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.
The excellent widescreen presentation, newly remastered with approval from Stuart Gordon, pops off the screen and looks better than most similarly budget films being made today.
Elite’s “Millennium Edition” featured four different audio tracks; Anchor Bay’s version opted to drop the isolated music score and hold on to the other three. While keeping the Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround 2.0 and 5.1 DTS was a no-brainer, the dismissal of the isolated track featuring Richard Band’s amazingly effective and memorable score is distressing. Sure, all three tracks still sound amazing, but for OCD fanboys like myself, it just means I’ll have to have two copies of “Re-Animator” on my shelf.
Limited to only 50,000 copies, “Re-Animator” is the inaugural release of the newly launched “Anchor Bay Collection,” which will focus on special-feature-packed releases of classic cult films. While most of the extras in this set are simply recycled from the Elite Millennium Edition, it’s the new inclusions that make this set a must-have for every serious horror fan.
New to the “Anchor Bay Collection” release is a wonderful seventy-minute documentary, “Re-Animator Resurrectus.” It’s one of the best horror-film documentaries ever made and is jam-packed with interviews with almost every living participant in Gordon’s masterpiece and well worth the retail price alone. Full of behind-the-scenes footage and insightful interviews with the cast and crew, “Resurrectus” is a high point in horror documentaries and should set the standard that releases like “Halloween; 25 years of Terror” and “Going to Pieces” failed to find. Big thanks to documentarian Perry Martin for making “Ressurrectus” the unexpected treat that it is. I hope to see his hands in many more feature-length horror documentaries in the future.
With the exception of a smattering of production stills and a couple of art galleries, the rest of the special features found on this two-disc set are recycled from Elite’s millennium edition, not that that’s a bad thing since there’s so much of it. It has two commentaries with the cast and crew, interviews with Gordon, uber-producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Richard Band, and “Fangoria” editor Tony Timpone. As well, there are multiple extended scenes, a deleted scene, trailers, TV spots, a Gordon bio, the screenplay, and the original “Herbert West, Reanimator” story by Lovecraft. The big things that this set has that the prior release was missing are a beautifully designed box housing the DVD set and the specially made fluorescent-green syringe highlighter with the ‘Re-Animator” logo on it. It’s like buying a box of your favorite cereal and finding the coolest prize of all time inside.
If this is what we can expect from the newly launched “Anchor Bay Collection,” then I can’t wait for next month’s release of “Phantasm” and “Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead” under the same banner. Thank you Anchor Bay for giving horror classics the treatment they so rightfully deserve. Now, do us all a favor and give Gordon’s other Lovecraft opus, “From Beyond,” the same attention. It’s a crime that it’s not even available on DVD in the first place.
With its place in the horror hall of fame already set, it’s satisfying to have a deluxe DVD release for a film that truly derives it. With often quoted lines like “Parts…I’ve never done whole parts,” “We can defeat death,” and “Yooouuu Bassssttarrd” being part of most horror fans’ vernacular, this set will hold a special place in every fan’s heart. If you’re a horror fan and never owned ‘Re-Animator,” then you have no excuse not to pick this one up. If you’ve already got the Elite Millennium Edition and think the documentary and highlighter are worth the asking price, sell the Elite version and use the funds to pick up this one immediately. Or if you’re some poor pathetic schmuck like me, just display them proudly side by side on your shelf, like long-lost brothers finally reunited.
10 out of 10 Headless bodies still willing to give “head”
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