Re-Animator

Re-Animator
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStuart Gordon
Screenplay by
Based on"Herbert West–Reanimator"
by H. P. Lovecraft
Produced byBrian Yuzna
Starring
CinematographyMac Ahlberg
Edited byLee Percy
Music byRichard Band
Production
company
Re-Animator Productions
Distributed byEmpire International Pictures
Release date
  • October 18, 1985 (1985-10-18)
Running time
86 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • German
Budget$900,000-$1.3 million[2][3]
Box office$2 million[2]

Re-Animator (also known as H. P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator) is a 1985 American science fiction comedy horror film loosely based on the 1922 H. P. Lovecraft serial novelette "Herbert West–Reanimator".[4] Directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Yuzna, the film stars Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a medical student who has invented a reagent which can re-animate deceased bodies. He and his classmate Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) begin to test the serum on dead human bodies, and conflict with Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), who is infatuated with Cain's fiancée (Barbara Crampton) and wants to claim the invention as his own.

Originally devised by Gordon as a theatrical stage production and later a half-hour television pilot, the television script was revised to become a feature film. Filmed in Hollywood, the film originally was released without a rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, and was later edited to obtain an R rating. It garnered its largest audience through the unrated cut's release on home video.

Re-Animator is the first film collaboration between Gordon and Combs, the second being From Beyond, released in 1986. It is the first film in the Re-Animator film series, followed by Bride of Re-Animator in 1990 and Beyond Re-Animator in 2003. Released to mostly positive reviews, Re-Animator has since been considered a cult film.

  1. ^ "Re-Animator (18) (CUT)". British Board of Film Classification. October 1, 1985. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BoxOffice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "AFI|Catalog - Re-Animator". American Film Institute. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. ^ Stephen Jones. The Essential Monster Movie Guide. Billboard Books. 2000. Pg. 313