Re-Animator II, la fiancée de Re-Animator

I have loved the original "Re-Animator" since I first saw it as a demented little boy way back in 1986. So naturally, I was quite excited when I got the chance to see the sequel when it premiered on Cinemax in 90 or 91. Although I was satisfied with "Bride of Re-Animator" when I initially viewed, I some how managed to avoid seeing it again for the next decade. I am not quite sure why that is, especially considering I have been enjoying the original on dvd for quite some time now. Looking back I think it's because I had the realization that, as I have grown older and my tastes have matured, things that were "great" when I was kid are often terrible these days, rendering films that were merely "oky" even worse. In other words, I was afraid of watching "Bride" and just hating, thereby tarnishing the legacy created by the still fabulous original. To get to the point, I recently decided to take a chance and I broke down and bought "Bride" on dvd. Going into it with my expectations totally lowered (since I couldn't remember much from watching it 10 years prior), I was pleasantly surprised by this worthy sequel to one of my all time favorite horror flicks. Sure, "Bride" still somewhat pales by comparison, but it would be safe to say that it compares to the original the same way that the competent "Halloween 2" stands up to it's classic predecessor. In other words, this isn't a great flick, but much of the magic that made the original work is still here, and the film has a few surprises of it's own. I won't go into the plot because everybody else on here has already explained it, and besides, I find the plot to be one of the areas where "Bride" is most lacking. I will instead try to concentrate on the things I like about this film, namely, some snappy (and extremely DRY) one-liners, hilariously over-the-top gore effects and another great turn by Jeffrey Combs as the titular "re-animator". "Bride" relies on the mix of outrageous horror and dark comedy that defined the original, this time leaning just a little more towards the comedy side without becoming a parody of the first one. With stronger direction and more a more fleshed-out screenplay, I believe this one could have had the potential to be as good as the original-but who wants to see classic overshadowed? "Bride of Re-Animator" stands well on it's own and as a nice afterthought to the original it should please most fans. I also highly recommend the feature-loaded dvd release, and although some would argue this film gets a slightly grander dvd treatment than it deserves, who can really complain about a plethora of special features?

Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) and Dean Cain (Bruce Abbott) are up to their old tricks again--reanimating dead corpses and causing tons of gory fun to ensure. And the evil, dead Dr. Hill (the late David Gale) is back again too...

Strange sequel--for starters West and Hill were dead at the end of the first movie. In the special DVD edition of this they show there WAS footage shot to explain how they were back--for some reason it never made it into the movie leaving some gaping plot holes.

In terms of gore this equals the first one (despite the R rating) with some truly extreme sequences--especially the ending which is drenched in blood. It also has the pitch black humor of the first...some of it very funny. But this time around there's just not enough of a plot to fill 90 minutes. Poor Combs says essentially the same speech about reanimation five times! And there are just a lot of scenes not necessary to tell the story so the movie moves in fits and stops.

Still, it is a lot of fun (if you have a very strong stomach) and Combs is having a whale of a time in his role. Gale is very underused--but then he was written in at the last minute.

So this is a definite must-see for horror fans--just don't expect anything as good as the original.

Best line: "My God! They're using tools!"

"Re -Animator" extremely well received (quite rightly so) at the time of issue,still stands as a classic of the horror and fantasy genre.Who cared if it was not faithful to Lovecraft?Were the sixties Corman's movies that much faithful to Edgar Allan Poe?Crazy situations,witty lines,and above all an extraordinary skilled actor,Jeffrey -West,Herbert West-Combs who managed to be at once sinister and hilarious.

The sequel is not so exciting;like in most of the follow-ups ,the surprising effect has disappeared.Besides ,the script is too derivative ,borrowing from "the bride of Frankenstein" (James Whale,1935) and from "night of the living dead" (Romero,1968).

Only Jeffrey Combs remains.They put the weight on him and he carries it honorably.During the cast and credits,we can hear the same music ,which is absolute plagiarism:Hermann's "Psycho".

Dr Herbert West and Dr Dean Cain are back to their old ways. West isn't trying to bring back life now- but actually trying to create life from spare body parts. But along the way they have a police inspector snooping around and Dr. Hill is back.

This is a reasonably stylish, but crazy sequel to the very good original. Keeping with the tradition of the original it sticks to the black, campy humour we loved and also being soaked in blood & gore.

The story is pretty much the same as the original with West's freaks of nature causing havoc again. Though just like the title implies, it parodies the film 'Bride of Frankenstein'- but the repetitiveness' this time really shows throughout the film. It has some plot holes that aren't explained on from that of the first film- but it didn't fault the story, the humour or pace of the film.

The director this time around was the producer from the original, Brian Yuzna- he brings some nice added touches and a morbid sense to the film, though it might have been much better if Stuart Gordon held the realm.

The performances are good, with the ever-reliable Jeffrey Combs delivering the eccentrically insane Herbert West, Bruce Abbott as the sympathetic Dean Cain, Claude Earl Jones as the mischievous police detective, Fabiana Udenio as Cain's concerned girlfriend Francesca Danelli and finally David Gale as Dr West's Nemesis the deviously evil head (Yep, that's right) of Dr. Carl Hill.

The atmosphere is truly stunning- from the dark basement filled with enthusiastic experiments and West's bizarre creations to the coldness of the eerie mortuary and hospital. The cheese ball performances, along with the witty script and dazzling special effects add up to equal a lot of fun.

3.5/5

It's very hard to make a sequel to an absolute masterpiece that can live up to the original. Let us not forget how bad the Exorcist II and the Howling II were. Like the previous titles mentioned, Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator is a true classic in the field of horror, so I was very careful with my expectations towards this film. Yet, several elements showed that it could be a very good film. Jeffrey Combs returned as his memorable Dr. West character and also Dan Cain and Carl Hill are present again. ( well, at least his head is... ) Brian Yuzna took the seat of the director. Good sign, I thought. He knows what he does when it comes to horror. And this film proved itself to be good. It can never reach the level of the original but the complete cast and crew seems to realize that. They just tried to make a sequel worth watching and in that viewing... they succeeded.

TINY SPOILERS FROM HERE ... Dr. West is even more fantastic ( and that means more crazy :-] ) to achieve his discovery of re-animating dead bodies. He keeps convincing Dr. Dan Cain to assist him by claiming he can bring back Megan to live ( Dr. Cains love interest from the first film ) West found Megan's hart in the hospital and they shall create a new woman with it. Great !!! Also, the head of the infamous Dr. Carl Hill gets re-animated and he's only after one thing. Nail Dr. West and avenge his dissection ! By this he gets assisted by another doctor. Thing are even getting more difficult for Dr. West when a fanatic detective follows him around... The bride of Re-Animator (a clean tribute to Frankenstein) is 90 minutes of pure fun. Horrorfans won't be disappointed at all. It's a logical sequel to the original, but also a film that could stand to itself. As far as sequels go, this is a good effort. Now, after 13 years a second sequel is about to come. Beyond Re-Animator ( also directed by Yuzna and starring Combs ) is claimed to be a worthy addition to the series as well. I haven't seen it yet but I sure will when I get the chance.