Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Re-Animator [Anchor Bay Collection]


Generally regarded as one of the greatest and goriest horror films of all time, "Re-Animator" makes a return to the digital format with its third release on DVD after being out of print for almost two years. While the majority of the content on this Anchor Bay release mirrors what fans drooled over when Elite Entertainment put out their two-disc set in 2002, the handful of "new" extras will have most fans selling their old copy for Anchor Bay's new "Limited Edition" box set. After all, how can any Herbert West fan say no to a fluorescent-green syringe highlighter?

Originally released during the fall off 1985, "Re-Animator" took the horror world by storm and made icons out of its star Jeffrey Combs and its director Stuart Gordon. The plot of "Re-Animator" is loosely based on sci-fi horror writer H.P. Lovecraft's cheesy "Herbert West: Re-Animator" magazine serials that were written as a parody of Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein." The story centers around the arrogant and bespectacled antihero, Herbert West (Combs), a disgraced graduate student who arrives at Miskatonic University looking to further his studies into corpse longevity. West immediately butts heads with his instructor, Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), whom West announces as little more than a fraud whose theory of brain death is antiquated and foolish. Answering fellow student Dan Cain's (Bruce Abbot) request for a roommate, West moves in with Dan. Dan's girlfriend Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton) takes an immediate dislike to her boyfriend's creepy new roommate. And with good cause, for West quickly turns the home's basement into his private laboratory and begins researching the glowing serum that got him expelled from his previous University in Switzerland.

A snooping Dr. Hill stumbles upon West's unauthorized laboratory and insists that the secret for the serum be divulged and credited to him or else he'll have both West and Dan expelled and possibly incarcerated. West, unwilling to bow to the devious doctor's demand, takes matters into his own hands, decapitating Dr. Hill with a shovel and injecting the recently created corpse with the serum and incorporating the remains into his research. Hill returns to life, overpowers a distracted West, captures Megan, and attempts to shine new meaning onto the phrase "giving head." "Re-Animator" continues down this dark yet hilarious path until its gore-filled ending, which would spawn multiple lesser sequels.

Headed (sorry) by then-unknown director Stuart Gordon, "Re-Animator" changed the face of horror forever. Rather than cut away from the decapitations and dismemberments like its predecessors, Gordon reveled in his film´s gore, which helped to separate it from anything else found in the genre. With his blend of gross-out horror and laugh-out-loud intentional hilarity, Gordon helped create the "splatstick" genre. Without "Re-Animator" there would be no "Dead Alive," "Shaun of the Dead," "Cemetery Man," or "Slither"; all of these great films grew from the seed planted by Gordon and his effects crew. Even by today's standards, the practical effects used by Anthony Doublin, John Naulin, and their crew are nothing short of awe-inspiring, especially with the miniscule budget they had to work with.

While the gore generally takes center stage in "Re-Animator," what truly separates it from other run-of-the-mill horror flicks is its excellent casting. It made a genre icon out the unknown Jeffrey Combs, who for better or worse has become the go-to guy for most low-budget horror and sci-fi films; at least the ones that can't get Lance Henriksen. The other stand-out is the late, great David Gale, whose Karloffesque good looks and deadpan delivery helped to immortalize Dr. Hill as one of the silver screen´s best villains.

Generally regarded as one of the greatest and goriest horror films of all time, "Re-Animator" makes a return to the digital format with its third release on DVD after being out of print for almost two years. While the majority of the content on this Anchor Bay release mirrors what fans drooled over when Elite Entertainment put out their two-disc set in 2002, the handful of "new" extras will have most fans selling their old copy for Anchor Bay's new "Limited Edition" box set. After all, how can any Herbert West fan say no to a fluorescent-green syringe highlighter?

Originally released during the fall off 1985, "Re-Animator" took the horror world by storm and made icons out of its star Jeffrey Combs and its director Stuart Gordon. The plot of "Re-Animator" is loosely based on sci-fi horror writer H.P. Lovecraft's cheesy "Herbert West: Re-Animator" magazine serials that were written as a parody of Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein." The story centers around the arrogant and bespectacled antihero, Herbert West (Combs), a disgraced graduate student who arrives at Miskatonic University looking to further his studies into corpse longevity. West immediately butts heads with his instructor, Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), whom West announces as little more than a fraud whose theory of brain death is antiquated and foolish. Answering fellow student Dan Cain's (Bruce Abbot) request for a roommate, West moves in with Dan. Dan's girlfriend Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton) takes an immediate dislike to her boyfriend's creepy new roommate. And with good cause, for West quickly turns the home's basement into his private laboratory and begins researching the glowing serum that got him expelled from his previous University in Switzerland.

A snooping Dr. Hill stumbles upon West's unauthorized laboratory and insists that the secret for the serum be divulged and credited to him or else he'll have both West and Dan expelled and possibly incarcerated. West, unwilling to bow to the devious doctor's demand, takes matters into his own hands, decapitating Dr. Hill with a shovel and injecting the recently created corpse with the serum and incorporating the remains into his research. Hill returns to life, overpowers a distracted West, captures Megan, and attempts to shine new meaning onto the phrase "giving head." "Re-Animator" continues down this dark yet hilarious path until its gore-filled ending, which would spawn multiple lesser sequels.

Headed (sorry) by then-unknown director Stuart Gordon, "Re-Animator" changed the face of horror forever. Rather than cut away from the decapitations and dismemberments like its predecessors, Gordon reveled in his film´s gore, which helped to separate it from anything else found in the genre. With his blend of gross-out horror and laugh-out-loud intentional hilarity, Gordon helped create the "splatstick" genre. Without "Re-Animator" there would be no "Dead Alive," "Shaun of the Dead," "Cemetery Man," or "Slither"; all of these great films grew from the seed planted by Gordon and his effects crew. Even by today's standards, the practical effects used by Anthony Doublin, John Naulin, and their crew are nothing short of awe-inspiring, especially with the miniscule budget they had to work with.

While the gore generally takes center stage in "Re-Animator," what truly separates it from other run-of-the-mill horror flicks is its excellent casting. It made a genre icon out the unknown Jeffrey Combs, who for better or worse has become the go-to guy for most low-budget horror and sci-fi films; at least the ones that can't get Lance Henriksen. The other stand-out is the late, great David Gale, whose Karloffesque good looks and deadpan delivery helped to immortalize Dr. Hill as one of the silver screen´s best villains.

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