FILM GUTTER REVIEWS: ​RE-ANIMATOR (1985)

Dir. Stuart Gordon, 105 mins, USA

It's rare that I would tend to say a movie needs no introduction, but Re-Animator comes pretty damn close. I could just launch right in, but as we're continuing our run of Brian Yuzna movies (he was producer in this instance, with directing in the capable hands of Stuart Gordon) it makes sense to say a few words in case anyone has been living under a rock since this one's release back in the 80s. Taking its inspiration from HP Lovecraft's renowned short, Herbert West: Reanimator, this movie brings the action to an updated setting and features a popular lead performance from horror favourite Jeffrey Combs and has earned itself a strong fan following. But is Re-Animator worth digging up and reviving for another watch?

The story itself follows Herbert West, a young medical student arriving at Miskatonic University with some strange ideas where it comes to death, or more tellingly bringing the dead back to life. His views make him pretty unpopular, and when he moves in with Dan Cain, a far more conventional student at the University, they appear to be on a collision course with the initial tension between them. That's without mentioning Dan's girlfriend, Meg Halsey, the daughter of the University's dean, who dislikes West from the very get go. The situations is certainly not helped when West attempts to bring back to life Dan's dead cat, Rufus – with some sort of success, despite its aggressive nature when it is reanimated.

This proves to Dan that Herbert West is on the right track, however, so from then on he agrees to serve as West's apprentice in his forbidden studies. And when those experiments go from animals to humans, things take an even darker turn, with the sinister Dr Hill attempting to take Herbert West's life-giving reagent from him. What follows is a glorious riot of zombies, mind control, headless people and all sorts of other assorted craziness that only 1980s horror could deliver.

It's interesting to think that numerous of these 80s movies don't really hold up in the current day – barring the nostalgic rose-tinted glasses we all wear sometimes - and when you factor into that I'm not the biggest fan of b-movies you might assume I'd be a little down on this one. But this one reminds me immensely of Society, directed by Yuzna, in that underneath all the insanity there's actually something being said. Sure, it goes a pretty extreme way about it, but the moral of Lovecraft's original is not lost, and nor are the messages of medical ethics, playing god, how we feel about life and death, relationships, friendships and more inbetween. It's true I'm not always big on b-movies, but where there is substance they stand a much better chance of making a lasting impression and being a satisfying experience. This one also has a vibrant energy and creativity to it also – the effects still look very decent today, and their quirkiness makes for compelling viewing throughout. 

Throw into all that a memorable lead performance from Combs, as well as an iconic role from Barbara Crampton, and what you have is a heady mix that can't help but make you laugh, smile, and maybe even scream once or twice en route. There's never a dull moment, whether those moments range from the silly and outrageous to the dark and disturbing.

For me Re-Animator is one of the best examples of its form, right up there with the likes of Frankenhooker and the aforementioned Society, and as such earns a high grade at 9/10. If you've not yet had the chance to check out this cult classic, do yourself a favour and give it a watch!

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