Long before Blumhouse, A24, and Jordan Peele, there was Stuart Gordon. The experimental theater director turned cult horror filmmaker made more than 20 films between 1985 and 2007. Many of them were schlocky B-movies full of cheap special effects, buckets of fake blood, and transgressive sexual behavior. The best of the bunch — which was also Gordon’s directorial debut — offers all three.
Released in 1985, Re-Animator is based on the H.P Lovecraft short story “Herbert West — Reanimator,” and it follows a medical student named Herbert West (Gordon go-to Jeffrey Combs) who invents a serum that can bring the dead back to life. Unfortunately, they tend to come back as brain-dead, violent zombies. Things go from bad to worse when the serum falls into the hands of the villainous Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), who develops a method to control the undead.
Re-Animator has everything you could want from a pulpy zombie flick. It’s violent and legitimately scary, thanks to both Hill’s diabolical performance and the emphatic moans and lurches of the undead. It’s also campy and hilarious, due to some truly absurd line readings and Gordon’s over-reliance on a neon-green color scheme that emphasizes the story’s science fiction leanings. In spite of this bizarre mix of style and genre, a pervading sense of dread builds throughout, and Gordon doesn’t let go right until the movie’s final, disturbing moments.
It’s worth noting that Re-Animator also comes with some baggage. Lovecraft’s racist politics were no secret at the time, and the fact that Gordon seemingly delighted in adapting his stories raises a few eyebrows. The film also features what can accurately be described as an attempted rape scene between a decapitated, reanimated head and an imprisoned young woman. That scene doesn’t last very long, but it’s disturbing enough to merit some sort of trigger warning.
That said, if you can go into Re-Animator with an open mind and a clear understanding of the movie’s deeper flaws, you’ll almost definitely have a good time. In an age where every horror film has to say something important about society, there’s something liberating about shlock like this.
Where to watch: Re-animator is available on VOD from all the usual places. It’s also free to watch with ads on Tubi and the Roku channel.
Polygon’s annual Halloween Countdown is a 31-day run of short recommendations of the best horror movies, shows, TV episodes, and online specials to stream for the Halloween season. You can find the entire calendar here.
