An Imperfect Solution: A Tale of the Re-Animator

2003
17m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

An Imperfect Solution: A Tale of the Re-Animator (2003)

In the year 1920 two Miskatonic University graduates are practicing medicine by day and trying to revive the dead by night. Herbert West is prepared to go to great lengths to see his theorie... Read allIn the year 1920 two Miskatonic University graduates are practicing medicine by day and trying to revive the dead by night. Herbert West is prepared to go to great lengths to see his theories through to fruition, and when his fellow doctor is called away Herbert takes advantage o... Read allIn the year 1920 two Miskatonic University graduates are practicing medicine by day and trying to revive the dead by night. Herbert West is prepared to go to great lengths to see his theories through to fruition, and when his fellow doctor is called away Herbert takes advantage of a golden opportunity. But with Dr. Helder's return we learn how imperfect Herbert's solu... Read all

Director
- Christian Matzke
Writers
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Christian Matzke
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Christian Matzke
Writers
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Christian Matzke
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos2

User reviews4

6.374

Featured reviews

10EdwardMartinIII

A fine adaptation!

"An Imperfect Solution" (Oh, what an awful pun!) is a fine adaptation of Lovecraft's Herbert West stories. Although much good can be said of Stuart Gordon's adaptations, the fact is, they've dominated the field as far as adapting any of these oddball stories. Matzke's adapted one in a faithful, period piece, with an obvious eye toward a love for the genre, the material, and the historical flavor of the original work. There is a quiet horror in this movie, a sense of the surreal and the terrifying.

9zorn24601

Excellent Lovecraft adaptation

This short film is based on "The Scream of the Dead", a chapter in H.P. Lovecraft's story 'Herbert West-Reanimator'. Bob Poirier's performance as Herbert West is perfect. It's like the character walked off the page onto the screen.

I'd like to see Crawling Chaos Pictures try a full-length adaptation of 'Re-Animator'. The best thing about their vision of it is that they set it in the 1920's, around the time the original story was set, instead of 'updating' it like a lot of larger-budget filmmakers feel impelled to do.

I saw this at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon. On the big screen, the graininess of the film takes a moment to get used to. This is, after all, an amateur production. But even that adds to the feel of watching a story set in the past. I give this 9/10 stars.

9James Raynor

Great Stuff

I was heartily entertained by Christian Matzke's tale of the Re-Animator. The B&W photography really lends itself to any Lovecraft adaptation, and this flick doesn't skimp on the atmosphere. The music also helps a lot, which never once falls into the dodgy Casio-synth chasm that many a low budget movie does. The actors put in great performances all round too.

I saw this at a time when I had recently read the original stories for the first time (in preparation for my own Re-Animator short) and was impressed with the faithfulness of the adaptation. In terms of re-creating Lovecraft's sense of dread, Matzke has done a stellar job.

5/5

10aaronjv-1

An almost perfect adaptation

This short film, based on the "Re-Animator" stories by HP Lovecraft, is far more serious and dramatic than Stuart Gordon's version. "Solution" is not as gory (although there are a few shots to make you wince, plus a blood soaked corpse) and it lacks a severed head taking liberties with an immobilized co-ed. That's good. What Matzke does here is magnificently bring you to the time period of Lovecraft, with props and locations that are worthy of larger budget fare. More importantly, the film examines the real issues involved in re-animation...why would anyone even attempt it? This isn't a movie to make you laugh--it's a movie to make you think; a rarity these days.