Re-Animator

Watch: Re-Animator

10/18/19851h 26m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Herbert West has a good head on his shoulders...and another one on his desk. ~

Overview:

Conducting clandestine experiments within the morgue at Miskatonic University, scientist Herbert West reveals to a fellow graduate student his groundbreaking work concerning the re-animation of fresh corpses.

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$900,000.00

Revenue:

$2,023,414.00

Key words:

experiment
insanity
overdose
black humor
mad scientist
decapitation
reanimation
laboratory
severed head
hospital
zombie
intestines
death
black cat
based on short story
dead cat
surgical operation
reanimated corpse
medical student
medical school
bold

Cast

Jeffrey Combs

~ as ~

Herbert West

Bruce Abbott

~ as ~

Dan Cain

Barbara Crampton

~ as ~

Megan Halsey

David Gale

~ as ~

Dr. Carl Hill

Robert Sampson

~ as ~

Dean Alan Halsey

Carolyn Purdy-Gordon

~ as ~

Dr. Harrod

Peter Kent

~ as ~

Melvin the Re-Animated (uncredited)

Ian Patrick Williams

~ as ~

Swiss Professor (uncredited)

Bunny Summers

~ as ~

Swiss Woman Doctor (uncredited)

Al Berry

~ as ~

Dr. Gruber (uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

Gimly
Written 8 year(s) ago
6
I don't feel as strongly about Re-Animator as much of the horror community does. I absolutely enjoy it, recommend it, even. Just in more of a Watch-Enjoy-Done sort of way.

Very different from your typical Lovecraft fare.

Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go.
T
TheTenth
Written 7 year(s) ago
10
In 1985 I was 15, and already a big horror movie fan. With Evil Dead, Halloween, Friday 13th, Italian horror ... the genre was dynamic. Then, reading Mad Movies, I see this very gore movie inspired by a short Lovecraft tale, coming soon.

I go there at 2pm, watch the movie and end up seeing it 7 times in 3 days. The cast gives an insane (!!!) performance, especially Jeffrey Combs of course, but having Bruce Abbott try to keep his sanity and stay alive in the horrific events. Barbara Crampton will be mainly remembered by being licked by a severed head, but she does a nice "normal" character. The couple try to save what they can (sanity and life) and are quite a counterpoint to West and his madness of overcoming death, whatever consequences there may be.

Most scenes are in the Arkham faculty, some at Dan's apartment. This also enhances the madness of it all, with a regular setting where usually nothing wrong could happen.

The "gore" SFX still are vivid in my mind. So OK more modern SFX are done now, but those rubber body parts with liters of blood were really efficient, and I'll add "physical". Those computer generated very often lack the practical physicality of holding a severed hand or head they do now (must be a challenge for the actors to interact with nothing beside a green sceen.

Overall these elements create a powerfully entertaining movie.