Search - Re-Animator on DVD

Excellent movie, but this release may not be necessary

S. Marzioli | USA | 03/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I compared the special features in this release with the one released by Elite (millennium edition). Most of them are the same. The only real notable difference is that this one has a new 70 minute documentary. I'm sure that's worth the effort of rebuying another 2-disc set. If you have the Elite version, you may want to pass on this."

Death Is Just the Beginning....

Michael R Gates | Nampa, ID United States | 01/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the most outrageous horror comedies from the 1980s, Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR is certainly great fun if not great cinema. Very loosely based on a story by the highly revered horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, the film follows the exploits of Herbert West, an impudent medical student who, after being thrown out of a Swiss institution due to his unorthodox and unethical medical experiments, has enrolled at the Miskatonic University Medical School in Massachusetts, USA. After hours, West secretly continues his experimentation, which basically involves the tweaking and fine-tuning of a serum he has developed that can re-animate the dead. West engages the assistance of his roommate and fellow med student Dan Cain, much to the chagrin of Cain's pretty girlfriend Megan, and soon the two are reviving numerous cadavers in the medical school's morgue. Unfortunately, West and Cain haven't quite perfected the formula, and the re-animated dead don't seem too happy to be back in the land of the living. But when Megan, her father (a dean at the university), and the school's prestigious surgeon Dr. Carl Hill get caught up in West's shenanigans, that's when the fun really begins.RE-ANIMATOR is horror comedy at its best. Writer/director Gordon and his cowriter Dennis Paoli are savvy enough to realize that taking an earnest approach to the preposterous premise of their story is not likely to fly with the discriminating horror audience, so they wisely milk the material for laughs instead. Playing the lead role of Herbert West is the wonderfully offbeat actor Jeffrey Combs. Combs is able to generate interesting facial expressions that are somehow simultaneously deadpan and whimsical, and when combined with his impeccable comedic timing, it is nearly impossible not to laugh at every scene he's in. (Genre fans may recognize Combs from his appearance in numerous horror films, as well as from his countless appearances in episodes of the various TV incarnations of STAR TREK.) As Dan Cain, Bruce Abbott is the perfect straight man to Combs, and together the two keep the energy level and humor factor high throughout the film. The beautiful Barbara Crampton--who would go on to greater fame performing in various TV Soaps--does a great job playing Cain's perky girlfriend, Megan, and she is especially affecting when she disrobes. And rounding out the principals is actor David Gale as Dr. Hill. When his character gets juiced with West's re-animation serum, Gale's subsequent performance is delightfully over the top.Many critics liken the storyline of RE-ANIMATOR to that of the FRANKENSTEIN mythos, with mad scientists attempting to bring forth life from the dead. But it actually seems that the basic plot is more akin to Stephen King's 1983 novel PET SEMATARY. (The movie version of PET SEMATARY, while very faithful to the book, did not appear until 1989, four years after RE-ANIMATOR.) In both stories, an individual learns the secret to bringing folks back from the dead, but at a cost--the revived are not quite the same as they were before kicking the bucket. And despite their failures, the individuals with the power to re-animate relentlessly keep on trying to get it right. The only real difference between the two stories is that King's novel, though well written, is earnest and depressing, whereas RE-ANIMATOR uses the premise as a springboard for dark, wry humor.The "Millennium Edition" RE-ANIMATOR DVD from the folks at Elite is well worth the money. It offers the unrated (uncut?) version of the film in anamorphic widescreen format, along with two great commentaries--one with director Gordon, one with most of the principal cast--as well as lots of other cool goodies. So many cool goodies, in fact, that it takes two discs to hold 'em all!Yes, RE-ANIMATOR is gory and chock-full of sick gallows humor, with lots of nudity and cheesy (but cool!) special effects thrown in. And some of the scenes are so outrageously over the top that they have to be seen to be believed. But, hey, what more could a lover of horror comedy want?"