IMDb user comments for
Beyond Re-Animator (2003) More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 7:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Index

66 comments in total

---

23 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Tongue in Cheek. Whose Cheek? Whose Tongue?, 7 June 2004

Author: w00f from The Flaming Wreckage

I loved the first Re-Animator movie. "Bride of Re-Animator" was OK. This one is over-the-top, completely twisted, and just plain clean, gory, bloody, guts spattering about, eyeballs crawling around, penis-attacks-rat fun.

This isn't a movie that takes itself seriously, and you shouldn't, either.

Jeffrey Combes is wonderful, as always, as Dr. Herbert West. Dr. West has figured out (or so he thinks) what was missing in his previous "experiments." Needless to say, it doesn't work as planned (hey, it's "just a theory"), and much mayhem ensues. Much. Much more than in the first two movies. Think "Attica" meets "Night of the Living Dead" meets "Freaky Friday." Yes, it's that far off the deep end.

I would recommend this film highly to anyone who enjoys a humorous splatter flick. If you're not a deranged gorehound, you probably won't like this one. Speaking as a longtime deranged gorehound, however, I can safely say that this is one of the finest films ever made in its genre, and certainly worthy of several Academy Awards.

I did mention that I was deranged, right?

Yeah, I did. And if you are, too, see this movie. And don't forget to watch the absolutely classic "Move Your Dead Bones" video that also comes on the DVD. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll like it better than "Cats."

Kudos to Brian Yuzna!

---

16 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent and Very Funny Cult Trash-Movie, 26 May 2005

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After thirteen years in a prison ruled by a very mean director, Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is invited to be the assistant of the new-comer Dr. Howard Phillips (Jason Barry), a brilliant resident, in the penitentiary infirmary. After being introduced to each other, Dr. Phillips discloses that the last experiment of Dr. West killed his sister thirteen years ago, when he was a boy, and he became fascinated with the possibility of bringing dead people back to life. The journalist Laura Olney (Elsa Pataky), who is covering a matter for her newspaper in the prison, has an affair with Dr. Phillips, and they fall in love for each other. However, the experience of Dr. West looses control and the place becomes a branch of hell. "Beyond Re-Animator" was a great surprise for me. I did not expect anything interesting in this sequel, but I decided to risk, based on the names of Brian Yuzna and Jeffrey Combs. When I saw twice the microphone mistakenly in the scene in the beginning of the movie, when Dr. West is having a conversation with Sergeant Moncho (Lolo Herrero) in his cell, I thought that I was going to lose my time watching this film. However, "Beyond Re-Animator" is an excellent and very funny trash-movie, with a great potential of cult-movie. The story is very bloody and has lots of black humor and gore, recalling the style of Peter Jackson's "Braindead". This movie is a worthwhile sequel of the cult "Re-Animator" and "Bride of Re-Animator". Along the credits, there is another very funny scene. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Re-Animator – Fase Terminal" ("Re-Animator – Terminal Phase")

---

14 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
More great gory fun!, 27 August 2004

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

As a big fan of the Re-Animator series, I was quite excited when I found out that a second sequel was being made. Unfortunately, however, due to poor distribution in the UK; it has taken me over a year to find a copy. But now that I've finally seen it, I am pleased to report that Beyond Re-Animator doesn't disappoint! It is now 13 years after the infamous massacre of the second film and Herbert West has found himself in jail. However, you can't keep a good re-animator down, and being in jail doesn't stop his experiments, especially when a new doctor; Dr Howard Phillips arrives on the scene.

Jeffrey Combs returns as the insane scientist, Dr Herbert West. Unfortunately, Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) from the other two films doesn't return, but Re-Animator was always Combs' series anyway, so although it's a loss; the show must, and most certainly does go on. Jeffrey Combs was made for the part of Herbert West; his portrayal of the character is absolutely wonderful. He catches just the right atmosphere of a man obsessed by his work in all three films. He also manages to tie a lot of humour in, which is obviously a good thing for a tongue in cheek movie such as this. The rest of the cast acts as a support to Combs, and succeeds fairly well in that respect but none really impress much on their own. Jason Barry (who had a small role in the rubbish movie; Titanic) acts as Dan Cain's replacement and Herbert West's new understudy; Howard Phillips. He never really impresses in the movie and it would seem that his main objective in the movie is to make West look more insane, and through his subdued performance; he does that well. Elsa Patasky looks good as the lady of the film, but her performance is terrible; even embarrassingly bad at times. Simón Andreu is the only member of the cast other than Combs that really impresses, and he plays the prison warden; the villain of the piece.

Gorehounds won't be disappointed with this film, I can guarantee you that! Re-Animator became infamous for it's heavy amounts of overly gory sequences, and this movie features lots of them too; from an exploding chest to a severed torso that walks on it's hands; this movie has it all. Many sequels, particularly horror sequels just recap the original with more gore, but the Re-Animator sequels haven't so far, all have something new. In Bride of Re-Animator (Re-Animator 2), a new idea about animated different parts of a dead corpse emerged, and in this film the new idea is adding the 'soul' to the re-animated body. It is admirable for the series to take that route as for a film of this ilk, more gore could simply be added and it's fans would almost certainly happy, but here you get a story to chew on aswell.

The last two films ended with a riot, which has become a part of the Re-Animator tradition, and this film doesn't break that great tradition. The last 30 minutes or so are absolutely insane, with many things going on all at once and that is sure to please fans of the original movies. Overall, Beyond Re-Animator is an incredible gory ride and is recommended to anyone with the stomach for this sort of movie.

---

9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blood Red, 6 June 2004
Author: robert_chambers from Oklahoma

This third Re-Animator movie delivered what any fan of the series would expect. The formerly dead jitterbug about after receiving a dose of reagent from Herbert West. West again has a love stricken assistant. West's assistant is again in a love triangle with West's would-be nemesis. So, why not pop Re-animator or Bride of Re-animator in if there is nothing new? Good question. Here are some reasons

1- The effects in this film are top notch.

2- Jeffrey Combs again shows his acting chops playing Herbert West.

3- There is a new twist to the re-animation process that shows some promise in `clinical trials'.

There are some really convincing effects throughout the film. Makeup and effects are more than window dressing in a film of this nature. Inadequate attention to either would have dropped the value of this film immediately. You believe that these guys have been dead and now no longer are. They are much more believable than JarJar Binks.

Herbert West is over a decade older in this film. Combs takes this maturity and adds it to the character he molded in the previous efforts. It's obvious that he is the same Dr. West yet it is also obvious that time has added to the character. Even more interesting, at the beginning of the film is a flashback where Combs plays the younger West. It's an opportunity to compare the two portrayals almost side by side. The essence of West remains, the speech pattern, the physicality remain. What Combs added to West's character is a veil to the intensity. What was once a roaring fire is now under control. He is no less determined, just a bit more subdued in expressing it.

The addition to the re-animation process, which I will not discuss in particular, adds another moral dimension to the question of the correctness of bringing back the dead. Although this moral dimension is directly addressed in the film, Medical Ethics 101 it is not. The ethical question is covered briefly and in the context of the fate of West's nemesis. As with all Re-animator activity conducted by West time is valuable and little of it is wasted. Events are happening rapidly and under less than ideal circumstances.

The DVD version has an music video on it, which was a surprise. It also has a `making of' short that should have had about another five or six days of work done to it before including it. It does have interviews with the principle actors and with the director. Have your subtitles turned on, the actors, with two exceptions speak Spanish even during the clips from the movie included in the short.

As any good sequel will, this one leaves open the possibility of yet another Re-animator movie. Hopefully the production quality will continue its improvement. Maybe Bruce Abbott and Barbara Crampton can be re-animated for the fourth film.

---

4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A Most Welcome Return, 1 January 2004

Author: kscaduncan from London, England

It's been well over a decade since we last saw Herbert West and now he's finally back. It seems his past has finally caught up with him as he is now currently serving a jail sentence for the gory mayhem his re-animated corpses have caused. The arrival of a new young doctor, who wants to help West, results in West being back in business. The best thing about this film is Jeffrey Combs. He slips back into the role of Herbert West effortlessly. The gore effects courtesy of Screaming Mad George are also a highlight. While not as good as the original, it's about even with Bride Of Re-Animator. I hope there'll be further instalments.

Oh and continue watching during the end credits.

---

5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Very enjoyable horror film., 27 August 2004

Author: HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland

After causing the Miskatonic University Massacre,Dr.Herbert West has been serving a prison sentence for the past 14 years.Far from overcoming his scientific obsession with bringing dead organisms back to life,he has had no choice but to continue his experiments on the only specimens he can find in his cell:rats.When Howard,a new young doctor,comes to work as the prison MD and requests his assistance,Dr.West discovers that the young protege has something he left behind 14 years ago..."Beyond Re-Animator" is an enjoyable horror flick that offers plenty of gore.It's nice to see Jeffrey Combs again as Herbert West.The acting is okay and and there is a lot of zombies running around plus a nice dose of black humour(a bitten-off re-animated penis which has a rather hilarious fight with a re-animated rat).This film is surely not as good as "Re-Animator",but if you want to be entertained give it a look.7 out of 10.

---

4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Oh Boy...., 31 January 2004

Author: suspiria10 from The Void

Dr. Herbert West returns in this the third film. Now on death row. West continues his experiments in secret and creates a new process to control the feral aspects of the reanimated subjects. Well finally I got some answers to some nagging questions. 1. When the heck will there be another film. 2. What happens when the serum is injected into a living subject. 3. And who would when the fight between a cockfighting penis and a kung fu rat.

---

2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
My long-ass BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR review (spoiler free with plenty of bias to go around), 28 July 2003

Author: stemage

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

We arrived for the midnight showing at about 11:30 with two fears, an empty theatre, or a sold out show - who could guess for an unadvertised, but highly anticipated B-movie? Sure enough, the theatre was about 3/4 full both nights. How nice.

The opening scene threw out what looked like homage's to The Gate, Scream, and obviously Day of the Dead (tonguey) all at one time, only to land on the aged Herbert West sitting in the darkness of a vehicle. The crowd let out a cheer, and I realized how fun this might get.

One of my favorite parts about this flick honestly is the credit intro. If you've seen the other two Re-animators, you remember the neon body schematics, rotating in time with that wildly dissonant and catchy theme song, and the credits on top. It's always been fun to watch, and they don't stray far this time. Only now, the schematics are all sepiatone, and they go from standard textbook drawings into very stylized, almost comic book fantasy drawings of the nude. Parts of some pictures zoom out only to form different pictures, and it's very cool. On top is a fully symphonic rendition of the original themesong, slowed down and fixed up nicely. VERY well done.

Remember the old Re-animators? The cheese, ass actors (except Herbert of course), intentionally overacted and entertainingly shallow dialogue, gore, and West's superhero qualities?? Well, if you loved all that, then you can relax knowing that Beyond is more of the same. Of course, the look and production values are updated for 2003 (14 years after Bride), but it's no rehash, and nothing "sells out" in this movie.

Directing: If you haven't heard, Beyond Re-animator takes place in a prison, and Yuzna makes good use of color and vectors with the prison bars, and definitely creates a closed, prison atmosphere. Everything is blue or an "off" shade of gray in Beyond, and it fits. But, the first 15 minutes and the last 10 are really the only times that Yuzna shows off visually. Some of the tricks are pretty clever. One scene shows the view from one of the Re-animated looking at West, and it's very cool! Another montage shows footage from different places twisted and morphed over each other, in the style of the opening credits... also very cool!

I'll tell ya though, It's definitely Yuzna directing this thing. 14 years later?? More of the same. He knows how to direct the camera, he knows how to create the occasional tension, but he can't direct a person to save his damn life! There are two scenes in Beyond Re-animator that are so abysmally bad, with dialogue that might live up to Junior High Theatre standards, and actors that I swear were recruited from Miskatonic High School just before the shoot, that the entire audience cringed and let out an applause and bark afterwards to relieve the pain. Jumping Jesus, I kid you not... the two main characters along side West are the worst thing since unsliced bread. It's so bad, we've convinced ourselves it was on purpose! And the best part?... IT FITS!! Like I said, more of the same. There has not been a Re-animator yet that didn't make you roll your eyes and laugh at how strangely lines were given... and with friends, it just makes the movie more fun.

Comedy: Holy hell!! At the beginning, I wondered to myself how much this movie would take itself seriously, and by the end credits, I knew. This movie loves itself for being funny, and man, is it ever. We chuckled through every other scene. Catch phrases, innuendoes and puns, a doctor kicking a table down the hallway for no reason other than to make me laugh, damnit... it's all out there - all leading up to a pretty wild ending. I can't spoil a thing, but the footage during the credits not only had everyone in the theatre rolling, but also gasping for breath leaving the theatre. THAT'S how much Beyond takes itself seriously. Ah yes... good times.

The effects: I'm so impressed!! This thing was $3,000,000!! There's some pretty amazing stuff in here for a measly 3. Yuzna keeps to the roots with latex and karo, but he uses a little CGI quite well to add something else - it fits, don't worry. There's some fabulous green-screening and 3D work in here. Props to Fantastic Factory for cranking this stuff out "at an affordable price". It does take a while for the gore to kick into gear (like the first one), but once it's there, it's there.

Everything else: It was interesting to watch the crowd both nights. Friday's crowd was definitely the hardcore West fanboy bunch - the ones that clapped upon his first entry (including me). The second night has some pretty dry people... people didn't laugh as much, and they seemed to be filter from the people that saw the flyer the day before when they caught Tomb Raider. A few people actually left. Most still enjoyed every minute.

Jeffery Combs has definitely aged well. He's still West. He plays his part to perfection, with maybe slightly less energy (not as much flailing), and he still remains my favorite over-actor of all time.

I must stress again how bad the new doctor's acting is. This kid is the child of someone, he must be. But he's by far the easiest to ridicule... better horrible, than just par in my opinion. It just adds to the comedy.

Oh yeah, and there are boobies.

Thank you Yuzna for bringing this back. I could care less if there is another, because if it's not broken....... don't make another one. Bride? Bride was broken. And this fixed it.

I'm giving it the ultimate bias fanboy fan score of 9/10. I took a little off because there are a few slow parts, and some of that acting really hurt... most helped though.

If you aren't a fan of the first two, you WILL NOT like this one. If you dig on everything the first two represented, I highly recommend a viewing. It's a lot of fun, and you will definitely leave with a big f'n smile on your face!

Can't wait for the DVD! Bring me extras or bring me re-agent!

"I gave him life!" - Dr. Herbert West

---

3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting Enough, 17 February 2006

Author: gothic_a666 from Portugal

Any movie that includes a character named after the Great Lovecraft himself is bound to attract the attention of quite a few enthusiasts, even though in this case said character is dull and mostly thinly constructed, yet this is a sequel to the epic of Doctor West and his uncanny obsession, as such it was bound to create a certain momentum.

Which it does, up to a certain time. The opening scene is quite unexpected if not remarkably brilliant and although the movie seems to lag off during its middle sections, encompassing a completely unnecessary and mostly painful romance, it gains strength as it marches towards a complete onslaught of mangled bodies re-animated, a sinister warden now possessed with the spirit of a nasty rodent, an exploding junkie and a forest of not quite-dead bodies merrily twitching away.

Obviously, there is no plot worth mentioning, and only West's zeal to proceed through the insanity and protect his work manages to cause some impact in terms of psychologically rendering a character above a simple stereotype.

As it has already been mentioned, in this movie insanity reigns supreme, until it seems clear the director was more interesting to enjoying the pandemonium than anything else.

***Spoiler***

A perfect example of this is the rat-fighting-penis scene, perhaps one of the most hilarious and strangely concocted images to have surfaced the big screen ***Spoiler****

Also, a few scenes are reminiscent of some horror cult icons, which further stress that Beyond Re-Animator, like the whole series, is a product to and for the genre that fostered it, without trying to reward any viewer not in sync with the dictates of horror from the gory kind.

***Spoiler***

I found it most satisfying that West makes it through it all simply to walk away at the end of the movie, clearly all other characters were somewhat perfunctory and it would seem too much anti-climax to dispatch the good doctor or not grant him his liberty ***Spoiler***

Overall, a very amusing piece of horror that is not the work of a genius but is far from being completely without worth.

---

3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as good as the previous two but still not too bad., 8 September 2005

Author: Paul Andrews (poolandrews@hotmail.com) from UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Beyond Re-Animator starts with an innocent woman named Emily Phillips (Barbara Elorrieta) being attacked & killed by a zombie (Angel Plana) in front of her younger Brother Howie (Tommy Dean Musset), as the police arrive & blow the zombie away Howie witnesses them arrest & take away Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) from a nearby cemetery & finds a needle with some strange bright green fluid inside. It's '13 Years Later' & Dr. West has spent those years in Arkham State Penitentiary trying to keep his experiments alive by using rats as test subjects, Howard Phillips (Jason Barry) is now a qualified Doctor & has got a job as the prison MD. Howard asks Warden Brando (Simon Andreu) if he can have Dr. West as his assistant which he can, their first patient is an inmate named Moses (Nico Baixas) who has a heart attack & dies. Howard reveals who he is to West & that he has some of his serum which they use on Moses to bring him back to life. At this point Warden Brando & a journalist named Laura Olney (the gorgeous Elsa Pataky) walk in & see Moses as a mindless zombie. Both Warden Brando who senses a ground-breaking discovery & Laura who senses a big story decide to investigate the incident as Howard uses his position to assist West in his experiments, but as usual things quickly spiral out of control & turn into an absolute bloodbath...

This Spanish American co-production was co-written, co-produced & directed by Brian Yuzna & I thought Beyond Re-Animator was a pretty decent horror film, although not as good as the previous two instalment's Re-Animator (1985) & Bride of Re-Animator (1990). The script by Yuzna & Jose Manuel Gomez based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft moves along at a fairly good pace but does take a while to get going, it doesn't stray too far from the Re-Animator themes & ideas. The character's are OK if a little clichéd. There are plenty of over-the-top sequences & set piece's in Beyond Re-Animator which is what the film is all about when it comes down to it, a prisoner ends up with no lower body, someone explodes, the evil warden gets electrocuted, there's a castration, a cool zombie without any jaw & his tongue exposed, breast biting, zombie rats, decapitation & a babe in a dominatrix outfit who knows how to fight in probably my favourite scene. Beyond Re-Animator never seems to take itself too seriously & it's all good fun if you have the stomach & liking for this type of material. Director Yuzna plays the comedy side of things up a little bit too much for my liking on occasion but films everything with a degree of style & imagination. Technically Beyond Re-Animator is polished & well made although the quality of some of the special effects vary & the use of CGI feels out of place & odd in a Re-Animator film which were always full of fake blood & guts. The traditional Re-Animator theme music is present once again but has been slightly re-arranged by composer Richard Band & the cinematography is fine. Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West is excellent once again, even though the guy is evil you just like him. Spanish actress Elsa Pataky is totally gorgeous & I loved the scenes with her at the end dressed in that cool outfit... Everyone else is rather weak & I didn't particularly like Jason Barry as West's new assistant as he is certainly no Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) from the previous two films. Beyond Re-Animator is mindless entertainment, there are enough stand-out scenes to make it highly enjoyable but at the same time it lacked a certain something. The gore wasn't as plentiful as I had expected & it descended into plain silly farce more than I would have liked. Still well worth a watch if only for Pataky whom is seriously hot in leather & high heels...

---

---

Page 1 of 7:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	Awards
External reviews	Parents Guide	Official site
Plot keywords	Main details	Your user comments
Your vote history