Blu Release – 4/5
Bride of Re-Animator
Director – Brian Yuzna (Society, The Dentist)
Starring – Jeffrey Combs (Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation, Star Trek: Enterprise), Bruce Abbott (Re-Animator, Interzone), and Claude Earl Jones (Battlestar Galactica, Quantum Leap)
Rating – 4/5
Tagline – “Date. Mate. Re-animate.”
I like remakes and sequels unlike most horror fans I know. The idea of a story that I enjoy going a step further or reimagined really excites me. Hell, some of my favorite films just happen to be sequels. When I was younger I rented the original Re-Animator from Blockbuster and fell in love with it. It quickly became one of my favorite movies.
It would be a few years before I was able to watch the sequel (thank you Columbia). When I did I was blown away. How could the sequel to the damn near perfect Re-Animator be better? Recently Umbrella Entertainment released the film as a double feature with Beyond Re-Animator. I was lucky enough to get a review copy in. Thanks Umbrella for sending this one my way.
**Spoiler Alert**The film picks up several months after the events of the first film. Herbert West and Dan Cain has left America for Peru where the country is torn by war giving them plenty of opportunities to try their serum on the recently deceased. When their camp gets overrun they flee back to the U.S. and Miskatonic. They continue their work and using parts from the morgue but a investigator starts snooping around West in hopes of uncovering the truth behind the Miskatonic massacre that unfolded earlier. To make matters worse a doctor studying the bodies left over in evidence from the massacre beings Dr. Hill’s back and he has a vendetta against West. **Spoiler Alert**
Re-Animator is one of those horror films that I can pretty much quote from beginning to end. I’ve watched it so many times that I can start watching from any scene and enjoy it just as much as if I had watched the entire film because I have it memorized. I was blew away by the sequel and how it not only turned up the gore over the first film but took the story in a direction I was not expecting.
The acting in this one is on the same level as the previous film. Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott are fantastic together and their characters compliment each other so well. I could have watched an entire saga centered around these two. The supporting cast is great as well. There is several other great performances and characters that are just as entertaining as West and Cain.
The story for this one follows what was established in the first film with West enlisting the help of Cain to resurrect the dead but this time they piece together the perfect body and use the agent to bring it to life. This takes on a gruesome aspect and works very well. The pacing is great and the laughs move in at the perfect time as to not take away from the tone of the film.
Finally, this film may not have a lot of deaths but there is still some fantastic effects and gruesome scenes. These scenes use a high amount of imagination and practical effects in the same way the Yuzna directed Society does. These scenes are highly entertaining and shows just how far practical effects can be pushed. Overall, Bride of Re-Animator takes what fans love from the first film and amplifies it. This is a must for any horror fan and fans of H.P Lovecraft a like.
Beyond Re-Animator
Director – Brian Yuzna (The Dentist, Faust)
Starring – Jeffrey Combs (The Attic Expeditions, House on Haunted Hill), Jason Barry (Sons of Anarchy, F.A.R.T. the Movie), and Elsa Pataky (Giallo, Snakes on a Plane)
Release Date – 2003
Rating – 3/5
Tagline – “Inject life into the dead”
I’m one of the few horror fans that are always open minded about sequels, prequels, and remakes. When I hear about a film I already like is getting the treatment I genuinely get excited. I like how most take a story I already know and enjoy and take it in a new direction. Sadly, a good portion of the time these films fall flat or fail to gain any steam. One of my favorite horror films is Re-Animator and the sequel Bride of Re-Animator. Both are outstanding in their own right and essential for any horror fan.
In 2003 director and producer Brian Yuzna turned the story of Herbert West into a trilogy with Beyond Re-Animator. If memory serves, this film premiered on the Sy-Fy channel and then went on into obscurity until recently when Umbrella Entertainment released it on bluray with Bride of Re-Animator.
**Spoiler Alert**The film picks up several years after the events of the second film. The dead broke free from the local morgue and killed several people. Dan Cain rolled evidence on West putting him behind bars. Before West was arrested he was found near the scene of the murder when a young woman was murdered by one of his experiments while her younger brother watched. Now he has grown up and is a doctor who gets a job at the prison where West is held so he can work with West on his special serum.**Spoiler Alert**
I didn’t know what to expect when I first watched Beyond Re-Animator. I knew it wouldn’t be the same as the first two films considering so much time had passes and Bruce Abbott was no longer part of the equation. The movie wasn’t bad but it just wasn’t on the same level as the previous two installments. It left some room for improvement and the story just didn’t hold your attention like the other films.
The acting in this one is solid. Jeffrey Combs once again shows why he was cast as West. His portrayal of West is fucking phenomenal. He is emotionless and calculated which reads very well on camera. The supporting cast is solid as well but these characters are just not as fun as the characters from the previous films.
The story for this one would have worked well if it didn’t pick up years after the first two films. It does move slower than the first two films but it still delivers more of the West saga which is all we can ask for at this point.
Finally, the film still offers some pretty gruesome. We get some fun death scenes and even more of the fantastic practical effects that we are accustomed to. There is several segments where we see some very bad CGI effects. Overall, Beyond Re-Animator may not be on the same level as the previous films but it still delivers the fun we look for in a Herbert West film. Check it out.
Special Features:
Commentary
Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride of Re-Animator Featurette
Splatter Masters Featurette
Getting Ahead in Horror Featurette
Behind the Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Trailers
Dr. Re-Animator: Move Your Dead Bones
Interviews
