40th Anniversary 4K Review: Re-Animator (1985)
The new set from Ignite Films pays tribute to the cult classic.
Ask just about any horror fan what they think of Stuart Gordon's 1985 film Re-Animator, and odds are you'll be met with the m-word: masterpiece. While Gordon would go on to make several fan-favorite horror flicks, none are as celebrated or as beloved to this day as his debut outing. In celebration of the film's 40th Anniversary, Ignite Films has released their new 4K UHD restoration, with four different editions hitting the home video market. One of the best horror films of the 1980s has now gotten the release that fans have been waiting for.
Re-Animator is, as the title suggests, a spiritual successor to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the story of a mad scientist who finds power in acting as a god. The original poster teases the film with the line "HERBERT WEST HAD A GOOD HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS...AND ANOTHER ONE ON HIS DESK," which is top-tier marketing. Beating Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson to the punch by a few years, Gordon's film holds up as the father of the "splatstick" film, horror comedy where each is treated equally and neither disparages the other.
Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs, a guy with a great actor name playing a character with a great creepy weirdo name) is a creepy weirdo and recent transfer student from the University of Zurich Institute of Medicine, a prestigious university in creepy weirdo circles. When he arrives at Miskatonic University, he rents a room from hotshot med student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott). Dan's girlfriend Megan (Barbara Crampton) isn't thrilled about the arrangement as Herbert is very clearly a creepy weirdo, but they have more important issues - like the fact that she and Dan have to hide their relationship from her father, Dr. Halsey, dean of the medical school.
But when Dan's cat goes missing and Megan finds him in Herbert's mini-fridge, they can no longer hide their contempt. However, Herbert offers to use his "reanimating reagent" on the feline. That's when Dan realizes he is living with a madman...who just might be on to something. Soon, Herbert will attempt to use his glowing green goo on more than just house pets.
Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton have since, and in large part to Re-Animator, become horror icons. The same can't exactly be said of Bruce Abbott, even though he was in all three entries (the sequels are not as highly regarded, but still loved by many) and is at all the same conventions and whatnot. But it's really Combs who steals the movie. Herbert West is such an iconic horror character, and his manic, over-the-top performance is the clear stand-out. (It's also a great Halloween costume idea.) It's one of the rare times that a horror movie villain gets a chance to become the hero, although none of this mess would've happened if it wasn't for him, but that's beside the point. It's no wonder that Stuart Gordon cast him again and again for seven more collaborations.
It's also, of course, the movie that also made Stuart Gordon horror royalty. It's a singular work (even if composer Richard Band's rip-off of Bernard Herrmann's Psycho theme is incredibly distracting), inventive, and extremely theatrical. With a background in theatre (horror fans should go to more plays, everything is a practical effect!), Gordon intended for his H. P. Lovecraft adaptation to be played out on stage for his Organic Theater Company, before thinking of it as a tv show, and finally settling on the movie you know and love. Can you imagine! We wouldn't have all of those great Stuart Gordon movies. We wouldn't have Dolls!
When it comes to the new 40th Anniversary 4K from Ignite Films, fans have four different sets to choose from. The Deluxe Edition Box Set includes a 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo, a hardcover book, and collector's art cards. The Ultimate Limited Edition Box Set is all that plus a Limited-Edition Dr. Hill Collector's Bobblehead (see above, this one has been delayed because of tariff issues with the bobblehead, but they say it'll ship soon.) Then there's the 4K Standard Edition and Blu-ray Standard Edition, of course. All sets come with old and new (almost three hours' worth) bonus features, including plenty of interviews with Combs and Crampton because they're always down for interviews about Re-Animator. The restoration looks great, the features are a treasure trove, and surely you can wait a few more weeks for that bobblehead.
And as if all that isn't enough, the film is now playing at various Regal Cinemas locations and it's coming soon to Cinemark theaters. I know I just watched it, but it really is a crowd movie...
Re-Animator fans have little to complain about right now. Forty years after its initial release, Stuart Gordon's opus holds up as an immortal cult classic, and the new anniversary 4K from Ignite Films does it the justice it deserves.