Rating: 
Summary: gory, giddy fun.
Review: The original Re-Animator is deemed a classic of the genre, though to be honest, my admiration for it is only mild. Sure, it boasted a terrific performance from Jeffrey Combs, delivered tons of memorable gore, and featured a deliciously nude Barbara Crampton, but I always found the pacing a little off and I felt the movie took to long to get to the all-out carnage I expected. Is Beyond Re-Animator a "better" movie? Maybe not, but I enjoyed it more, and it's a rare sequel that actually remains true to its predecessor's roots. Set thirteen years after the events of Bride of Re-Animator, Doctor Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is in prison for his crimes (makes you wonder what he was charged with, resuscitating the dead?), but the arrival of a new doctor, Howard Phillips (Jason Barry), proves interesting to West's studies. Apparently, Phillips was a first-hand witness to the results of West's re-agent years ago, and has arrived to work with him on perfecting the formula. Their studies further progress to the discovery of an electrical phenomenon that could restore a dead person back to its normal state, sans the rage that typically accompanies their revival. But not everything goes to plan, thanks to a nosy reporter (Elsa Pataky) Phillips is seeing and the sadistic prison warden (Simon Andreu) who's catching whiff of West's plans. Like the previous movies, Beyond Re-Animator isn't plot driven, it's meant to play as a rollercoaster ride of extreme gore and dark comedy. The grue is even better than its predecessors and there are a couple of laughs to be had (even if they're also simultaneously wince-inducing). The f/x stand out, with loads of memorable gore effects; there's a jawless zombie in the opening, a prisoner who overdoses on the re-agent and literally explodes, and my personal favorite, a prisoner missing the lower half of his body who's lassoed around by West himself. Hilarious. Brian Yuzna is confident at the helm, giving the movie a slick look and feel, while maintaining a fast pace that nicely builds and rarely lets up. That said, the film is still packed with flaws, a lot of it pertaining to the repetitive nature of the story, which is basically "kill person, revive person, then kill person again," a cycle that endlessly repeats itself. The script brings up the topic of the electrical phenomenon, but doesn't really do anything with it. Are we supposed to assume that (spoiler) the reporter is somewhat possessed by the warden because she was given his NEE? There also aren't as many "zombies" as the first film, or at least not as many who are in any position to harm our protagonist (there's a scene where West discovers quite a few undead bodies hanging from the ceiling) Jeffrey Combs-whose character actually starts to look a little normal compared to some of the nutsos here-is as delightful to watch as ever, and is really the one element that holds the film together in between the gore-soaked scenes. Jason Barry is flat and unconvincing as Phillips, whose decidedly complex character is clearly out of the actor's range. Elsa Pataky is very pretty, but has a hard time passing off as an American journalist (her Spanish accent slips through more than once). The only other worthy performer of note is the foxy Raquel Gribler, playing the prison nurse who reveals a LOT of cleavage and wears an almost see-through uniform. Pure eye candy, but a successful one at that. Beyond Re-Animator works simply because it's a lot of fun, no more and no less, and whether or not you enjoy it depends on whether you mind (literally) eye-popping violence. The ending leaves things open for a sequel, but I'm actually looking forward to the further misadventures of Herbert West. Let's just hope the next sequel boasts a tad more plot and variety to go along with all the fun, gory mayhem.
Rating: 
Summary: a total shame
Review: they should've thunk real hard about what they were gonna do with this pile of crap, I mean its not as great as any of the other 2. the other's had what it took and this one flopped it. bad acting and bad characters dont mix well. Combs is smashed by other stupid supportees and my god was it boring. Yuzna should of not made this one. a dissapointment
Rating:
Summary: outrageously stupid, but fun
Review: This Halloween my boyfriend and I rented something seasonal -- *Beyond Reanimator. We didn't get around to watching it right away; Blockbuster's newly lax late-regulations make our procrastination all the cheaper. And besides, what was the rush? How good could it possibly be?
Well, let's look at that small 4-letter word "good" for a minute, shall we? Traditionally-speaking, "good" tends to indicate something of quality, something of value -- or at least something of marginal usefulness. By this criteria, Beyond Reanimator hasn't really got much to offer. We were quite safe in assuming that it could gather dust on top of our DVD player for a week or two and we wouldn't be missing much.
However. If you were to redefine "good" to include such things as, "features a kung-fu fight scene between a prison rat and a dismembered zombie erection," well then. Now you're talking. Never fear, because Beyond Reanimator has all your zombie genitalia needs covered.
The "Reanimator" line is taken from H.P. Lovecraft's canon and centers around a mad scientist named Herbert West. Herbert sees death as a terminal illness, and in his own methodical, clinically-insane fashion, he seeks to cure it. He succeeds in restoring life to his unfortunate subjects, but he has a somewhat tougher time restoring them to rational behavior. Voila. Flesh-eating zombies, running amuck. In this third installment of the movie franchise, the flesh-eating, amuck-running zombies are largely confined to the prison where once again Dr. West is indulging his unholy experiments.
In addition to satisfying any mobile phallic curiosity you may harbor, Beyond Reanimator also fulfills your Recommended Daily Allowance™ of slutty nurses with visible granny panty-lines, orange-foam vomit, needles-the-size-of-railroad-spikes loaded with glowing green goo, the odd heaving nipple being bitten off, and nerdy mad scientists in jumpsuits.
Thank heavens this movie knows better than to take itself seriously. If you get hold of this DVD, be sure to watch the credits for a bonus shadow-puppet theater of prison rat karate taking on the free-range [organs]. Also, check the extras for the music video which (ostensibly) accompanies the film. Seriously. Watch it. I had to avert my eyes right about the time my boyfriend cried out, "GAY FRENCH ZOMBIE MIMES! HAHAHAHAHAAH!"
Anyway, It's outrageously stupid, but kind-of fun. Don't expect too much of it and you won't be let down.
Rating:
Summary: Good.. but.. where's the gore ?
Review: This is a good movie in the good old 80's horror style with some hilarious episodes. It fits well to the two earlier Re-animator movies. But there's a big disadvantage that got it to loose two stars in my opinion. Either it is cut (god damn, are they really still cutting humour horror movies ? Greater horror !) or the great Brian Yuzna just put in less gore this time. Either case, this type of movies demands both much humour and much gore ! Brain Dead / Dead Alive is released uncut without problems. What's the f----n problem in doing the same with this movie ? Anyway, if you like re-animator 1 & 2 you must buy Beyond Re-animator and I thank Brian Y for doing it, but I sincerely hope that it will be released uncut very soon. Brian, we're waiting for part 4 already !
Rating: 
Summary: Good Movie some major holes....
Review: This movie had a very captivating plot and was overall a pleasure to view, however in the plot there were some pretty major holes and some of the acting was downright dreadful.
The plot is simple. A new doctor comes to work at the hospital where Dr. West is incarcerated. Howard the new doctor, and probably a new actor because his acting was downright dreadful and at times painful to watch (His reaction after the girl that he likes dies is just so fake); Dr. West and Howard then set up the lab again and chaos and misfortune ensues.
The gore is good. The reasons for the gore are not always good however. For example when Laura visits the one ressurected patient she walks up close and what not, knowing that he is dangerous. It just didn't make any sense. Another funny thing was that the nurse wore the old fashioned skirt, the kind you could rip off with a strong pull. Right...
However the violence was good and entertaining. The movie got straight to the point and never got off. From the very beginning there was murder, mayhem and chaos.
Recommended to all those that are not too worried about plot holes.
Rating:
Summary: Great sequel
Review: This movie takes place 13 years after "Bride of Re-animator". The movie starts with a little boy's big sister being killed by one of West his re-animated corpses. West is arrested and we move on 13 years later. He is still experimenting in prison, but of course he doesn't have the necessary ingredients to make his famous green serum that re-animates the dead. In comes Dr. Howard Philips(the same person who's sister was killed,13 years ago) and he still happens to have the injection needle full with the green serum which he found 13 years ago, after West was arrested. West of course takes this opportunity to start experimenting anew. Howard becomes his new assistent. Those 13 years, West has been working on extracting the lifeforce out of several rats, and thinks he might have found the solution to stabilize the corpses after they have been re-animated(after which they always become very aggresive and lose almost all intelligence) with his special serum. Does it work? Yes and no... The movie starts slowly(but is never boring), but builds up to a terrific climax. I really enjoyed this one. I won't say much about the rest of the movie because I don't want to spoil all of the gory fun. Although not as good as the first re-animator, this is still an excellent sequel. Definitely worthy of adding to your DVD collection, especially if you're a fan of these movies.
Rating: 
Summary: A Hilarious Twist on an Age Old Tale
Review: This movie was a spectacular treat! I found it to be a delectably scrumptious dish. I did not see the first two in the series, but if they're any less wacky than this one, they cannot compete! The dubbing on the lead female was ab-fab! This is the funniest movie I've seen all year. Comeplete with Spanish junkies ("the good stuff") and severed genetalia, this is a must see! If you're thinking of buying this movie my advice would be to "Go fer it!"
Rating:
Summary: gruesome
Review: Those guys don't know what they're talking about.
While you certainly need to see The Re-Animator as a set-up, Beyond the Re-Animator is better than the original movie could hope to be. It starts out slow, and some acting is indeed flat, but what better setting for total chaos and over-the-top mayhem than a prison?
While as a standalone movie, it probably merits only a couple of stars, "Beyond" isn't targeted towards a generic audience, and such a rating would be inappropriate. This campy horror flick is about as close to perfect as you can get for its intended audience, who can take the stylized violence and gore with a dark sense of humor.
Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Forget the other reviews!
Review: Those guys don't know what they're talking about.
While you certainly need to see The Re-Animator as a set-up, Beyond the Re-Animator is better than the original movie could hope to be. It starts out slow, and some acting is indeed flat, but what better setting for total chaos and over-the-top mayhem than a prison?
While as a standalone movie, it probably merits only a couple of stars, "Beyond" isn't targeted towards a generic audience, and such a rating would be inappropriate. This campy horror flick is about as close to perfect as you can get for its intended audience, who can take the stylized violence and gore with a dark sense of humor.
Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Not Beyond RE-ANIMATOR, but Way Beyond BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR
Review: True, it doesn't attain the pinnacle that director Stuart Gordon reached with his RE-ANIMATOR (1985), but director Brian Yuzna's second sequel, BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR (2003), is indeed way beyond his abysmal 1990 sequel BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR.
This time we catch up with the morbid Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) at the prison in which he has been incarcerated for the criminal experiments in re-animating human corpses he conducted during his residency at the Miskatonic University Medical Center. (The plot seems to ignore many events that occurred in BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR, especially the fact that West was killed during that film's climax.) West has gained the confidence and the admiration of the prison doctor (Jason Barry), who agrees to let him use the prison infirmary to continue his morbid experiments. At first the two only experiment on the literal prison vermin--the rats and mice and such. But it isn't long before they start injecting West's dayglo-green juice into some of the human denizens of the jail.
The plot of BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR is fairly tight and much more believable than the sequel that preceded it, and unlike that former film, the characters that populate this phase of perennial protagonist Herbert West's life are fairly interesting. The acting in this flick is pretty good, too. Jeffrey Combs is, as always, wonderful in the role of Herbert West, and Jason Barry does a pretty good job in filling the shoes of actor Dan Cain as West's new protégé. Elsa Pataky and Raquel Gribler--the only women around for most of the film--provide some eye candy for the males in the audience, though neither has the sex appeal of Barbara Crampton from the original RE-ANIMATOR.
Don't misunderstand--BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR certainly isn't Oscar material. But who cares? Fans of these types of tongue-in-cheek horror and splatter films don't watch 'em to see Pulitzer-calibre scripts, great thespians, or high-art set design & special FX. They watch flicks like this because they enjoy lots of fake blood and guts, topless or naked women, and black funeral-parlor humor, all without having to suspend their disbelief tooooo much. And for the most part, this flick delivers.
The DVD from Lionsgate offers a fairly clean digital transfer of the print in anamorphic widescreen. Bonus features include an audio commentary with director Brian Yuzna, a short making-of featurette containing interviews with the cast & crew, and a few other tidbits. All in all, its worth the price of admission for those who enjoyed the original 1985 film.
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