After learning all he can learn in Switzerland, Herbert West comes to America to study life and death. Can death be overcome? West thinks so, and with his reagent serum he might just prove to the world how right he is.

"Re-Animator" ranks at the very top of my all-time favorite horror movies. For a guy who has seen probably one thousand horror films, that's quite the accomplishment. For me, the film is paced perfectly, has plenty of gore, a fair amount of nudity (and a scene of sexuality you won't find elsewhere),some black comedy and a simple plot premise (a variation on the Frankenstein story).

This is the film that gave Jeffrey Combs his place in cult film history. On the basis of this movie alone, he is sought after to appear in other horror films and appear at horror conventions. Sure, some of his other films are pretty good, and he had an impressive run on both "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "The 4400". But he will always be known as Herbert West. None of the other stars (David Gale, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton) has gone on to such a level of recognition.

The film has some flaws. The score, which is supposed to be an "homage" to "Psycho" sounds more like a blatant ripoff. And my biggest pet peeve is trying to find a complete copy of the film. I owned the longer, R-rated version on VHS. Now I own the shorter, unrated version on DVD (the Millennium Edition). I have yet to find one that combines the gore of the uncut version with the plot of the R-rated one (which I think really drives home the story and fleshes out the motives and power of Dr. Hill).

But the sheer fun of the film makes up for the flaws. Jeffrey Combs is clearly having plenty of fun, and the way they approach such things as the reanimated cat and the use of the reagent as an intravenous drug tells me they knew that the key was just letting a good time fly.

The people involved with this film (Combs, director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna) went on to make a variety of other Lovecraft-inspired films. So I guess I have to thank the success of "Re-Animator" for giving them the chance to pursue these other projects (even the less wonderful ones like "Necronomicon" or "Dagon" (which many people like but I wasn't impressed)).

If you're a horror fan and haven't seen this, shame on you. You simply cannot have an in-depth conversation on horror without this film coming up. I urge you to check it out and decide for yourself. Can thousands of horror fans be wrong on this one? When have they steered you wrong before?

If "Re-Animator" was very realistic, it would be unwatchable. After all, there are gallons and gallons and gallons of blood and enough internal organs to satisfy Andrew Zimern's cravings for the next 200 years! But the effects are mostly pretty cheesy and the story never takes itself seriously--two things that make the film worth seeing. However, even with cheesy gore, there is a lot of gore....A LOT. So, it's obviously not a film for many viewers. I would not show this to young viewers, my mother or anyone I am trying to impress with my intellect!

The film is about a goofy med student who thinks he's smarter than all his professors (he's probably right, actually). So, on his own he works on his own project--to create a serum for the reanimation of the dead. At first he tries it out on animals, but like all true mad scientists, he cannot stop there. Unfortunately, the serum has a minor side effect--it seems to make many of the recipients crazed killing machines or blithering idiots. Plus, it reanimates TISSUE--meaning that even parts can become moving, living and killing machines.

So is it worth seeing? Well, if you are an H.P. Lovecraft fan and you want to see HIS version of the Re-animator short stories, you'll be disappointed. Some of the film is reasonably close to Lovecraft--most is not. Also, if you are looking for a film reminiscent of something from the Criterion Collection of a Merchant-Ivory film, you should avoid the movie at all costs. If, however, you have a high tolerance for gore, LOTS of explicit nudity and violence and have a sick, dark sense of humor, then by all means this film is for you! Well made despite being cheesy, sick and twisted. You KNOW this is a bloodbath of a film when it makes the Living Dead films seem like Disney pics!!

At University of Zurich, Herbert West brings his dead professor Hans Gruber back to life with disturbing side effects. He goes to Miskatonic Medical School in Arkham, Massachusetts to further his studies. He immediately challenges the traditional views of Dr. Carl Hill. Fellow medical student Dan Cain rents a room to the weird West. Dan is going out with the Dean's daughter Megan. Hill has it in for West and Cain by association. Using his evil powers of persuasion, Hill gets the Dean to expel both West and Cain. West converts the basement into a mad science laboratory.

This is a campy B-movie. David Gale's performance is the proof of it. It is fun campy overacting. Jeffrey Combs is great at being creepy. The movie is grotesque fun. It moves well. It's not a scary horror but rather a campy one. It's weirdly compelling. Bruce Abbott is the main drawback. His amateurish acting isn't worthy of the lead. In the end, the movie makes you chuckle a little and pulls you into the story.