Despite his racist views, we can’t deny H.P. Lovecraft was one of the greatest horror authors of all time. To this day, directors and screenwriters consistently adapt Lovecraft’s stories into terrifying cinema. His bibliography gave way to adaptations of ‘Colour Out Of Space’, ‘From Beyond’ and ‘Dagon’, however, my all-time favourite adaptation is the ‘Re-Animator’ trilogy. Stuart Gordon’s and Brian Yuzna’s adaptations gave audiences a unique experience of body horror. ‘Re-Animator’ wasn’t about a mad scientist creating a man out of corpses or a human-fly hybrid. It was about university students just like you crossing the line of unethical science
The original novelette (which is heavily influenced by ‘Frankenstein’) follows Dan Cain’s recount of his time with the eccentric Herbert West, a young scientist who is obsessed with the possibility of resurrection and will stop at nothing to become the master of life and death. The novelette ends with the collapse of West’s lab with himself trapped with his unholy experiments. However, when adapted to film, the directors had different ideas…
Re-Animator (1985) Dir. Stuart Gordon
In 1985, Stuart Gordon directed ‘Re-Animator’, starring Jeffrey Combs as West, Bruce Abbott as Cain and David Gale as Dr Carl Hill. The screenplay had three writers: Gordon himself, Dennis Paoli (who would partner with Gordon for 4 other films) and William J Norris. The film was littered with violence and viscera, opening with an experiment that ends with its subject bleeding from the eyes. From that moment, I was hooked!
In ‘Re-Animator’, West and Cain meet in medical school, where they find themselves trained under the tutelage of Dr Hill. Unfortunately, Herbert’s ego exceeds Hill’s and he makes it his personal mission to prove his theory and show the doctor up. Unbeknownst to the pair, their tutor has set a scheme of his own to steal West’s re-animating serum and Megan, Cain’s fiancée. But what will happen when the Dean finds out about this?
Jeffrey Combs had never read Lovecraft when he was cast, and I believe it works wonders for the character. His constant pomposity is an absolute joy and elevates the character beyond Lovecraft’s writing. I always get a bit of anxious laughter as Combs strikes out “How can you teach such drivel? These people are here to learn and you’re closing their minds before they have a chance!” Such open disrespect towards authority while looking so unassuming is a hilarious and brilliant choice.
Bruce Abbott plays Cain and really makes the role his own. Abott brings a great level of complexity to a character that on paper 100 years ago was just a sheep. His best scenes are alongside Combs; the pair have a chemistry that entertained me more than the blood and guts. When West confesses to re-animating Hill, Abbott, with flailing arms, shakes him and yells “Herbert! This has to stop!” like Moe Howard, sick to death of the other stooges.
The pair have a chemistry that can be rarely matched, they clearly have too much fun together as they teeter-totter over morality and the pursuit of knowledge. Even more than the bickering, though, nothing warms my heart more as they both look in pride or fear of what they’ve done.
David Gale plays Carl Hill and portrays a horror persona I can only compare to Christopher Lee. The cold silent stare, the aggression slowly bubbling up, the soothing pleasure in his voice as he prepares his enemy’s downfall, and, later on, the raspy whispers as he pre-celebrates victory. The final act of the film is undoubtedly Gale’s as he turns the perversity and revolting voice to the max in one of the most shocking scenes of the film. After having his head severed and being re-animated, his body holds his head and lowers his face down between Megan’s legs. Thankfully it never goes beyond that, but those brief seconds will make anyone recoil.
The final shot of the film is utterly haunting. After a massacre ensues between the re-animated corpses, there’s an unexpected casualty. Dan rushes the victim up to a hospital bed and failing defibrillation, injects the body with the serum, fading to black and leaving the audience with a green, glowing skeleton.
Bride of Re-Animator (1989) Dir. Brian Yuzna
Unfortunately that cliff-hanger falls to its death. 4 years later, Brian Yuzna, directed ‘Bride of Re-Animator’, which begins 8 months after the events of the first film. I believe this is one case where a sequel improves on its original. More graphic violence, more petty arguing, more re-animating!
After a long tour in Peru as Civil War doctors, Cain and West come home, ready to get back to their experiments. West realises his serum can re-animate single body parts and gets to work on creating new life. Cain strikes up a romance with a journalist he met in Peru. Detective Chapham investigates West. Carl Hill’s severed head is re-animated and plots revenge.
Woody Keith and Rick Fry wrote the screenplay for ‘Bride’ and they certainly lean more into comedy than horror this time. No complaints here; the content is ripe for silliness. It always makes me laugh to hear West say to Carl’s severed head, “You’re nothing but a dead… head! And a no…body!”.
It’s hard to imagine doctors in their 20s as scientific masterminds, raising an army of the dead and the self-awareness lent by Keith and Fry’s comedy no doubt, saved the film. This sequel could have easily been a straight and serious horror romp, but when you have Jeffrey Combs in spectacles bellowing out blasphemy, proclaiming himself as more powerful than God, it’s harder not to snicker than to scream.
With a more comedic lean, the acting teeter-totters between being under- and over-expressive, but it still feels like a natural progression from the previous film. Combs is as theatrical as ever, strutting a powerful, Shakespearean tone in moments of intellectual domination as well as a quiet but smart-alecky attitude that would befit Lex Luthor.
Abbott returns and leans into Cain’s more vulnerable side; Cain used to have moments of standing up to West, but here, he’s just a plaything. The pair still have their arguments, but Cain always falls for West’s plans. His hopeful looks at the dead Bride, his careful touch as he meets her for the first time, and West’s devilish smirk – it all makes for a wonderful acknowledgement of the story’s ‘Frankenstein’ inspiration (Gale, on the other hand, is stuck in severed-head mode, which means the raspy voice that struck fear gets old quickly).
I highly recommend watching the film with commentary by Combs and Abbott; it’s a riot to hear them joke about West and Cain’s dynamic. The only reason we should ever re-animate H.P. Lovecraft’s corpse is just to force him to watch as the actors theorise queerness in his characters’ relationship.
Beyond Re-Animator (2002) Dir. Brian Yuzna
With the dawn of the new millennium came a new entry, shaping the series into a trilogy. ‘Beyond Re-Animator’ is literal, as it acts as an epilogue, rejecting Lovecraft’s ending and proposing a new beginning for West. Instead of being crushed under the rubble of his own estate, West is sent to prison after one of his creatures murders an innocent young woman. Decades later, the brother of the victim accepts a job at the very prison West is held in, with the ulterior motive of becoming his protege.
Combs returns once again. Unfortunately, his performance as West has deteriorated. Perhaps it’s the script, but most of his lines sound dull. He clearly had fun with the character in the first two acts but here in ‘Beyond’, it’s as if he’s only acting to fulfil a contract. Jason Barry plays Howard Phillips, the brother of West’s female victim. I choose to believe Barry recognised the parodic turn the franchise took and overacted the hell out of Phillips for laughs. This is where the lack of chemistry between the two leads really shows. While Barry is throwing himself into the ridiculousness of it all and having fun, Combs has fallen out of love with the character and is clearly looking for the exit.
Simon Andreu plays Warden Brando and in doing so, contests David Gale as the best villain of the franchise. His short, distressed black hair and rough moustache only add to his intimidating nature. From his first appearance, he makes it perfectly clear that he’s corrupt, perverted and deeply psychopathic. Comparing him to Gale, he’s certainly less subtle, less manipulative but more demanding.
Elsa Pataky plays Laura Olney, a reporter who strikes up a romance with Howard. She does an outstanding job portraying the stereotypical female victim – sweet, slightly breathy voice, rarely any deviation in line delivery, romanced way too easily. It’s an amazing exercise of satire.
Her defining scenes are no doubt alongside Howard, both really playing into such a hilariously awkward script. It’s frustratingly funny to hear them go along with such cliched lines like “Aw, come on. Don’t give up, anything is possible, you just have to see the possibilities and seize the moment. Trust your instincts and go for it!” Wow, that’s like 5 or 6 cliches in two sentences!
‘Beyond’ is not without its redeeming qualities though. The makeup and practical effects are a godsend, with chest-bursting explosions, a re-animated prisoner missing his bottom half and a warden who turns part-rat. After such a painfully slow lead to the final confrontation, it was a breath of fresh air to laugh at the half-prisoner flying through the air to tackle West.
To me, one of the most obvious mistakes this film made was writing Dan out of the story. Jason Barry does a great job at becoming West’s new assistant, but he’s no Bruce Abbott. Add to that a script that seems to re-tread Dan and West’s original relationship, just with a new actor, ‘Beyond’ feels like a tired cash-grab. I think the fall in quality is also due to Stuart Gordon’s absence. While Brian Yuzna was on the verge of a comedy-horror masterpiece with ‘Bride’, I believe the Stuart Gordon’s entry is an immortal classic.
There’ve been multiple plans to bring back the franchise, with ideas like re-animating the President of the United States and parodying ‘The Island Of Doctor Moreau’, and while these ideas could seem enticing to any fan, the franchise has rightly been put to sleep. Rest well, Doctor West.
Mason’s Top 3 Reasons to Watch the ‘Re-Animator Trilogy’
- Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott: My favourite horror partnership! Dare I call it Buddy-Horror?
- Creative new ways to portray body horror! Severed heads flying with bat wings, one-eyed-finger monsters and a head threatening to give head….
- An interesting modern spin on Lovecraft’s classic tale as well as ‘Frankenstein’
