Re-Animator (1985)
Directed by Stuart Gordon
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(Some Funny Scenes)
Summary
Herbert West is a scientist obsessed with reviving the dead and after things go awry in Switzerland he ends up as a student at Miskatonic University under the tutelage of renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Carl Hill. Herbert continues work on his serum and convinces fellow student Dan Cain to sneak into the morgue with him to try it out on a human subject. The first corpse they reanimate awakens in a rage and kills the Dean, Alan Halsey, and they try to cover their tracks by immediately administering the serum to him. They convince everyone that Dean Halsey went mad and caused all the mayhem in the morgue, but Dr. Hill soon realizes that something is amiss. He devises a plan to steal the reanimation serum by blackmailing Herbert. But Herbert has other ideas, and whacks Dr. Hill with a shovel and gruesomely cuts off his head! Ever the fanatical scientist, he then reanimates both the head and body of Dr. Hill. As Herbert admires the talking head, Dr. Hill's body renders him unconscious with a blow to the head. The reanimated Dr. Hill carries his head in a tray and takes the serum and research to the morgue. He enlists his zombie pal Dean Halsey to kidnap Megan Halsey (the dean's daughter, and Dan Cain's fiance) and bring her there. He's always had an unsavory lust for Megan, and once she's laying naked on a table in the morgue, his decapitated head performs some lewd acts! Herbert and Dan arrive at the morgue to put a stop to it all, but Dr. Hill has a surprise in store for them - all of the corpses jump up and attack! The zombies have the upper hand, but in a brief moment of compassion zombie Dean Halsey saves the day by crushing Dr. Hill's head. Herbert is snared by Dr. Hill's intestines, but Dan and Megan escape to the elevator. But Megan is attacked by a zombie in the elevator and is strangled to death. Dan rushes her to the ER, but cannot revive her. As the film ends, he injects her fresh corpse with the serum and we hear a piercing scream.
Review
This is one of those B-grade horror movies that stands out as a classic. It has all the ingredients - gratuitous nudity, awesome special effects with lots of gore, and an excellent story. I wouldn't call it a pure zombie movie because the corpses can only be reanimated with a serum injection and don't appear to infect others. They also don't appear to have an insatiable appetite for human brains - they just like to kill!
Herbert West is an awesome character - one of my personal favorites. He's obsessed with his research, to the point of being a mad scientist. His egotistical demeanor and cold personality lead us to believe he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. But he proves to have some morality because he doesn't resort to murder. Instead he enlists the help of his colleague Dan to sneak into the morgue for fresh corpses. And though he does murder Dr. Hill, it's an instinctive response to the threat of losing everything he's worked so hard to achieve (and Dr. Hill is a bastard anyway!). At the end, when he's hopelessly trapped by the zombies in the morgue he tells Dan to save his research. One wonders - was it because he wanted Dan to continue the work or a means for himself to be reanimated!
Zombie Traits
| Speed | 
(Human)
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| Intelligence | 
(Human)
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| Strength | 
(Hulk Hogan)
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| Zombie Source | Herbert West's re-animation serum |
The mental capacity of the reanimated corpses appears to be associated with how quickly after death the serum is administered, but there still appears to be some variation. The dean is reanimated immediately and is a raving madman, whereas Dr. Hill's decapitated head is re-animated and he appears to have his full intelligence restored!
Also, the zombies don't spawn other zombies with their bite - only the serum can reanimate a corpse.
Best Zombie Kill
When Dr. Hill the zombie springs his trap on Herbert, Dan and Megan in the morgue, Megan's lobotomized zombie father comes to the rescue. He attacks the other zombies to protect his daughter, then grabs Dr. Hills severed head and squeezes it like a melon. When he finally crushes it into an oozing, bloody pulp the other zombies are driven mad.
Best Zombie Death
I have to break the rules on this one - one of the coolest deaths is Dr. Hill getting beheaded. He confronts Herbert in his basement lab and demands he turn over his research on reanimation. Herbert grudgingly complies under the threat of blackmail. While Dr. Hill is engrossed at the serum in action under a microscope, Herbert sneaks up behind him and whacks him with a shovel. Then, as Dr. Hill lies dazed on the floor, Herbert rams the shovel into his neck and slowly grinds it through! Dr. Hill gurgles and spurts blood as his head is roughly separated from his body.
Memorable Scene
Herbert convinces Dan to infiltrate the morgue with him so they can try out the serum on a human subject. They find the freshest corpse available and administer several injections because there is apparently no response. But suddenly the corpse reanimates and is raging out of control. Herbert and Dan get tossed around like rag dolls. Unfortunately, Megan's father (the dean) comes down to find Dan and enters the morgue at the wrong time! The zombie goes medieval on him, slamming him around and eventually killing him (likely due to massive internal injuries!). Herbert dispatches the crazed corpse by drilling a hole through it's chest with a bone saw.
