SalamanderGirl

This movie is a pale imitation of George Romero's original. Giving characters the same names isn't enough, pitting characters against zombies isn't enough. The 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead was outstanding, while this one fails almost completely on every level. Remember Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho and Roland Emmerich's remake of Godzilla? This turd is somewhere in between, trying to step in the footsteps of greatness, but, like a zombie, exhibiting no life of its own. This zombie movie is simply, well, dead.

I suggest you go rent the original Night of the Living Dead, or either version of Dawn of the Dead, or Return of the Living Dead or 28 Days Later. These are the zombie movies that will stand the test of time.

I like gory movies, but a baby Zombie returning to the womb is simply going too far. In "Dawn of the Dead," George Romero deliberately used off-color blood. It was red, but it didn't exactly LOOK like blood, and I think that was good. It added a slight non-real look to the film. The producers of "Dead End" supposedly used real blood and real gore, and that's just gross. There's an unusual "realism" to this movie which is unnerving, and at times I felt like I was watching a snuff film. There's so much screaming and so much misery, it's hard to believe any of these people were just acting. The zombie attacks in this movie aren't scary, they're simply ugly. It's like the filmmakers wanted to remind viewers that people bleed when they die, and they don't stop screaming until the lights go out. SOME of the gore would have worked, if not for the ugly documentary-style of film-making, constantly jolting the viewer. The characters are more or less believable, but none of them are very likable. The dialogue is fast and funny, but again, we don't like these people. The lead character is a reckless, devil-may-care jerk who thoughtlessly endangers the lives of everyone around him, just for the sake of "getting the shot."

However, in between all the disgusting deaths and the restraints of what must have been a non-existent budget, this movie leapfrogs to Naked Gun-like comedy, much of which is laugh-out-loud hysterical. The filmmakers take jabs at everything from Rocky Horror and Star Trek to President Reagan and Scientology, and numerous '50's horror movies, including a hilarious homage to Howard Hawks' "The Thing." There's even a character named Romero who starts kicking a dead horse.

It's too bad this movie can't be edited and re-released, minus most of the bloodshed. It could've been one of the funniest movies ever, but instead it's just one of the ugliest, redeemed by some imaginative deaths and some very funny moments.

I'm not going to say Re-Animator is "better" than George Romero's Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead, but it's certainly up there. Like "Dawn," this movie is funny and scary at the same time, with an emphasis on pushing the horror envelope. I think Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive" was inspired at least in part by this movie.

Renegade scientist Herbert West creates a serum that brings anything back to life. My favorite line is when West re-animates a dead cat. "It was dead... twice". Enter an idealistic young intern who's dating the Dean's beautiful daughter (if I were gay, Barbara Crampton would be the one), and well-stocked morgue and a plagiaristic scientist, and you've got a recipe for non-stop comic-vomit.

A roller-coaster of gory effects and violent deaths, "Re-Animator" doesn't stop for a second. It's not for everyone; some people don't enjoy watching naked zombies tearing themselves out of body bags and ripping people to shreds. But if you do... =)