H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator - Movie Review - The Horror Corner

... IT'S CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS, IT'S CHRISTMAS, IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! IT'S THE TIME WHERE BABY JESUS WAS BORN, AND WE GET LOTS OF PRESENTS! YAAAAY!... ahem, sorry. Welcome to the Christmas episode of The Horror Corner on CheshireCatStudios.com, where we are going to look at a very well-known adaptation to one of H.P. Lovecraft's short stories. Can you take a guess as to what it is? We're looking at the adaptation of "Herbert West - Reanimator", "Re-Animator!"

-Synopsis-

Starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West and directed by Stuart Gordon ("Dreams In The Witch House" of Masters of Horror), "Re-Animator" is about a mad scientist who comes to Miskatonic University to continue his studies and experiments on bringing the dead back to life, thus the title. He soon drags his unwitting friend Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott), a fellow student, into his experiments, and everything goes to hell in a hand basket faster than Obama's approval rating. What? What did I say? Anyway, the downsides of Dr. West's experiments that causes everything to go to hell in an instant is the fact that if the corpses aren't revived right after they have died, the risen are reduced to extremely violent zombies, which causes more and more chaos as the film goes on.

More characters include Megan Halsey (Barbara Compton), the love interest of Dan, Dr. Hill (David Gale), the rival of Dr. West who steals other people's ideas to further his own reputation, and Dean Halsey (Robert Sampson), the protective father of Megan who befalls an unfortunate accident when he tries to protect his daughter from the "dangerous" Dr. West.

H.P. Lovecraft's story took place at the time it was written, 1921-1922, so "Re-Animator" was modernized to take place in 1985, the time the movie was made. That means Miskatonic University, the characters, and the science was updated. Even though Lovecraft said that this was his least-favorite short story out of all that he wrote, it has gained its own following throughout the several decades it has been around, partially in thanks to this movie. Does this mean that the adaptation of the original tale was put at stake because of this?

-The Good-

Again, "Re-Animator" was a faithful adaptation to Lovecraft's story that, while not completely accurate, is entertaining to a fan. Even though this movie gets most of its appeal in a strictly B-movie sense, it's as every bit ridiculous and funny as the best! I wouldn't say it's on the same level as "Evil Dead 2", but it's still a bloody fun watch if you're in the mood for some zombie madness and plain weird shit!

Want to see a severed head giving head? You got it! You want to see someone's head exploding and gushing with gore and lots of blood? You bet! Want to see loads of naked zombies rampaging around? Okay, you weirdo! This movie excels in having lots of gore and loads of crazy 80's special effects in toll, despite the fact this was a low-budget flick. It's 80's gore at it's finest! The effects were done by John Naulin, drawing inspiration from a book of forensic pathology and different types of bodies at the Cook County medical morgue to make their effects just a step above many of the rest, and to create some odd, interesting special effects!

Technically speaking, this wasn't shabby for a low-budget movie! The lighting was appropriately dark where it was meant to be, like when West and Dan fight a re-animated cat in the latter's basement after the experiment went terribly wrong. The characters were also portrayed appropriately, Dr. West and his rival Dr. Hill (David Gale) are over-the-top, especially when the latter gets his head lopped off and becomes an undead corpse carrying around the head like a puppet and its master. The supporting cast is as good as a B-movie dictates, and that means that the actors in this aren't as painfully bad as in "Sleepaway Camp", for instance.

The story was also well-told, and it is also reminiscent of an 80's B-story. The relationships between the different characters are also dynamic in a very good way, showing us a contrast in the different relationships that the different characters share. Dr. West and Dr. Hill have a distrusting rivalry that escalates as the latter tries to steal West's re-animation serum, beginning from West's distaste for Hill's plagiarizing of other findings from other people. These two battle it out to the very end of the film, ending in a climax where the re-animated corpse of Dr. Hill controls an entire morgue full of corpses. The relationship between Dr. West and Dan is different, as their relationship is love-hate. Dan believes Herbert is insane in his attempts to re-animate the dead, but he can't seem to escape from the madness that is about to be unleashed. For example, when he could have easily walked away, Dan reluctantly helps Herbert re-animate one of the corpses in the morgue as a test for his notes. This also acts as a part of the comedic element that is masterfully mixed with the horror in this film, and that also builds a lot of the appeal for "Re-Animator."

The love that Dan and Megan also share is believable, and you feel bad when Dan loses his scholarship out of Dean Halsey's attempts to protect his daughter after she told him that Herbert West killed and re-animated her pet cat in the basement the night before. You also feel bad when the Dean is killed and reanimated, acting now like a helpless child who is unable to do anything, after a furious zombie kills him, and you seriously feel sympathy for this character. Megan, understandably, is extremely upset by this event, and she eventually tries to stay as far away as possible from Dan and Herbert to try and cope with her loss. That is, until she is forcefully dragged back into their world when Dr. Hill's re-animated corpse, freshly beheaded thanks to Herbert, kidnaps her. The characters are awesome, and I really like how the movie was directed.

-The Bad-

Unfortunately for this movie, though, some of the madness that "Re-Animator" comes to bring to the table may actually alienate some potential audience members. Even though most of the horror films out there can be excessive at times, "Re-Animator" treads the fine line between zany and gory, and just really fucking weird. The dismembered head of Dr. Hill giving Megan head, after she is kidnapped, to fulfill a sick sexual longing that the corpse has for her, for instance, may be where some people draw the line, and this could be a potential weakness to the film. "From Beyond" is, to many Lovecraft fans, where the line was finally crossed, but "Re-Animator" came very, VERY close to treading that path. Thankfully, it never went past that line, and it is still entertaining for many horror fans!

-The Verdict-

Despite the fact people I know have said "Re-Animator" is a huge joke, and it generally sucks, I say nay. I enjoyed this movie for the reasons listed above, and I commend it for not crossing the line into where B-films become terrible films. The characters were also believable, and the story was well-told for a B-film; you could feel sympathy for the characters, and the relationships between all of the characters are dynamic and different enough to keep "Re-Animator interesting throughout its entirety. I'd say give "Re-Animator" a shot, especially if you are an H.P. Lovecraft fan, because this is one of the most accurate Lovecraft adaptations that I've ever seen! It's not a masterpiece like "The Evil Dead", but it's still a bloody good time that recommends a viewing!

3.5/5