Campy, shockingly obscene and lacking a whiff of moral compass, 1985’s Re-Animator spits in the eye of good taste, and does it with naked, obese zombies and H.P. Lovecraft hysterics. I’ve often wondered how the film even got financing during the chastity belt Reagan era, but the notion someone would be willing to tackle the film now is even more laughable with how P.C. we’ve all gotten. Then again, Last House On The Left just got a reboot and no seventeen year old girls are forced to piss themselves in Re-Animator. Maybe that’s why Lester Burnham and Ricky Fitts bonded over its greatness in American Beauty.
According to Shock Till You Drop, the classic horror flick which has already spawned two sequels is getting a full, possibly even 3D make-over. Brian Yuzna who helmed Bride Of Re-Animator and Beyond Re-Animator is back on board as a producer and more importantly, walking, talking, murdering thumbs up for the rabid cultish fans. Ray Haboush, who surprise surprise is producing the Last House On The Left reincarnation, has agreed to lens the story. No word yet on who might star or whether Jeffrey Combs, the original re-animator, will be given a cameo or walk-on role.
This is a go big or go home situation, readers. Re-Animator is to either be done in all its wretched hedonism or it is to be let alone to be cherished by a new generation of sixteen year old boys who randomly discover it on a Blockbuster shelf while tipsy on a Friday night. Like Nick Nolte or Mike Tyson, there’s no churching up Re-Animator. Dr. Herbert West lived and died by his villainous puss of morals and so shall this movie, at least if the fans of the original have anything to say about it.
