Re-Animator 4k UHD standard edition review — Ignite breathes new life into an old classic

Re-Animator’s 40th Anniversary 4k release is a strong case for the continuing worth of physical media. 1985’s cult classic has enough strength and legacy to more than justify itself, but this special edition is a few steps beyond a new release of the film; the standard version has two discs, containing the Unrated and Integral cuts, along with a small museum’s worth of special features and bonus content. For a fan or researcher, it’s a comprehensive source of information on Re-Animator’s history and impact.

The relatively niche genre of “cult classic 80s practical effect horror comedy gorefest” has a deep roster. Even so, Re-Animator has held attention and influence over the genre. That was never hard to see why. It adapts one of Lovecraft’s less-regarded stories. Even he didn’t care much for the series of gory resurrections, and even besides its more than occasional injections of useless prejudice, the episodic tales didn’t have the strongest narrative. Their best element was the horror of Herbert West’s unfeeling, single-minded search for scientific discovery, regardless of who he hurt. After creating a substance that resurrects the recently deceased, he finds that it also drives them to inevitable violence. The film makes West more human, but doesn’t abrogate his thirst for knowledge. In contrast, its bombastic effects and lovingly shameless violence bring out plenty of scares and inventive sequences.

I hope it’s needless to say that the film features Jeffrey Combs in his prime. I don’t mean youth by the way; Jeffrey Comb is in his prime any time he’s on camera. Devoted character actor, his ability to meld ham and sincerity made him as integral to Re-Animator as he was in the 90s on Deep Space 9 or just recently in Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of souls. Not that costars Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, David Gale or Robert Samson fail to match him. The procession of depravity and their collective energy match with Richard Band’s moody, near-gothic score.

Somehow, the movie never spirals totally out of control so that you abandon your sense of disbelief. It has enough humanity and enough grounding that you still feel the horror of the events unfolding. Combs, Crampton, and Abbott have enough time to deliver scenes of mundane humanity. It knows how to build its characters before subjecting them to abominable horror.

The restoration loses none of their expressions, nor the character of the film itself. The film grain retains all the lighting and color of the original. Gone is the faulty grading or discoloration of some 4k releases. The differing cuts bear some explanation; it’s unclear which shorter version is superior, but it may be truer to the original vision. The Integral cut combines elements of the Unrated and a cut made for TV, which had to delete some of the more graphic scenes but add a sub-plot about the villain being a mesmerist to make the appropriate length. It does explain some elements of his successes later and helps tie the ending together. At the same time, the Unrated (or so it was released to avoid risking an X-rating) version is how director Stuart Gordon wanted it released.

Either way, the release also contains quite a few features, both newly produced and historic.

Compiled for this release of the film:

Re-Animator at 40: A Conversation with Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Brian Yuzna
Piece By Piece: Cutting Re-Animator – A New Interview with Editor Lee Percy
The Horror of It All: The Legacy and Impact of Re-Animator
I Give Life: A Look Back at Re-Animator: The Musical
Suzie Sorority and the Good College Boy: An Interview with Carolyn Purdy-Gordon
Re-Animating a Horror Classic: The 4K Restoration of Re-Animator
The Organic Theater Company of Chicago: A 1977 documentary featuring Stuart Gordon
New 40th anniversary 4K UHD trailer

And including pre-existing media:

Isolated Score
Audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon and actors Graham Skipper and Jesse Merlin of Re-Animator: The Musical
Audio commentary with Stuart Gordon
Audio commentary with producer Brian Yuzna, actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, and Robert Sampson
Re-Animator: Resurrectus - Feature-length documentary on the making of the film featuring extensive interviews with cast and crew.
Interviews with director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Richard Band, and former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone
Music discussion with composer Richard Band
The Catastrophe of Success: Stuart Gordon and The Organic Theater - Director Stuart Gordon discusses his early theater roots and his continued commitment to the stage.
Theater of Blood - Re-Animator: The Musical lyricist Mark Nutter on adapting the cult classic for musical theater
Extended scenes
Deleted scene
Trailer & TV spots
Stills gallery
Barbara Crampton In Conversation: The Re-Animator star sits down with journalist Alan Jones for this career-spanning 2015 interview.
A Guide to Lovecraft Cinema: Chris Lackey, host of the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, provides a comprehensive look at the many cinematic incarnations of Lovecraft's work.
Doug Bradley's Spinechillers: Herbert West, Re-Animator actor Jeffrey Combs reads H.P. Lovecraft’s original classic story.

All told, a very worthy summation of Re-Animator’s inspiration, production, and legacy. The impressive amount of discussion of the musical version was very welcome and brings a lot of value to the release.

The only complaint I can muster is that the standard (i.e. lowest quality) version’s slipcase is a few steps less than sturdy. It’s acceptable, but not confidence-inspiring. You’ll want to be careful to protect the discs inside.

Review Guidelines90

Re-Animator 4k UHD

Excellent

Back again, Re-Animator’s 4k release shows nothing for its age. Authentic and comprehensive, it returns the film to us in stunning fidelity, while working as an archive for fans of its history. All the horror, humor, and humanity are here on display, in what is likely to be the definitive version.