Editor's Note: After One-Eyed Willy's popular review of Dead Man's Chest, he insisted I post his review of Re-animator. The man is becoming positively insufferable; but here's his review anyway.
Re-Animator, with Jeffrey Combs —one of my favorite horror and sci-fi actors by the way — is a superb onscreen realization of H.P. Lovecraft's Herbert West: Reanimator series of short stories. Stuart Gordon directs this gory to absurdity film with one part humor, two parts Theatre of the Grotesque, and Mr. Combs' exuberance and intensity as Herbert West is a perfect melding of carefully portioned histrionics and gleeful, devil may care, hubris. Add to this Richard Band'sdriving, Bernard Herrman-esque score, with its incessant and forceful strings and sardonically playful cat and mouse orchestrations, and what more can any mostly sane horror-head ask for?
Avast ye swabs! Thar be spoilers ahead. (Can you tell I've seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chestmore than once? Arrgh!)
The film wastes no time in establishing its gory, black comedy tone, as it opens in Switzerland, with West kneeling over the just revived body of his teacher, Dr. Gruber. Unfortunately, as with all of his reanimations, Dr. Gruber does not take well to the revivification and experiences an eye-popping side effect. Literally, that is, on both sides.
Cut to Miskatonic University Medical School some time later, and Hervert West, who has an incredible knack for getting out of tight spots, is being introduced as a promising medical student. He is intense, arrogant, and just itching to inject his mysteriously glowing solution into anything remotely dead. Rooming with a fellow medical student, Dan Cain (well played by Bruce Abbott), West quickly takes over the basement for his bizarre experiments, and Cain's life.
As I watched the film and munched on my popcorn, one thing that always strikes me about most horror films from the 70s and 80s is that they usually have a well-written script, good dialog, and a solid plot logic that seems to all but elude most horror films done today. While today's films are more sophisticated in both artistic and special effects designs, they seem to lack the simplest ability to tell a coherent story and provide intelligent dialog for its characters.
Once in class, West, in a humorous scene, soon starts breaking pencils rather loudly during Dr. Hill's lecture, one snap for every comment he passionately disagrees with. Dr. Hill, West accuses, is nothing more than a hack who has stolen Dr. Gruber's work. Both lock horns, Dr. Hill strongly recommends that West switch to using a pen, and their antagonism and professional rivalry soon leads to a Grand Guignol showdown that still stands out as one of the most gorily entertaining in horror cinema.
Article comments
1 - Michael J. West
Ah, Re-Animator. One of the finest. If you see it on film (like at a revival theatre), there are a whole bunch of scenes where you can see the boom mike at the top of the screen. Classic.
2 - Mat Brewster
Classic!
3 - Aaron Fleming
Tis indeed an excellent film - good fun, as are the inferior sequels. Although I must admit that I actually prefer From Beyond, which I consider the best of Gordon's Lovecraft flicks.
4 - Iloz Zoc
I can hardly wait for From Beyond to get the DVD treatment, especially since they found the cut footage with Combs having a field day with that p gland sort of thing sticking out of his head.
The uncut version was to run on the Horror Channel, but I don't get that. Damn.
5 - Iloz Zoc
Interesting link: looks like someone tivoed the movie off of the horror channel. Thanks for leaving the link.
6 - Tanbir Hassan
I watch this movie on mvtv few days ago.But the channel shows a fool like activities. they made the scene of something scrached/fade by editing. for example - they showd whisky bottle by fading,nude scene alo. but it was still perceptable that what is going on.
if they think its harmful,then why u telecast it?otherwise use non-cut/edited version of the film.