Re-Animator (1985)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Writers:

H.P. Lovecraft (story)
Dennis Paoli (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 October 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

H.P. Lovecraft's classic tale of horror

Plot:

A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Experiment | H.P. Lovecraft | Death | Scientist

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Jeffrey Combs	...	Herbert West
Bruce Abbott	...	Daniel 'Dan' Cain
Barbara Crampton	...	Megan Halsey
David Gale	...	Dr. Carl Hill
Robert Sampson	...	Dean Alan Halsey
Gerry Black	...	Mace (Miskatonic security guard)
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon	...	Dr. Harrod
Peter Kent	...	Melvin the Re-Animated
Barbara Pieters	...	Nurse
Ian Patrick Williams	...	Swiss professor
Bunny Summers	...	Swiss doctor
Al Berry	...	Dr. Gruber
Derek Pendleton	...	Swiss policeman #1
Gene Scherer	...	Swiss policeman #2
James Ellis	...	Psycho Ward guard #1

Runtime:

86 min (unrated version) | USA:95 min (R-rated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | West Germany:18 (video premiere) (heavily cut) | West Germany:Not Rated | Singapore:(Banned) | UK:18 (re-rating) (2007) (uncut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Australia:MA (re-rating) (2007) | Australia:MA (2007 re-rating) | South Korea:18 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 (Banned) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:Open (rating surrendered: 1986) | USA:R (cut version: 1986) | Iceland:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Empire Pictures

Trivia:

The bald, bearded doctor at the foot of Megan's bed who gets shoved away as Dan tries to revive her is underground cartoonist Kim Deitch ("The Boulevard of Broken Dreams"), son of legendary Jazz-era cartoonist Gene Deitch ("The Cat").

Goofs:

Continuity: When West is preparing to reanimate the Dean's body in the morgue, he circles the embalming table, and swivels a pivoting lamp along with him. In the next shot, however, the lamp vanishes altogether.

Quotes:

Herbert West: I must say, Dr. Hill, I'm VERY disappointed in you. You steal the secret of life and death, and here you are trysting with a bubble-headed coed. You're not even a second-rate scientist!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Deadline (2002)

Modern Horror Classic

The astute viewer will immediately pick up on the tone of Re-Animator. The introduction (added to the film at the last minute before its release) is a glimpse of the over-the-top nature of the entire production. If one were to be frightened by this intro, he or she will be comforted by the playful cheer of the opening title music. The score was heavily inspired by the famous Psycho score, a classic by Bernard Herrmann.

The movie, inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's `Herbert West: Re-Animator', follows a simple plot. Herbert West (played to precise pitch perfection by Jeffrey Combs who, like Bruce Campbell, is a B-Movie legend) is new at Miskatonic Medical University. Immediately, Herbert clashes with Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale) on the subject of `brain death'.

At the same time, Dan Cain (Bruce Abbot) is looking for a roommate. He is also dating Dean Alan Halsey's (Robert Sampson) daughter, Megan (Barbara Crampton). When Herbert West shows up at Dan's door one night during a `study' session, Megan is immediately suspicious. Why is Herbert so anxious to move in? Why is he so interested in the basement?

It is not long before the cat is dead, re-animated and dead again. The early scenes of violence are disturbing and hilarious at the same time and are only a taste of what is to come. Dan tries to resist the temptation of power inherent in the re-animating fluid, but is sucked into Herbert's mad world of life giving.

There is a turn of events about halfway through the film (which I would be crazy to spoil) that almost screams to the viewer, `We aren't playing by the rules here.' The storyline twists its way to the famous conclusion that, if you haven't heard of it, will leave you breathless. Even if you know what is going to happen, when you finally see it, in all of it's gory, sexual glory you understand why this classic has achieved such a status. The finale of the film is twisted in so many ways it's impossible to count.

Obviously, I loved the movie. Having never been anything but a horror fan, I cannot say it will suit everyones' tastes. The film is so over-the-top that the outrageous gore becomes less and less shocking. The timid viewer may want to shy away from this masterpiece. Anyone with even the slightest curiosity should seek this movie out.