Rating: 
Summary: Death Is Just the Beginning....
Review: One of the most outrageous horror comedies from the 1980s, Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR is certainly great fun if not great cinema. Very loosely based on a story by the highly revered horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, the film follows the exploits of Herbert West, an impudent medical student who, after being thrown out of a Swiss institution due to his unorthodox and unethical medical experiments, has enrolled at the Miskatonic University Medical School in Massachusetts, USA. After hours, West secretly continues his experimentation, which basically involves the tweaking and fine-tuning of a serum he has developed that can re-animate the dead. West engages the assistance of his roommate and fellow med student Dan Cain, much to the chagrin of Cain's pretty girlfriend Megan, and soon the two are reviving numerous cadavers in the medical school's morgue. Unfortunately, West and Cain haven't quite perfected the formula, and the re-animated dead don't seem too happy to be back in the land of the living. But when Megan, her father (a dean at the university), and the school's prestigious surgeon Dr. Carl Hill get caught up in West's shenanigans, that's when the fun really begins.RE-ANIMATOR is horror comedy at its best. Writer/director Gordon and his cowriter Dennis Paoli are savvy enough to realize that taking an earnest approach to the preposterous premise of their story is not likely to fly with the discriminating horror audience, so they wisely milk the material for laughs instead. Playing the lead role of Herbert West is the wonderfully offbeat actor Jeffrey Combs. Combs is able to generate interesting facial expressions that are somehow simultaneously deadpan and whimsical, and when combined with his impeccable comedic timing, it is nearly impossible not to laugh at every scene he's in. (Genre fans may recognize Combs from his appearance in numerous horror films, as well as from his countless appearances in episodes of the various TV incarnations of STAR TREK.) As Dan Cain, Bruce Abbott is the perfect straight man to Combs, and together the two keep the energy level and humor factor high throughout the film. The beautiful Barbara Crampton--who would go on to greater fame performing in various TV Soaps--does a great job playing Cain's perky girlfriend, Megan, and she is especially affecting when she disrobes. And rounding out the principals is actor David Gale as Dr. Hill. When his character gets juiced with West's re-animation serum, Gale's subsequent performance is delightfully over the top. Many critics liken the storyline of RE-ANIMATOR to that of the FRANKENSTEIN mythos, with mad scientists attempting to bring forth life from the dead. But it actually seems that the basic plot is more akin to Stephen King's 1983 novel PET SEMATARY. (The movie version of PET SEMATARY, while very faithful to the book, did not appear until 1989, four years after RE-ANIMATOR.) In both stories, an individual learns the secret to bringing folks back from the dead, but at a cost--the revived are not quite the same as they were before kicking the bucket. And despite their failures, the individuals with the power to re-animate relentlessly keep on trying to get it right. The only real difference between the two stories is that King's novel, though well written, is earnest and depressing, whereas RE-ANIMATOR uses the premise as a springboard for dark, wry humor. The "Millennium Edition" RE-ANIMATOR DVD from the folks at Elite is well worth the money. It offers the unrated (uncut?) version of the film in anamorphic widescreen format, along with two great commentaries--one with director Gordon, one with most of the principal cast--as well as lots of other cool goodies. So many cool goodies, in fact, that it takes two discs to hold 'em all! Yes, RE-ANIMATOR is gory and chock-full of sick gallows humor, with lots of nudity and cheesy (but cool!) special effects thrown in. And some of the scenes are so outrageously over the top that they have to be seen to be believed. But, hey, what more could a lover of horror comedy want?
Rating:
Summary: A horror classic from the 80's is reborn on DVD.
Review: This 1985 Cult Horror comedy stars " Jeffery Combs" in his first role before he was in Star Trek: Deep Space 9. The story is about a Mad Scientist named " Herbert West" who has created a special serum that can bring the dead back to life, now he finds an assistant to help him with his experimentations but things go out of control as the Dead start to kill including a former Surgeon who's head now seeks revenge. A highly entertaining, gory and funny movie with great acting for a B-Movie, good script and blood this not for the squeamish.
The DVD here is excellent, with it's second disk it has more goodies that every fan of horror would enjoy. Similar movies recommended: Day of the Dead, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, The Toxic Avenger, Texas Chainsaw Massacre part 2, An American Werewolf in London, Lucio Fulci's The Beyond, Frankenstein, Scanners, aand Dead Alive.
Rating:
Summary: Easily Among the Best Horror Films
Review: What can be said about Re-Animator that has not been said already? I remember seeing this as a kid of about 10, back in 1988 and it really put the hook in me. It's one of those rare horror films that creates a really cool atmosphere and manages to run with it. The story, for anyone who dosen't know, or can't figure it out based on the title and the films cover, is based on the creation of a serum that brings the dead back to life, hence the films title. The problem is that once bought back to life, the dead are absolutely crazy, and this is based on the dosage of the serum that is given to them. The film follows the exploits of Herbert West and his unwitting partner in crime, Dan Cain, as they try to perfect the Re-Animation process, causing the deaths of several others along the way. By todays standards some of the horror effects are pretty campy, but that is a really small criticism, as the peformances by the main cast (in particular Jeffery Combs as the titular Herbert West)make up for any aging in this department. The Melinium Edition of this DVD is packed with every feature that a fan of this film could want. Interviews with key members of the production crew, which unlike many such features on other DVD's actually provide insights into the process undertaken to make and market this film. There are also two very good audio commentaries on the first disc, promotional materials (5 amusing TV spots and a theatrical trailer)a stills gallery (roughly 50 pictures)and Cast and Crew biographies and filmographies. The 16 extended scenes are interesting, but in most cases it is easy to see why certain material was either cut, or re-shot in an edited format. The deletted scene is interesting but dosen't seem to gel with the finished film. In short, I recommend buying the Melinium Edition of this film if you were ever a fan of Re-Animator, or consider yourself to be a fan of the horror genre. You will not be dissapointed by this package. Elie Entertainment has done a wonderful job with this film and it is a classic example of how great films should be given treatment on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Best Lovecraft Adaption of All Time
Review: This is not only the best H.P. Lovecraft adaption of all time, but one of the best horror films of all time, period. Lovecraft has had some good adaptions, namely From Beyond and Dagon, not to mention The Dunwich Horror. This rises to the very top because of the inspired acting, amazingly gory special effects, hot chick, a really good and creepy soundtrack, the steady hand of director Stuart Gordon, and the production of Brian Yuzna. Unnamable had a hot chick and effects only. From Beyond needs a soundtrack. The Dunwich Horror is sadly dated, more akin to Hammer's heyday than this modern/1980s Re-Animator. Dagon also needs a more memorable score. The story is, a science major at Miskatonic University is working on a special serum to reanimate (hence the film's title) the dead. His buddy also from Mistakonic is right with him and has a hot hot girlfriend. When the science professor finds out, he blackmails Herbert West,and the rest is history as they say. This was based on the short story Herbet West: Reanimator by Howard Philip Lovecraft. Lovecraft adaptions usually get panned for two reasons. 1- allegedly unfaithful adaptions. My response is, the Lovecraft short stories are just that- SHORT STORIES. To make a feature length film, Howard didn't give filmmakers enough to work with by himself. The filmmakers beefed it up in every adaption. The movies are more hardcore. 2- they are cheesey. Yeah, yeah, yeah some of them like The Curse are on the cheesey side. Well, this one isn't; neither is From Beyond, Dagon or Dunwich Horror. Unnamable and Castle Freak, two similiar adaptions, border on cheese because they are nothing more than drive-in type movies to get you, as Joe Bob Griggs (whatever happened to him?) would say: The three B's- Blood, Breasts and Beasts. Well, Reanimator is that, too, but of a higher all-around quality. You are not a horror film fan unless you like Reanimator. Easily one of the best horror films of the 1980s, one of the best horror films of all time and the best H.P. Lovecraft adaption ofr all time. Well worth your money. P.S.- This is a review of the Unrated version on VHS as it appears listed here in o.o.p. on Amazon.com. There exists two in-print DVD versions of Re-animator as of Spring 2004. One is a standard R rated version, and the other is a two disc Millenium version, which also sadly rated R. Avoid the R-rated version at all costs, as it is missing some of the gore and nudity that makes the un-rated version more preferable.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Train-Wreck Movie!
Review: Oh My God! RE-ANIMATOR is the kind of movie that totally strips you of your ability to turn away or stop the movie! I popped in the DVD only to watch a few minutes and found myself watching the film all the way through, only stopping to rewind scenes that I missed! RE-ANIMATOR is the funniest and goriest horror-comedy ever made! Awesome gore effects and hilarious one-liners; my favorite is "You'll never get credit for my discovery; whose gonna believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow." I also liked the performances in this movie, especially Jeffery Combs' as Dr. West, although Dr. West comes off as a jerk. Plus, RE-ANIMATOR is scary too!
You must get the Millennium Edition while you can. This 2-disc treatment is the best that this movie has gotten in years since the 10th Anniversary Laserdisc! Awesome picture and sound quality! Also, you get the original trailer and several TV-spots; alternate and extended scenes (for the R-rated video release); documentaries; and the isolated score! If you're a fan of '80s horror, RE-ANIMATOR is required viewing if you haven't seen it already. Tell 'em Dr. Herbert West sent 'ya!
Rating:
Summary: Great mix of drama-comedy and horror, very involving.
Review: This movie was referred in American Beauty as a representation of forbidden pleasures, dark sexuality and thumbing one's nose at conformity. While I'm willing to bet half of the audience of that movie wouldn't know what The Re-Animator is, it remains a cult classic that deserves a proper reissue and re-emergence into public consciousness. Director Stuart Gordon's background was in theatre, which accounts for the unusually adept acting in this film -- Bruce Abbott as bright young med student Kane; oddball Jeffrey Combs (last seen in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) as madcap genius Herbert West; Barbara Crampton as Megan, Kane's innocent girlfriend who gets dragged into the maelstrom of gore, nefarious plots and strange happenings that is this movie's arc. Most horror directors today should bow their heads to Gordon's dramatic sense -- the story is urged forward with an inevitability, a sense of purpose that eludes nearly all of the entries in the plot-obsessed horror entries in the post-Scream boom. The Re-Animator, like so many other greats (the Night of the Living Dead series, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), realizes that horror is different from whodunit (Scream created that dreaded prototype so that most horror flicks nowadays are guess-the-killer types, bad marriages between mystery and slasher). One look and you know who the bad guy is in The Re-Animator...and you'll keep watching. Dr. Carl Hill, played with great relish by David Gale, is one of the most memorable horror villains of all time thanks to some very human motivations (ambition, greed, sexual frustration) and an overwhelming weirdness that suits the atmosphere of the film perfectly. And the visuals? "Outrageous" only begins to describe them -- one writer described the SFX approach here as being "splashing blood on every visible surface". But because the dramatic sequences work beautifully, the gory effects take a back seat, where they belong in a truly good film. Some sequences may make your stomach turn (unless, of course, you've already sampled Dawn of the Dead or Maniac). But give it a shot and The Re-Animator will yield strange pleasures not found anywhere else -- not in the slew of Lovecraft adaptations that followed it; not in the wasteland of '90s horror; not even in Romero, Carpenter, Hooper or Craven. The Re-Animator is a true original, and worthy of classic status.
Rating: 
Summary: why all the fuss abpout this dvd?
Review: Ok, first off this movie is ok.....just ok. I mainly like it because of the star( who was great in Frighteners as the freaky cop with hemmorhoids and problems) thi s movie seems really stupid though now comparing it to most movies like this. This is one of those movies that preverts who long to lose themselves in another ecade watch alone in the middle of the night after everyone else has gone to sleep.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Disgusting
Review: This is a warning to any horror fan. This movie is extremely disgusting and has absouletly NO point what so ever. I feel bad for jeffery combs, because of this movie his repuataion is now worse than ever. The gore is over the top, and there is no plot, besides phystoic zombies trying to kill people. Here is the gore that this movie has: Decapitation by shovel, bitten off fingers, a bone saw through the stomach, someone pulling off some guys skin, than revealing the skull, and with a bone saw removes the skull, and picks up the brain and plays with it, we see a guy shove a Q-tip in a hole in someones for head, a cat with a broken neck, a stomach exploding with organs coming to life and attacking someone, eyes exploding, a head being impaled on a needle and lots more blood plus a head that falls off after being hit by a woman. For violence, we get someone being hit in the head with a shovel, someone being thrown into the wall with extreme force breaking the glass, slapping, hitting and punching to ward off a dead zombie. Overall, I think this movie was a waste of money. But, now that you know what the movie is truly about, you can make that descision for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: The treatment it deserves.
Review: Finally the only version you will ever need of this horror classic has been released. It has never looked or sounded better. Up until now, the unrated version has been tough to find anywhere. The bonus materials are also top notch. I would have to say that this is one of the top 10 DVD's out there right now. No complaints here. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Heeeere, Kitty-Kitty-Kitty...
Review: Strange things are happening at Miskatonic Medical school. All was well until Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) showed up. He is an odd looking / odder acting man with insane ideas about re-animating the dead. West moves in with med student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) and his cat, Rufus. Unbeknownst to Dan, West is conducting his unholy experiments in the basement. One night, Dan's girlfriend Megan (Barbara "Where are my clothes?" Crampton) notices that Rufus is missing. She finds him in West's refrigerator, looking like a road-kill sandwich. Later that night, Dan is awakened by sounds that still drop my body temperature when I recall them! Hideous howls and screeches ring throughout the house. Dan grabs a baseball bat and investigates, only to find West in his basement laboratory, battling a re-animated and VERY ticked-off Rufus! With Dan's help, Rufus is vanquished, and used to redecorate the walls. West re-animates the poor feline a second time with his glowing, green "re-agent" serum to prove to Dan that he means business (or, that he really hates cats). Dan is forced to help Herbert when he threatens to tell the dean (Robert Sampson) that Dan is sleeping with his daughter. One thing leads to another, and the diabolical duo end up in the morgue, re-animating a cadaver. Learning nothing from the Rufus fiasco, our heroes get thrown around the room by a convulsing, zombified madman! Dean Halsey shows up and gets himself squished, leading to his own re-animation. Herbert makes up a story about the dean attacking them for no apparent reason. Convinced he's gone nuts, the dean is put under the care of Dr. Hill (David Gale), a brilliant, slimeball of a brain-surgeon, who keeps Halsey locked up in his office for "observation" and lobotomizes him. Hill figures things out and decides to steal West's ideas for himself. Extremely bad choice! West beheads Hill with a coal shovel and re-animates both his head and body separately. Hill wakes up, his head in a pan. He controls his body from across the room and knocks West out. Hill goes back to his office and releases the dean, who kidnaps his daughter for him. You see, Dr. Hill has sick desires for Megan and plans to bring them into reality, regardless of his decapitated condition! This leads to the gooey, gloppy climax in the morgue. Loads of nudity, raspberry jam, and slithering rubber entrails abound. RE-ANIMATOR is not recommended for viewing while eating lasagna or spaghetti & meatballs. A must-own mad scientist / zombie / dark humor classic...
|
