It's been eight
months since the Miskatonic Massacre stained the halls with blood - and
Dr. West and Dr. Cain's experiments have taken a bizarre turn. Now they
have gone beyond re-animating the dead... into the realm of creating new
life. The legs of a hooker and the womb of a virgin are joined to the heart
of Dr. Cain's dead girlfriend - and the bride is unleashed upon her mate
in a climax of sensual horror.
"I have taken refuge of your gods failures and I have triumphed!"
- Herbert West |
Re-Animator is probably the greatest cult classic horror/comedy ever
made. It simply outdoes every other horror comedy because it understands
the basic rule of horror films... too much comedy turns the film to garbage.
There are countless horror films that blatantly stick humor in with very
bad results. Either the horror becomes nonexistent or the whole picture
looks like one really bad comedy. Re-Animator is a perfect example
of a film that masterfully mixes comedy and horror, hence making it one
of the greatest film ever made.
Which brings us to the long awaited sequel... Bride of Re-Animator!
Of course, taking the above into account, you don't need two guesses to
figure out that this film will probably get mixed results. Sequels usually
lack the originality of their predecessors and sequels to highly impressive
films are usually worse. However... Bride of Re-Animator is a pleasant
surprise for fans of Re-Animator... but only if you look at the
film a certain way.
Bride
of Re-Animator takes place 8 months after the first film finished.
Miskatonic University has never been the same since the famous "massacre"
and our two favorite mad scientists, Herbert West and Dan Cain, are still
experimenting on dead bodies. However... there has been a new element added
to the mix. Instead of just re-animating bodies, West and Cain now experiment
with
body parts, and conspire to create the perfect human being.
Of course, the film can't really be compared to Re-Animator... that
film was a landmark of cinema. However, viewers will find a lot to be happy
about in this great movie. First off, the story is much more complex. There
are plenty of different subplots occurring at the same time. The special
effects are actually more graphic and impressive than the first film. The
acting is equally inspired.
The comedy is dark and morbid, and there is much more of it, but this is
part of the real reason why some fans hate this film. The comedy does feel
a little forced at places, instead of the subliminal humor that was so
hilarious in the original. However, this comedy is often very hilarious
and basically elevates the film to the point of it being sheer camp. That
being said, the film is great fun to watch and it's obvious that the filmmakers
were having a blast making this film.
Taking all that into consideration, Bride of Re-Animator remains
a stand-out in the sequel parade. With it's great mix of extremely gruesome
violence, high camp value, and familiar story line, Bride of Re-Animator is a must buy for fans of the original.
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- The
opening sequence originally involved a carnival sequence where Dr. Hill's
head is part of a sideshow (paying reference to a line of Jeffrey Combs
in the previous film, where he told Hill to get a job in a sideshow).
- At one point Dr. West suggests that the noises coming from his laboratory wall are just "probably rats in the wall". This is a reference to one of H.P. Lovecraft's better known stories "Rats In The Wall".
- The opening scene which is set in Peru, South America was actually shot
in San Diego, California.
- Jeffrey Combs' father-in-law (a chemistry professor) created Herbert's
bubbling chemistry lab.
- The chemical used for the reagent is actually luminal... a forensic
chemical used for finding blood after is has been removed from a crime
scene.
- Released September 8, 1990.
- Scenes
where Dan gets to know Francesca were cut since they didn't really add
anything to the plot. Curse that characterization, it's a killer.
- The
word "cemetery" is misspelled "cemetary" on the outside entrance wall.
     
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