Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
What'll they do? Embalm us?, July 12, 2005
Every once in a while a horror film deliberately sets out to be a tongue in cheek lampoon of its genre. One such was Alligator, which took the 'man eating monster in a cave' film to its illogical conclusion. Another is Re-Animator, which set out to define a genre (films based on Lovecraft) at the very same time it lampooned the style. For H. P. Lovecraft's work has eluded all efforts to transfer the stories to film (the closest are In The Mouth of Madness and The Dunwich Horror), and Director Stuart Gordon may very well have figured out why.
The film is based on H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator, a short story series written in the early 1920's about a pair of medical students who were obsessed with bringing the dead back to life - with inevitably unpleasant results. Screenwriters Dennis Paoli, William Norris and Stuart Gordon have updates the story to the 1980's, throwing in a love interest and even some gratuitous nudity. Medical student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) has moved into a house that is a bit beyond his means, and his quest for a roommate introduces him to Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs). West (as the viewer know from an introductory snippet) has returned from Switzerland where he studied (and re-animated) Dr. Gruber. West is the classic mad scientist type, willing to do just about anything to get fresh bodies for his experiments.
West's experiments quickly get Cain in trouble with the medical school and estranged from his girl friend Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton). Her father, Dean Alan Halsey (Robert Sampson) is an early West subject who is then lobotomized by Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale) who is motivated by a desire to steal West's ideas and a weird yen for Megan. The film climaxes in a frantic laboratory scene which is the primary reason for me deciding to re-title the film 'Parts.''
All of this is done with a straight face, but the acting is so bad it really is funny. Lovecraft's greatest skill is his ability to craft purple prose, but that never translates well to the screen. As a result, West's declamations are overdone and Cain can't help but play a bumbler unable to resist the clarion calls of his housemate. By the time Dr. Hill's head (carried about by his body) starts seducing poor Megan, all is hopeless. Without Lovecraft's writing ability to keep the atmospherics working, the action dissolves into pure parody. If you hunger after perfect schlock horror, look no further. As is sometimes the case, bad is good.
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
A horror masterpiece is re-animated on DVD!, November 8, 2005
Medical student "Herbert West" ( Jeffery Combs) has just returned from Switzerland after doing a horrifying experiment on a doctor has just joined the myskotonic medical university in Arkansas as he becomes the roommate of a fellow medical student "Dan" (Bruce Abbot) whom is having an affair with the dean's daughter "Meg" (Barbara Crampton). But Dan is getting involved with Herbert West's experiments which involves bringing the dead back to life with a special glowing green serum called "Re-Agent" but unfortunately it creates violent zombies that go awry.
A sick, gory, and hilarious horror Sci-fi comedy based on a HP Lovecraft story has become a cult classic since it's release in 1985! This movie was released in that year unrated in theaters with a "No one under 18 warning" but became a minor hit in theaters including critical acclaim in this cross between "E.R" and "Evil Dead". Suprisingly good acting for a low budget movie even by David Gale who wickedly plays the evil Dr. Carl Hill whom becomes the best zombie of the movie. There's alot of nasty gore in this movie like a skull and brain surgery scene with sleaze as well, it's not for the faint of heart or squeamish but a must see and must have for fans of horror, horror comedy, gore and zombie flicks.
This 2-Disc Millenium DVD has awesome picture & Sound from THX! great extras include storyboard-scene comparison, audio commentaries, interviews, trailers & TV Spots, Extended scenes from the "R" rated cut, Bios and Deleted scenes, most recommended.
Also recommended: "Evil Dead 1 & 2", "Day of the Dead", "Frankenstein ( 1931)", "Cannibal Holocaust", "City of the living Dead ( a.k.a. Gates of Hell)", "Zombie", "Demons", " Blood Diner", " The Toxic Avenger", "Basket Case", " Dead Alive", " From Dusk Till Dawn", " The Devil's Rejects", "House of 1000 Corpses", "House By The Cemetery", " Maniac ( 1980)", " Cannibal Ferox", "Wrong Turn", "Final Destination 2", "28 Days Later", " Land of the Dead", "Return of the Living Dead 3", "Caligula", " Dead & Breakfast", "Rabid Grannies", "Tromeo & Juliet", " Let Sleeping Corpses Lie", " Resident Evil", "Resident Evil Apocalypse", " The New York Ripper", "Ichi The Killer', " Men Behind The Sun", "Riki-Oh The Story of Ricky", "Undead", " Shaun of the Dead", " The Brain that wouldn't Die", " Scanners", "Videodrome", "The Fly ( 1986)", "The Brood", "Steel and Lace", " American Werewolf in London", " Dereanged", " Bride of & Beyond Re-Animator", " Tenebre", "Inferno", " The Lost Boys", "The Forsaken", " High Tension", " Fright Night", " Bio-Zombie", "Saw", " Burial Ground", "Dead Heat ( 1988)", " Terror Firmer", " The Stuff", " Cabin Fever", "The Thing ( 1982)", " It's Alive!", " Cemetery Man", " Tetsuo The Iron Man", "Candyman", "Cannibal Apocalypse", "Inferno", "Phenomena", "Suspiria", "Blood Diner", " Gore-Gore Girls", " Driller Killer", "Jeepers Creepers" and "The Beyond".
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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.5 stars, June 19, 2007
This student guy is kicked out of his university. Then he goes to another university and he starts workin in the morgue and moves in with another student and his girlfriend and he starts doin experiments with the cat. He think he found some kind of formula for the re animation of corpses. The cat comes back to life and he tries to convince his roomate that the formula really works.. even on humans. So they try it with humans in the lab and it works. It was really funny, much more funny than scary, like the cat they bring back to life looks like a stuffed animal and the dad in the straight jacket. It was pretty good. This DVD comes with a little needle with that potion stuff in it.
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