Sometimes sequels work, sometimes they don’t. In 1985, Stuart Gordon’s “Re-Animator” struck an immediate chord and entered the list of what many horror fans consider ‘cult classics.’ It was followed up in 1989 by “Bride of the Re-Animator.” This second film, directed by Brian Yuzna was far from a spectacular follow-up, but thanks to the tons of gore and the over-the-top return performance by actor Jeffrey Combs, is still a fan favorite. Combs has made a career out of playing paranoid, delusional, whacked-out schizophrenics, but Dr. Herbert West has to be the most memorable of his career. I think the closest I’ve ever seen him play any ‘normal’ roles were in the few alien characters he’s portrayed on the various “Star Trek’ Series. In the previous “Re-Animator” films, West was obsessed with the thought of re-animating dead tissue. Some might have considered him a latter day Dr. Frankenstein. The good news, his green glowing re-agent formula worked. The bad news, his green glowing re-agent formula worked.

His experiments, which rarely had the sanction of any Medical University tended to re-animate the freshly dead and turn them into mindless violent zombies or, as in the first film, a psychotically brilliant headless one who just loooooves Barbara Crampton (but, don’t we all???).

The return of Dr. West has been a long time coming. Fourteen years too long, if you ask me. With the new DVD release of “Beyond Re-Animator”, director Brian Yuzna teams up with Jeffrey Combs to unleash Dr. West unto the world once again. Well, maybe not unto the world per se. It seems our good Dr. West has spent the last several years of his life languishing in prison. Not one to be stopped by a little stumbling block like this, he has continued to find ways to conduct his experiments.

He finds a new ‘ally’ in the form of the prison’s new doctor, Howard Phillips (Jason Barry). Together, they take West’s experiments to a new level by the harnessing of nanoplasm. And what is nanoplasm you might task? (Go ahead… ask…) It is an energy that leaves the body as it dies. They believe thids energy can restore the souls of a corpse after it’s been re-animated. As you might expect, things don’t go as planned and horror, blood and mayhem is set loose in the prison.

“Beyond Re-Animator” really doesn’t entirely live up to its predecessors as some of the storyline and characters seem to be carbon copies of the earlier films. Even West himself seems at times to be little more of a caricature of himself. But this isn’t to say it doesn’t offer up a lot of good, old-fashioned bloody fun. This is one of those ‘late night, check your brain at the door’ kinds of movies that have the sole purpose of grossing out your girlfriend (unless she’s into this kind of thing like my wife).

The new Lion’s Gate DVD does offer up a few extras, some good, others not so. The commentary by director Yuzna is worth listening to if you are more than just a casual fan of the series. He has the requisite number of anecdotes, but also talks a bit about his decisions in regards to changes in West’s character or the story’s mythos. ‘The Making of…’ documentary runs a little over 17 minutes and is fairly average fare for this type of feature. It does make for a worthwhile watch, however.

The one feature I would skip is the “Move Your Dead Bones” music video. I cannot even begin to describe how awful the music and lyrics are, though perhaps it might be fair to say they are far more terrifying than the film itself.

For the most part, your average movie-going audience whose sensibilities run more to light romantic comedies should probably skip this one. But those of us who can enjoy really twisted and sick dark romantic comedy will enjoy this late night treat.


Directed by: Brian Yuzna
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry, Elsa Pataki, Enrique Arce, Nico Baixas
Extras: Director Commentary, Making of Featurette, Music Video
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Lion’s Gate Films
Release Date: 12/30/200
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Strong Graphic Violence, Gore, Sexual Content and Language)
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We'll give Beyond Re-Animator a B-.