Since a certain lauded distributor dropped anchor and began crafting fan-friendly special editions of obscure genre faves, there’s been a pervasive, yet baseless notion wafting around out there that no other outfit is capable of producing truly superior niche-market DVDs. Well, among others, Elite Entertainment boldly challenges that myth by revisiting two of its flagship titles with spectacular "Millennium Series" releases of Night of the Living Dead and now the two-disc, extras-oozing Re-Animator (1985, 86 minutes). If these twin triumphs alone aren’t enough to reaffirm Elite’s standing with fans, they’re also developing an enhanced version of the immortal revenge classick I Spit On Your Grave with an astounding array of commentaries, interviews and other goodies GUARANTEED to make CineSchlockers slobber like Saint Bernards. But more on that later, let’s drool over something already on the shelves of discerning emporiums.
First time director Stuart Gordon and his Organic Theater pals thought it’d be a swell idea to make a cheap (and hopefully marketable) horror movie. So, he fished up a series of weird short stories written by H.P. Lovecraft called "Herbert West, Re-Animator" and 800 buckets of blood later they made horror history. But once the MPAA got a hold of the flick, there wasn’t much left but the credits, so the distributors just hauled off and released it "Unrated," which was hardly ever done at the time. Actually, there IS an R-rated cut of the film that somehow runs LONGER than the original. Instead of all the gore and zany zombie love, the cast take turns pitching horseshoes and telling lawyer jokes for a half hour. Doesn’t have quite the same oomph at all.
The movie: In a moment of post-coital bliss, med student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) attempts to coax his girlfriend Megan (Barbara Crampton) into agreeing to move in with him. Being the good little girl she is, it’s no dice. Instead, he opts for a platonic roommate and the bizarre Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) arrives with cash and luggage in tow and refuses to take "No" for an answer. West has wholly unconventional theories on medicine, and specifically, on the finality of death itself. He’s immediately at odds with everyone he encounters: Dan, Megan and especially Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), who he treats with rabid contempt. Among sets filled with cadavers and other mad-scientist trappings, this odd tale marches into the macabre with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek and leaves a trail of crimson footprints behind. West has developed some glowing ooze that re-animates dead tissue and creates quite a scene. Especially when he juices up Dan’s deceased kitty cat and it zombies out and gets medieval on West in the basement. The mayhem escalates in gleefully disgusting ways. CineSchlockers will appreciate the overt odes to other horror classics, most notably The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. Grue-producer Brian Yuzna directed Combs and Abbott in the sequel Bride of Re-Animator (also available on DVD) where the fellas attempt to find a perfect mate with the help of that green, glowing hypo. Beyond Re-Animator is said to be on the horizon.
Notables: Six breasts. 14 corpses. Exploding eyeballs. Q-Tip to the brain. Reckless pencil breaking. Diddling. Cat calling. Finger munching. Decapitation with shovel. Severed headbutt. Axe to the arm. Gratuitous defibrillation footage. Killer intestine. Advanced heterosexual tongue rasslin’.
Quotables: Morgue security guard (Gerry Black) waxes philosophic, "Don’t know why they keep locked doors around here — nobody wants in and there ain’t nobody gettin’ out." Herbert has cross words for Dr. Hill, "Who’s going to believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow! … I’m very disappointed in you. You steal the secret of life and death, and here you are trysting with a bubble-headed coed. You’re not even a second-rate scientist!" While Hill hisses, "Youuuuu bassssssstardddd."
Time codes: When "No! No! No!" means "Yes! Yes! Yes!" (10:00). Cat returned for 10th life is mighty purr-turbed (25:50). First re-animation of a human corpse (38:25). Detached craniums give good … (1:09:15).
Final thought: Glorious mix of wry humor and smartly executed gore sequences that thrill, repulse and amuse in unison. The severed head nookie is the stuff of B-legend. An absolute must-have for any self-respecting CineSchlocker.