31 Chronological Days of Horror: 10/1 Re-animator (1985)

10/1: The month begins with Re-Animator (1985)

As a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft's writing, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this movie. The images I'd seen featured a much more modern look than Lovecraft's work would ordinarily feature, with lab coats and microscopes. I discovered that Re-animator is a thoroughly enjoyable loose interpretation of Lovecraft that injects a lot of Troma and 80s aesthetics into the source material.

This movie is hilariously gory and features lots of amusing practical effects. In more ways than one it reminded me of The Thing, as this film even has its own decapitated-reanimated head. The visceral nature of the special effects from movies of this era definitely set them apart. This movie fully embraces and embodies the aesthetics of its time, from the tropes to the visuals to the awesome soundtrack.

It's a classic story of asking "can we do it" but neglecting to ask "should we do it" which gets more and more absurd and amusing as it runs, until we end up with a reanimated corpse carrying its own head around in a tray. There were a few running jokes that carried the film along, the best of which was the security guard. I can't believe they didn't replace that guy after the first shit-show he allowed to happen in the morgue. The characters in this movie also love throwing things against walls, whether it's corpse heads or cats. The post-mortem sexual assault was super creepy and I found it more disturbing than the campy violence. I can now say I’ve seen attempted forced cunnilingus via severed head. That scene probably wouldn’t make it into a modern incarnation of this movie. The 80’s were a different time I guess.

Herbert is a perfect prick of a character and he, along with the other two leads, made this a fun, light movie to start the month with. I give it a thumbs up!

Tomorrow's film: From Beyond (1986)

Submitted October 02, 2016 at 02:47AM by weevil_boy http://ift.tt/2dzWsoF