Re-Animator (US. 1985)

"Herbert West has a very hood head on his shoulders... and another one in a dish on his desk."

Re-animator is one of the stalwarts of 80’s gore comedy that still holds up today as a classic of the genre. Director/Writer Stuart Gordon (Who originally toiled in Theater before making his big screen debut) excels at what was originally designed by as quick cash grab by producing partners Bryan Yuzna and Charles Band. Gordon loosely adapts the original story by H.P Lovecraft about Doctor Herbert West and his horrifying discovery that there’s a way to bring the dead back to life. This time, the story is transposed to modern times and the main focus is pulled away from Mr. West and is put on pretty boy med school student Dean Cain (Bruce Abbott). He and his girlfriend (Barbara Crampton) have a wonderful future of yuppie emptiness in front of them. Well, that’s until Mr. West makes his neurotic appearance as Dean’s new roommate. It’s then that we clearly see why this is considered a CLASSIC: Ladies and Gentlemen Jeffery Combs. His fantastic performance as the titular doctor is one that’s filled with so much screen charisma that you may suffocate under its weight. Anyone that can sell a scene where they fight zombie cat (A stuffed animal) and sell it as a matter of life and death is going on my “Wall of Glory for a Performance Filled with Squinty Delivery through Clenched Teeth” The rest of the actor’s are flat as boards but that’s to be expected in this type of film. The real reason you came to the party was to get shocked and entertained. If so, step right up to the surgical table and try not to slip on the slippery stuff on the floor. We’ve got surgical saws through the chest, heads ripped off and sentient intestines to keep you busy. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been plagiarized a million times over, but it’ still done with wit and flair. The Bernard Herman -sque score by Charles Band propels things forward with its twangy urgency. You know that they don’t make ‘em like this anymore when the climax involves over twenty freshly dead NAKED zombies. Yikes. There’s also the famous scene where a decapitated head goes down on a…yea…well…You get the idea.

DVD: Re-released about a million times under about ten different labels, Re-Animator has finally done it all with last year's Anchor Bay's Special Edition. There's a dry but interest commentary from Gordon, a giggly fun commentary from the cast and Producer Bryan Yuzna. The second disc has has an hour and a half documentary on the production, an hour interview with the producer and the director and...I'm suprised they didn't include the filmmakers first born with this