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Stuart Gordon’s enduring splatter classic riffs on many genres and defies logic, symbolic of most independent features from the '80s horror explosion, but supercharged by exceedingly well-written dialogue, "Re-Animator" ameliorates far above its counterparts. Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s classic terror tale ‘Herbert West – Reanimator’ and featuring dry, deadpan jokes aplenty, this zombie-laden, sexually graphic, insanely effective gorefest more than compensates for a lack of scientific exposition and plausibility in the plot, which centres on three students, one of whom advertises for a roommate and finds one in the form of Dr. Herbert West, the deliciously deranged mad scientist of the title. West's bizarre theories of reanimation are soon realised with the reluctant assistance of his overzealous roommate, and gruesome chaos naturally ensues. Low-budget though not perceptibly so, "Re-Animator" illustrates how, if well-executed, a B-movie concept and accomplished special effects can elevate even the weakest of scripts. Fortunately, "Re-Animator" is one of the strongest screen adaptations of an H.P. Lovecraft story, if not the freshest, modern revision of the well-worn Prometheus legend, albeit with grislier results.
Campy fun devoid of seriousness or sophistication and emphasised comedy and wit can push aside the most blatant flaw in a film, and by balancing over-the-top lunacy and excessive gore with a schlocky take on the Frankenstein theme, Gordon manages to achieve that. Eschewing the bounds of the classic Universal era as well as the mould of horror cliches, the film highlights the gore and amorality of medical science, as evidenced by West's experiments. Owing to its expedient pace, suitably hysterical performances, comical edginess and gross-out horror, "Re-Animator" rises above its cult movie trappings and is definitely one of the more virtuoso, strikingly explicit horrors of the 1980s.
