Herbert West: Re-Animator

There can be no Herbert West without Jeffrey Combs. This is an unneeded reboot that while keeps in a lot of the gore it just does not have the great skills that Combs brought to the role. J Combs love for all things Lovecraftian is greatly missed and this movie misses the mark. While the original does take some liberties in the story so does this one and the storyline varies wildly so they are two different moves and not just a shot for shot reboot which makes it to be its own movie and could be seen as a better movie if not for the original existing. I just could not separate the two so if you love the original stay away from this one.

This Italian version, or interpretation of the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Re-Animator", is almost totally different than the Stuart Gordon version. I haven't read the original material, but this is so much else going on, that I have to guess this one is closer than the other one, but that is just a guess. The only thing that is consistent, is the green stuff and yes it re-animates the dead. But this version has many more characters, and plot lines, and yes, it is very gory as you would expect. In this version a dead person re-animated and if killed again, it comes back to life in three minutes. But, where do they go for that three minutes? This movie goes into that, and the other big difference, is Herbert West's daughter plays a big role, and then there is a HUGE twist that reveals West's Son who is truly evil, and the ending is something else, it's pretty much up to your interpretation as to what it means, and it certainly makes you think. You really can't compare the two films, because they are so different, and each one stands very well on it's own. I like both of them pretty much equal, it's just this version gives your brain quite a bit more to digest. I loved it, it was so much different, and at 1 hr 19 minutes running time, it never lets up. Great movie, so I'll give it a 4.5/5 rating, Whenever you get a chance, don't miss it.

Crap. This movie is crap. Senseless. Means nothing. It hasn't even a proper ending. Waste of my time. BAH.

Ivan Zuccon is certainly the best, most successful and most consistently interesting Italian horror film-maker of the 21st century. All his films have been influenced by HP Lovecraft and a few have been direct adaptations, like this one. To create a new adaptation of the story 'Herbert West - Re-animator' is a bold move as the Stuart Gordon/Brian Yuzna version is so beloved. But there are many Frankensteins and Draculas, so why should there not be multiple versions of the Herbert West legend?

Like so many Frankenstein and Dracula movies - and indeed like the original Re-Animator - this take only the most basic premise of its source story and then creates an original plot. The essential theme is the problems that inevitably arise when the distinction between alive and dead becomes irrelevant. Here West is working to restore life to his daughter, a talented violinist killed in a road accident.

From this, Zuccon weaves a tale of murder, rebirth, cruelty, despair, gender identity and the nature of 'the other side'. Like all of Zuccon's work, it's enigmatic, obtuse and strangely beautiful.

Another reviewer calls this "a weak re-tread of the '80s flick" but it's no such thing. However, in an homage to Gordon's film Zuccon has cast as an actor as 'Herbert West Jr' who looks like Jeffrey Combs, and it's easy to see how this could confuse people especially if all they see are stills or a trailer. People may also be disappointed if they expect elements of Gordon-esque black comedy - this is a serious film.

A ffine piece of work from the director of The Shunned House and Colour from the Dark, this will please fans of both Italian horror cinema and the Lovecraft-ian canon.