Re-Animator (1985)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Writers:

H.P. Lovecraft (story)
Dennis Paoli (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 October 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

H.P. Lovecraft's classic tale of horror

Plot:

A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Experiment | H.P. Lovecraft | Scientist | Death

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Jeffrey Combs	...	Herbert West
Bruce Abbott	...	Daniel 'Dan' Cain
Barbara Crampton	...	Megan Halsey
David Gale	...	Dr. Carl Hill
Robert Sampson	...	Dean Alan Halsey
Gerry Black	...	Mace (Miskatonic security guard)
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon	...	Dr. Harrod
Peter Kent	...	Melvin the Re-Animated
Barbara Pieters	...	Nurse
Ian Patrick Williams	...	Swiss professor
Bunny Summers	...	Swiss doctor
Al Berry	...	Dr. Gruber
Derek Pendleton	...	Swiss policeman #1
Gene Scherer	...	Swiss policeman #2
James Ellis	...	Psycho Ward guard #1

Runtime:

86 min (unrated version) | USA:95 min (R-rated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | West Germany:18 (video premiere) (heavily cut) | West Germany:Not Rated | Singapore:(Banned) | UK:18 (re-rating) (2007) (uncut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Australia:MA (re-rating) (2007) | Australia:MA (2007 re-rating) | South Korea:18 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 (Banned) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:Open (rating surrendered: 1986) | USA:R (cut version: 1986) | Iceland:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Empire Pictures

Trivia:

David Gale was made to shave his head and wear a toupee, as this was found to be in keeping with Dr. Hill's character.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: We see West shoving the drill through the cadaver's back and exiting his chest. The chest itself is a fake with the actor playing the cadaver holding on to it and shoving the drill through himself. We see this for ourselves when the two actors accidentally lift the fake chest high enough to reveal the real body underneath.

Quotes:

Dan Cain: He's dead?
Herbert West: Not anymore.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

A classic of the 80's-a rare thing

Considering the 70's was a decade of monumental proportions as far as films went, it was a shame the 80's had to produce such dreck, especially where horror films are concerned. In the 70's we had "The Exorcist", "Halloween", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Phantasm"-just to name a few. The 80's did produce a small but stellar group of classics, however, including "Evil Dead" 1 & 2, "A Nightmare On Elm Street", "An American Werewolf In London" and, of course, "Re-Animator". Like "Werewolf" and the "Evil Dead" films, part of "Re-Animator"'s success and notoriety is the film's deliciously sinister blend of horror and humor. Wait let me correct that-perverse horror and sick humor. In accordance with the decade that birthed it, this film is typically over the top and totally gratuitous, pulling out all the stops at every turn. Jeffrey Combs heads a great cast as Herbert West, a strange and eccentric but brilliant young doctor/scientist who has perfected a syrum that can reanimate the dead. Circumstances get out of hand when a medical student and his fiance (Bruce Abbott & Barbara Crampton) get involved in West's work and a plagarist rival doctor (David Gale) plots to steal his idea. Horror and hilarity ensue from there on, thanks to imaginitive visual effects coupled with clever dialogue. For nitpickers like myself there are a few minor inconsistencies in the screenplay, but it does very little to hinder the film. Ironically, several scenes that wound up on the cutting room floor (included on the dvd) would have fleshed out those minor story flaws, but they were excised-and probably rightly so-in the name of pacing. Besides, any flaws in writing are easily forgotten about thanks to the terrific performances. Here is a cast that really brought the characters "to life" so to speak; Combs as the nerdy scientist and Gale's lecherous Dr. Hill are both standouts. And Stuart Gordon's strong direction holds the whole thing together even when the film threatens to be crushed by it's own outlandishness. For those interested, check out the sequel "Bride of Re-Animator" that followed 4 years later. It doesn't hold a candle to this one, but it's plenty of fun in it's own right.