‘Cat dead, details later…’
The best Frankenstein movies are often the ones that aren’t Frankenstein movies at all (Poor Things, Edward Scissorhands, Ex Machina etc). Re-Animator predates all of the aforementioned, but what it has in common with those films is that while it isn’t a straight adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, it does use it as a blueprint (despite also being a loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s serial novelette Herbert West – Reanimator). Nobody knows they are making a cult classic whilst making a cult classic, but Re-Animator continues to find a new audience because it so goddamn fun…
Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is an aspiring medical student obsessed with unlocking the secret to life after death. After moving in with fellow medical student Daniel Cain (Bruce Abbott), much to the chagrin of Cain’s girlfriend, Megan (Barbara Crampton), West commandeers the basement of their shared house and turns it into his private laboratory. After reviving Daniel’s cat, West moves on to more challenging experiments.
Not content with making horror icons of Combs and Crampton (both of whom have had long and storied careers in the horror genres and are regulars on the convention circuit), Re-Animator manages to be one of the best zombie movies of the ’80s, one of the best Frankenstein movies not about Frankenstein and one of the most beloved cult horror movies ever made. Director Stuart Gordon (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) brings plenty of innovation and ingenuity to his debut film, recalling Sam Raimi’s first foray into horror cinema, and John Naulin’s make up work, coupled with some fantastically eerie mechanical effects from Tony Doublin, ensure that Re-Animator deserves its place on the Mount Rushmore of ’80s horror practical effects movies with The Fly, The Thing and An American Werewolf in London.
It’s not just the effects that make Re-Animator so compelling, however. Combs brings a zany, steely-eyed intensity that perfectly suits the excessive and extravagant filming style, Crampton brings some much-needed humanity to what is an otherwise emotionally cold film, and Abbott, very much the unsung hero of Re-Animator, grounds the film in its more outlandish moments in what is a charming and lovable performance (despite the grisly subject matter).
At a brisk 86 minutes, Re-Animator should be required viewing for any serious horror fans – one of the most purely entertaining horror films of the ’80s.
