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Customer Reviews: Average Rating:  Rating :  - Re-animator Movie Review from The Massie Twins
Re-Animator is too creative and too well planned to really be a B-movie, but it goes to great lengths to cram every element of a cheesy exploitation film into one outrageous horror-comedy. Nudity, undead monstrosities, extreme gore, mad scientists and jump-scares creep around every scene, and the horrifying re-animated are perfectly presented with over-the-top blood effects and hilarious dialogue. It's one of the greatest of all B-movies, and a near perfect combination of humor and fright.
"I gave him life!" exclaims Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) after bringing back to life the deceased body of esteemed Doctor Gruber. Like a cold and calculating Frankenstein, West has created a re-animating agent that can defeat brain death - but with startling consequences. After being kicked out of his independent research experimentation in Switzerland, West journeys to Arkham, Massachusetts where he moves in with brain surgeon hopeful Daniel Cain (Bruce Abbott). Daniel and his girlfriend Megan (Barbara Crampton) are uneasy with Cain's isolation in the basement, but make the best of it until they accidentally witness the re-animation of their very dead cat Rufus.
After confronting Dean Halsey, Megan's father, Daniel is met with immediate skepticism. Demanding a rescinding of Cain's school loans and the expelling of West, Halsey intends to silence the two young rebellious scientists and their tall tales. But when a secret rejuvenation experiment ends in Halsey's death - and subsequent re-animation - the mischievous duo find themselves the target of the twisted Carl Hill (David Gale) who wants to steal the secret of everlasting life for himself.
Opening beautifully with a hilarious bit of schlock scares and a twist on the theme music from Psycho, Re-Animator proceeds to do everything right in building a perfect exploitation B-movie. From the greatest scene transition ever (Megan cooing "no, no, no" when Dan tries to kiss her in the hospital hallway to a shot of her screaming "yes, yes, yes!" in bed), to awkward close-ups of West's scowling face, to delightfully bloody brain surgery (it's like peeling a large orange), each moment is brilliantly placed. No shot is wasted, and no scene goes without mustering uneasy laughs as ultra-gory bloodbaths frequently linger.
Whether it's a shovel decapitation or unbelievably [..] sexual deviancy, Re-Animator knows when to toss in extra weird ingredients, unlimited gross-out gore, and the insanely creepy Dr. Hill. Director Stuart Gordon and his wonderful cast of oddball characters know how to get the right reactions out of audiences with suspense, cheesiness and hilarity. Everything manages to work for this low-budget bloodbath, even when the side effects for re-animation include telepathy and telekinesis, and characters are attacked by stuffed animals. It's creative and over-the-top like Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, with thrills and laughs in equal measure.
One of the greatest of its genre, Re-Animator feels like it's trying to intentionally be more of an expected low grade exploitation schlock, and outdoes itself with creativity and first-rate makeup effects. Pioneering a cult franchise, this original landmark in horror-comedies is a refreshing take on a classic tale of science gone too far.
- Mike Massie
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