Re-Animator (1985)

Blood! Guts! Mayhem! AND GOD BLESS HIM! JEFFREY COMBS! This is a blood drenched classic horror in the definitive flavor of H.P Lovecraft. Jeffrey Combs' performance hits home with such a force that leaves you gasping for much needed air as the "mad scientist" Herbert West. Stuart Gordon crafts together this gruesome blend of black humor & terror in a masterful way with a great style that holds even the non-horror fan interested. In a way, this film transcends the bounds of the zombie genre with an approach that at the time was much needed in order to break new grounds. The result: A cult classic still talked about in today's horror cinema scene!

Fmovies: Considering the 70's was a decade of monumental proportions as far as films went, it was a shame the 80's had to produce such dreck, especially where horror films are concerned. In the 70's we had "The Exorcist", "Halloween", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Phantasm"-just to name a few. The 80's did produce a small but stellar group of classics, however, including "Evil Dead" 1 & 2, "A Nightmare On Elm Street", "An American Werewolf In London" and, of course, "Re-Animator". Like "Werewolf" and the "Evil Dead" films, part of "Re-Animator"'s success and notoriety is the film's deliciously sinister blend of horror and humor. Wait let me correct that-perverse horror and sick humor. In accordance with the decade that birthed it, this film is typically over the top and totally gratuitous, pulling out all the stops at every turn. Jeffrey Combs heads a great cast as Herbert West, a strange and eccentric but brilliant young doctor/scientist who has perfected a syrum that can reanimate the dead. Circumstances get out of hand when a medical student and his fiance (Bruce Abbott & Barbara Crampton) get involved in West's work and a plagarist rival doctor (David Gale) plots to steal his idea. Horror and hilarity ensue from there on, thanks to imaginitive visual effects coupled with clever dialogue. For nitpickers like myself there are a few minor inconsistencies in the screenplay, but it does very little to hinder the film. Ironically, several scenes that wound up on the cutting room floor (included on the dvd) would have fleshed out those minor story flaws, but they were excised-and probably rightly so-in the name of pacing. Besides, any flaws in writing are easily forgotten about thanks to the terrific performances. Here is a cast that really brought the characters "to life" so to speak; Combs as the nerdy scientist and Gale's lecherous Dr. Hill are both standouts. And Stuart Gordon's strong direction holds the whole thing together even when the film threatens to be crushed by it's own outlandishness. For those interested, check out the sequel "Bride of Re-Animator" that followed 4 years later. It doesn't hold a candle to this one, but it's plenty of fun in it's own right.

While many horror movies have strong doses of humour in them (from 'Bride Of Frankenstein' to 'Dawn Of The Dead', 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' to 'From Dusk Til Dawn'), there's very few actual horror-comedies I enjoy. 'Motel Hell' is one exception, Frank Henenlotter's movies, especially 'Frankenhooker' are others, but to my mind Stuart Gordon's 'Re-Animator' is by far the most original and entertaining one ever made in my opinion. This movie put Gordon on the map and also made Jeffrey Combs into a worldwide cult figure. Combs is absolutely brilliant as Herbert West, one of the most memorable mad scientists in horror history, and the rest of the supporting cast - Bruce Abbott, David Gale, and the lovely Barbara Crampton - are all excellent. Gordon uses H.P. Lovecraft's West stories as a jumping off point for some grotesque and genuinely funny moments that once seen are never forgotten, particularly THAT scene between Crampton and Gale, which is now the stuff of legend, though beware it is cut from some versions of the movie. Make sure you see the uncut version of 'Re-Animator' whatever you do! Gordon went on to make some other Lovecraft adaptations, some good, some not so good, but 'Re-Animator' was the first and is still in my opinion the best. Highly recommended fun which gets better and better as the years go by! This movie is an unquestionable horror classic!

Re-Animator fmovies. After learning all he can learn in Switzerland, Herbert West comes to America to study life and death. Can death be overcome? West thinks so, and with his reagent serum he might just prove to the world how right he is.

"Re-Animator" ranks at the very top of my all-time favorite horror movies. For a guy who has seen probably one thousand horror films, that's quite the accomplishment. For me, the film is paced perfectly, has plenty of gore, a fair amount of nudity (and a scene of sexuality you won't find elsewhere), some black comedy and a simple plot premise (a variation on the Frankenstein story).

This is the film that gave Jeffrey Combs his place in cult film history. On the basis of this movie alone, he is sought after to appear in other horror films and appear at horror conventions. Sure, some of his other films are pretty good, and he had an impressive run on both "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "The 4400". But he will always be known as Herbert West. None of the other stars (David Gale, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton) has gone on to such a level of recognition.

The film has some flaws. The score, which is supposed to be an "homage" to "Psycho" sounds more like a blatant ripoff. And my biggest pet peeve is trying to find a complete copy of the film. I owned the longer, R-rated version on VHS. Now I own the shorter, unrated version on DVD (the Millennium Edition). I have yet to find one that combines the gore of the uncut version with the plot of the R-rated one (which I think really drives home the story and fleshes out the motives and power of Dr. Hill).

But the sheer fun of the film makes up for the flaws. Jeffrey Combs is clearly having plenty of fun, and the way they approach such things as the reanimated cat and the use of the reagent as an intravenous drug tells me they knew that the key was just letting a good time fly.

The people involved with this film (Combs, director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna) went on to make a variety of other Lovecraft-inspired films. So I guess I have to thank the success of "Re-Animator" for giving them the chance to pursue these other projects (even the less wonderful ones like "Necronomicon" or "Dagon" (which many people like but I wasn't impressed)).

If you're a horror fan and haven't seen this, shame on you. You simply cannot have an in-depth conversation on horror without this film coming up. I urge you to check it out and decide for yourself. Can thousands of horror fans be wrong on this one? When have they steered you wrong before?

When i first saw re-animator in 85, i was aghast and appalled. i just didn't get it. i was a classic horror fan; so when i heard the obvious rip from psycho's theme, it irritated me even more.

well, now i'm an older, wiser horror fan. i just saw it again for the first time since 85 and i laughed my bum off! homage, homage, homage! honouring everything from hitchcock to raimi, from day of the dead to frankenstein. this in-your-face send off is a great double feature with dead alive. jeffery combs' over the top performance is reminiscent of colin clive and cronenberg found his very own ash in bruce abbott. so sit back, relax (as much as you can...) and enjoy re-animator.

Very loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's story "Herbert West: Re-Animator"

Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is new at Misketonic University in the (fictional) town of Arkham MA. He rooms with nice guy Dan (Bruce Abbott) but Dan's girlfriend Meg (Barbara Crampton) doesn't trust him. And evil Dr. Hill (the late David Gale) hates him. It seems West has a glowing green/yellow potion that brings the dead back to life...but they always come back in a foul mood. But he hasn't tried it on humans...yet...

Boy, do I miss the 80s! Back then they could make extremely gory, sick, violent, unrated films like this and get them to play at mainstream theatres. I saw this opening night in Boston back in 1985--it was unrated and no one under 18 was allowed in the theatre. The audience was quiet at first, but as the violence and gore escelated and the black humor kicked in, the audience came alive. People were screaming, yelling, laughing...just about everything! Especially during a sequence between Crampton and Gale which just went way over the boundaries of good taste. It was just great! The movie is fun on its own, but with the right type of audience it really comes alive.

The film has extreme gore...probably the goriest movie of its decade. It also has huge doses of black humor and the whole cast blessedly plays it straight...it they had winked at the camera once it would have destroyed the film.

The film also has a tight, well-written script (it runs 86 minutes), is well directed by Stuart Gordon and has a great cast--David Gale (sadly no longer with us) was fantastic as the evil Hill. Jeffrey Combs plays West just perfect--we see his obsession with the potion but Combs never overplays it. Abbott is somewhat bland but plays a very good hero. Crampton is just excellent as Meg--sexy, smart and very brave. Also Robert Sampson adds strong support as Meg's father.

Basically a must-see for any horror fan. Also a great score and I LOVE the ending! Don't miss this one!

Try to see the Special Edition DVD--it shows deleted scenes that flesh out the story more.