♆♆♆

It had been such a long time since I first laid my eyes upon the classic Re-Animator that I had forgotten most of what happens in the movie. I figured it would be good to go back and revisit the film not only for nostalgia sake, but to prepare myself for the sequels I have never seen. Re-Animator is about a medical scientist obsessed with bringing the freshly deceased back to life with his fluorescent glowing green mystery serum. He does everything he can to further his experiments, including convincing a fellow med student to be his “Igor”. Things begin to spiral out of control as the scientist starts leaving behind a wake of alive-yet-dead subjects.

The movie brings an outstanding package of gore and comedy akin to the Evil Dead series. The practical effects were great, especially the scene where the surgeon opens up a cadaver’s skull after peeling back the skin. Enough to make me squirm! The re-animated bodies all looked disgusting in a good way as well. Of course the cat attack was my favorite scene!

Re-Animator does start to get a bit too wild towards the end. The plot gets a little too unreasonable and nudity is presented in a way that can only be interpreted as blatant shock value. The final fate of the scientist is pretty laughable too, but in a movie as campy as this you either come prepared to laugh or you end up hating it. Now if only the sequels can hold up to this…

4 lime green needles out of 5

★★★★☆