Based on an obscure HP Lovecraft short story, Re-Animator is, in essence, a zombie flick. But to brandish such leaky umbrella terms over this enduring entrail-fest would be to do it a great disservice. As director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna recount in thrilling detail on lengthy interview reels, the deliriously hammy, ketchup-drenched final product was the sum of some unique parts. Of these, jobbing, hammy stage actors were arguably the defining quirk. If you don’t count all that offal, of course...
Jeffrey Combs (in a gleefully deranged turn) is Dr Herbert West, hell-bent on returning dead flesh to action. Naturally, being a mad boffin he fucks it right up, opening the morgue doors to an utterly joyous, bloody orgy.
DVD Extras:
There’s a trolleyload of (talking) heads spattered over this celebratory treatment, but one comment from Combs is beautiful in its corny accuracy: "over the years, Re-Animator has aggressively gouged out a position for itself in the annals of schlock horror as The Film That Will Not Die". On this evidence, it won’t be kicking the offal bucket any time soon, either.
