The Resurrected (1992)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Dan O'Bannon

Writers:

H.P. Lovecraft (story)
Brent V. Friedman (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Charles Dexter Ward's wife enlists the help of a private detective to find out what her husband is up...

Plot Keywords:

H.P. Lovecraft | Spontaneous Combustion | Spontaneous Human Combustion | Resurrection | Independent Film

Cast

John Terry	...	John March
Jane Sibbett	...	Claire Ward
Chris Sarandon	...	Charles Dexter Ward / Joseph Curwen
Robert Romanus	...	Lonnie Peck
Laurie Briscoe	...	Holly Tender
Ken Camroux	...	Captain Ben Szandor
Patrick Pon	...	Raymond
Bernard Cuffling	...	Dr. Waite
J.B. Bivens	...	Station Orderly 1
Robert Sidley	...	Third Orderly
Des Smiley	...	Janitor
Eric Newton	...	Lucius Fenner
Tom Shorthouse	...	Gas Man
Jim Smith	...	Butcher
Phil Hayes	...	Uniform Cop (as Philip Hayes)

Also Known As:

Shatterbrain

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #31322)

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Scotti Brothers Pictures (I)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Claire Ward first visits John March, she sits in his office, and we can see Holly the receptionist's desk behind Claire through the glass wall. The first time we see this shot, there is someone who is not Holly behind the desk. The next time we see the shot, Holly is at her desk, but talking to someone, although as far as we know, no one else is there.

Quotes:

Joseph Curwen: Strong as my hunger for knowledge may be, my hunger for food is so much stronger.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Haunted Palace (1963)

Gotta love that final showdown...

According to other User Comments here, this is a noticeably faithful adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", previously filmed (although less faithfully) in the 1960's, as "The Haunted Palace" with Vincent Price.

Well-off scientist Ward (Chris Sarandon) has his curiosity get the better of him when old family artifacts come into his possession. His distraught wife Claire (Jane Sibbett, probably best known as Ross's lesbian ex-wife on 'Friends') goes to private detective John March (John Terry, seen since on TV series ranging from 'E.R.' to '24' to 'Las Vegas' to 'Lost') and asks him to find out just what weirdness her husband is up to.

Although more drawn out than I think it needed to be (that "haunted house walk" goes on for a pretty long time before anything really happens), this is actually reasonably entertaining, with director Dan O'Bannon (directing for the first and only time since 1985's "The Return of the Living Dead") capably bringing the story to life. I will say this...when O'Bannon decides to let the audience have it, he REALLY lets them have it, with impressively hideous splatter.

Sibbett and Terry are merely OK, but Sarandon - who ends up playing more than one role - is definitely worth watching. Robert Romanus, a.k.a. Mike Damone of "Fast Times at Ridgmont High" is on hand as March's leg man.

The dark and rainy skies of British Columbia work to set the mood for this little horror piece, worth catching for fans of the genre.

Incidentally, for those of you who have asked, this has recently been released on DVD by Lions Gate, but in full screen only and with absolutely no extras. Too bad.

7/10