Re-Animator
Manufacturer : Starz / Anchor Bay
Rating : 4.5
Reviews : 166
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Scientist Herbert West has discovered a fluid which brings living tissue back to life. After the death of his professor West moves to a new university to continue his research. He involves a fellow student and the student’s fianc ©e in his research by experimenting on their dead cat. Dan fascinated by West’s research agrees to smuggle him into the hospital morgue…Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 013131502190 Manufacturer No: DV15021
Stuart Gordon’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s Herbert West: Re-Animator puts a Night of the Living Dead spin on the classic Frankenstein story. Jeffrey Combs furrows his brow and bugs his eyes as the preternaturally intense Herbert West, a maverick medical student whose gory, gooey experiments cause bloody corpses and body parts to jerk to life. Bruce Abbot is the studious roommate drawn into his extracurricular experiments, which soon involve the dean’s daughter (the frequently naked Barbara Crampton) and the college’s cadaverous, calculating star professor (David Gale), who literally loses his head over a battle for West’s discovery. In this world, that’s only a minor setback. Charged with sick gallows humor and a ghoulish gallery of undead beasties, Re-Animator, like Evil Dead II, is one of the most inspired and inventive–and funniest–horror films of the 1980s. Combs, Abbot, and Gale reunite for the almost-as-entertaining sequel Bride of Re-Animator. –Sean Axmaker
5 Comments
Lovecraft wrote the story this is based on for a comedy magazine. The movie captures the crazy humor and still makes you want to puke. Classic.
Re-Animator was one of the most acclaimed horror films of the 1980s and remains a horror classic today. It was released during the decade of iconic slasher films and cheesy, horror comedies and contains elements from both types of horror films, but has a much richer story and atmosphere which is why it lives on in the public consciousness today.
An intriguing opening scene introduces us to Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs). Next we have the fantastic opening credits, with a musical score reminiscent of “Psycho.” Next we meet Daniel Cain (Bruce Abbott), in the process of completing medical school while sleeping with the dean’s daughter. Herbert West arrives at the school and rents out Daniel’s basement. Both Daniel and much of the staff at the medical school find Herbert odd and unlikeable, but nothing can prepare Daniel for his discovery. West has discovered a way to re-animate the dead, although his formula is not yet perfect. Despite the insanity of it, Daniel agrees to help him.
Re-Animator is considered a horror classic because of how well it balances genre and how unapologetic it is about what kind of movie it is. This is a horror film that has buckets of blood, gore, and depravity as well as some campy moments. It’s not quite “campy,” simply because it retains its established atmosphere throughout. While the 1980s set the stage for many of the horror films we see today, few of them can be looked at and called “original.” Re-Animator is not only a truly original work of horror for its time, but it is still original today. Furthermore, even more shocking, is that it has pretty strong characterization that is unheard of in these `80s horror films. With some genuinely shocking moments both in the plot and visuals, director Stuart Gordon has fashioned something quite effective here.
Even all these years after its release, this film still works remarkably well. The only thing that’s really dated is the special effects and their imperfection adds to the overall effect of the film. While not perfect, Re-Animator remains unapologetic about it’s imperfections and proudly exists as it is. It is an impressive horror film that should appeal to just about any fan of the genre.
GRADE: B
How much praise can i give this DVD? Lots and lots! Because it is my favorite movie of all time…Jeffrey Combs is our greatest living horror movie mad doctor…He is the shining star in Bride of Re-Animator,Faust,The Attic Expeditions,The Black Cat,Beyond Re-Animator,From Beyond and “The Necronomicon”..just to name a few DVDs you should buy..The special effects in The Re-Animator are very good…the acting of all the other actors is excellent so buy this movie…I am a horror movie fan with a vast collection of movies…This one is my prize…my precious!
Probably one of the most horrifying movies in recent memory, it is also one that has it’s audience laughing uncontrollably. A combination of grotesque and camp, the serious questions it raises are buried under an avalanche of hilarity and gore. Herbert West, a medical scientist, arrives at the Miskatonic Medical School to continue his research into bringing the dead back to life. With his glowing green serum, and his talking a fellow student into assisting him, he proceeds to disrupt the school. There is nudity and worse in the ensuing melee. The 2 DVD set includes a 70-minute featurette plus many other bonus material. For the mature-minded.
This has to be one of the best low budget horror films ever made.
The acting is fair, the special effects are fantastic. The story
line is easy to follow and it shows that you can still have a good time even after losing your head.