HP Lovecraft "Herbert West-Reanimator" was originally published in Home Brew (a small fanzine run by a friend) in 1922. Centering on the titular character resurrecting the dead (as well as a satire of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein), Lovecraft was dissatisfied with it, having only done it for money. (Reading the story makes that clear, with how much of it seems to have been written on auto-pilot), and is generally considered one of his worst. Accordingly, unlike many of Lovecraft's other story, it was not republished at first. Chicago playwright Stuart Gordon first came across the story after a discussion with friends lamenting the number of Dracula movies and not a lot of Frankenstein ones, whereupon a friend recommended it. Gordon had been a fan of Lovecraft for years and after reading, decided to try to adapt it: first on stage, then as a TV pilot. Originally wanting to emulate Lovecraft's setting, they ultimately decided to update to modern day Chicago for budgetary concerns, and later expanded it to an hour. Eventually, special effects director Bob Greenberg (known for John Carpenter's Dark Star) convinced him to make it into a feature film, and introduced him to producer Brian Yuzna, which allowed the production to move to Hollywood. Special effects director John Naulin would use both morgue shoots and books on forensic pathology to help make many of effects used as bodies and make-up in the film, using 25 gallons of fake blood in the process. The cast would themselves spend time in a morgue and insane asylum to fully prepare for their roles in the film. The film was largely shot over 18 days, with Richard Band composing the score over three weeks (having to spend money due to overtime). It was released to financial success and critical acclaim, and continues to be a cult classic, though Lovecraft fans (despite the story being considered one of his weakest) are split on it.
Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs), a medical student is kicked out of the Swiss institution he was studying at, after a mishap with his Professor Hans Gruber (sadly, not Alan Rickman, but Al Berry) ends with Gruber walking and acting strangely while bleeding out of his eyes. He moves into Miskatonic Medical School, where he bonds with Dan Cain (Bruce Abbot), and clashes with Dr.Carl Hill (David Gale), whom West accuses of plagiarism. Cain is dating Megan (Barbara Crampton), the daughter of Miskatonic Dean Alan Halsey (Robert Sampson). Cain allows West to room with him, over Megan's objections, where he conducts strange experiments. Sure enough, one day, Megan discovers their cat in West's fridge. West says the cat had died due to an accident, but Cain and Megan are skeptical. Then, Cain finds West attempting to find the cat and seeing him kill it, even though it was explicitly dead earlier. Cain is upset, before West reveals a formula that brings the cat back to life. Megan is understandably horrified, and her father subsequently bans Cain and West from campus. Undeterred, they sneak into the campus morgue (do medical schools have those?) at night to test the formula on humans. The dean hears about it, and tries to stop them, only to be killed by a corpse they were able to resurrect. Hill hears about it, and now wants to hear their secret....
This film is pure schlock. How is this a good thing? Well, it's shlock, but it decides to fully embrace it. It is a messy, gore-filled, supernatural enfused B-movie, and it is incredibly fun, helped by great effects that make it as disgusting and revolting as needed Not to mention, it is incredibly earnest. The acting and writing take every moment very seriously. It takes Lovecraft's worst story, excises a lot of it, and leaves the bare bones story to play around with. Probably the best way to adapt material like that. It is very entertaining, in the way it was intended. I like that the villain, previously shown as a bit of a snobby, cantankerous fellow, to become a depraved monster, unhinged by traditional morality, after his own death and West resurrecting ....his head. No, really, West resurrects his head after beheading him, and it is still able to control his body. Once again, this is a hell of a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed watching it.
There was a couple of minor problems following the narrative. Mostly, sometimes things happen off-set or just not explained, and some scenes were a bit hard to follow. Similarly, it is quite short at only 86 minutes. I feel more could've been explored.
It might be hasty to say this, but I think this is one of my new favorite horror films. I really loved the experience of watching it, and it is truly an underrated classic, like I've heard from many sources. This is a true Halloween movie, with various horror elements put together to make a great viewing experience. As such, I highly recommend to horror fans of any stripes.
Tomorrow, we go back to gods and monsters with Q-The Winged Serpent.
Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs), a medical student is kicked out of the Swiss institution he was studying at, after a mishap with his Professor Hans Gruber (sadly, not Alan Rickman, but Al Berry) ends with Gruber walking and acting strangely while bleeding out of his eyes. He moves into Miskatonic Medical School, where he bonds with Dan Cain (Bruce Abbot), and clashes with Dr.Carl Hill (David Gale), whom West accuses of plagiarism. Cain is dating Megan (Barbara Crampton), the daughter of Miskatonic Dean Alan Halsey (Robert Sampson). Cain allows West to room with him, over Megan's objections, where he conducts strange experiments. Sure enough, one day, Megan discovers their cat in West's fridge. West says the cat had died due to an accident, but Cain and Megan are skeptical. Then, Cain finds West attempting to find the cat and seeing him kill it, even though it was explicitly dead earlier. Cain is upset, before West reveals a formula that brings the cat back to life. Megan is understandably horrified, and her father subsequently bans Cain and West from campus. Undeterred, they sneak into the campus morgue (do medical schools have those?) at night to test the formula on humans. The dean hears about it, and tries to stop them, only to be killed by a corpse they were able to resurrect. Hill hears about it, and now wants to hear their secret....
This film is pure schlock. How is this a good thing? Well, it's shlock, but it decides to fully embrace it. It is a messy, gore-filled, supernatural enfused B-movie, and it is incredibly fun, helped by great effects that make it as disgusting and revolting as needed Not to mention, it is incredibly earnest. The acting and writing take every moment very seriously. It takes Lovecraft's worst story, excises a lot of it, and leaves the bare bones story to play around with. Probably the best way to adapt material like that. It is very entertaining, in the way it was intended. I like that the villain, previously shown as a bit of a snobby, cantankerous fellow, to become a depraved monster, unhinged by traditional morality, after his own death and West resurrecting ....his head. No, really, West resurrects his head after beheading him, and it is still able to control his body. Once again, this is a hell of a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed watching it.
There was a couple of minor problems following the narrative. Mostly, sometimes things happen off-set or just not explained, and some scenes were a bit hard to follow. Similarly, it is quite short at only 86 minutes. I feel more could've been explored.
It might be hasty to say this, but I think this is one of my new favorite horror films. I really loved the experience of watching it, and it is truly an underrated classic, like I've heard from many sources. This is a true Halloween movie, with various horror elements put together to make a great viewing experience. As such, I highly recommend to horror fans of any stripes.
Tomorrow, we go back to gods and monsters with Q-The Winged Serpent.
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