-Investigation and Defense Service being summoned to Kaihoro, a hamlet on the coast of New Zealand, to investigate a supposed alien invasion.

Sadistic Derek, played by Jackson, believes the "jokers" roaming around town are indeed, literally out of this world. Trigger-happy Ozzy and tough-man Frank doubt it, while tag-along Barry doesn't know what to think.

It "really hits the fan," as Barry says, when an innocent bystander named Giles is captured by the aliens. The crew, minus an incapacitated Derek, must infiltrate the alien headquarters, clad in Kevlar and armed to the teeth.

They soon discover the aliens' true motives. Human flesh is the new fast food craze back home, and Crumb's Crunchy Delights is determined to rise to the top of the cutthroat fast food industry by being the first to offer tasty human bits to consumers.

The group almost makes it out of the house without any trouble, but what would be the fun in that? After the first shot, it's a continuous stream of bullets and blood.

"Bad Taste" concludes with what may be the goriest encounter ever between a man and an alien, involving Derek, Crumb and a chainsaw.

Not that there isn't plenty of gore throughout the film. Not even five minutes in, an alien worker wielding an axe stumbles along behind Barry, and Derek gleefully cheers on his comrade as he blows the thing away.

In addition to writing, directing, producing and editing "Bad Taste," Jackson also created much of the massive amount of gore himself, using his mother's oven to make the alien masks. The brains look like soggy wads of cookie dough, but the overall results of Jackson's efforts are impressive, all things considered.

There is a fantastic scene in which Derek struggles with an alien, also played by Jackson, on the side of a cliff. Dangling above a rocky beach, Jackson did his own stunt work.

"Bad Taste" was, shockingly, not nominated for an Oscar. In fact, it was even banned in Queensland, Australia until the '90s.

The plot is outrageous, and the actors improvised much of the dialogue and action. It's not pumped full of computer-generated fluff and pompous actors who are paid too much. It's just good, not-so-clean fun.

My only complaint is that Frank's super cool car doesn't survive the battle, but at least Ozzy finally got his chance to whip out the rocket launcher.

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