Herbert West: Reanimator was a 6 part serial by HP Lovecraft intended as a nspoof of Frankenstein. This movie is an updated adaptation of that story, although it uses only the broadest strokes of the original story.
After a cold open in which West (brilliantly played by Geoffrey Combs) has seemingly, albeit briefly, reanimated his dead professor at Zurich University, we plough into the films opening credits, and my single biggest problem with the movie.
Picture the scene: it's 1984, you've just made a horror movie and you need a theme tune. There are all kinds of reasons (mostly budgetary ones) you might want to use a new arrangement of an existing piece as your theme. I have no problem with that.
But why, why use this:
Yes, that is 'prelude' from the Psycho Suite aka "The main theme to one of the most famous horror movies of all time". It can't be that they didn't want us to notice; they knew that horror fans would be watching, and (along with Jaws and Halloween) this is one of very few horror themes I'd expect even non-horror fans to know.
I kept expecting the theme to go off in its own direction, using Psycho as a mere reference... But nope, it's the whole thing!
I know it's a weird thing to get hung up on, but it really bothered me for some reason.
Anyway, onto the movie proper; I did see most if not all of this at a friends house when I was 12 or so, but didn't really remember a thing about it save for the fact that it was incredibly gory - something which at time of its release was considered true. All I can say on that count is "how horror as changed" the gore in this movie is outright mild by today's standards!
It's an entertaining enough story though and the acting, while (intentionally I assume) hammy at times is perfect for the movie. As already mentioned Combs especially is brilliant as the lead.
Theme aside, the only problem I had with the movie was an element in the finale. It's odd to use the term 'far fetched' having already bought into the conceit of a serum that raises the dead, and a head that can talk without lungs or much of a throat; but never the less the 'laser scalpel lobotomy' that the films main antagonist employs to mind-control his victims really does stretch credibility.
All in all though, I thoroughly enjoyed it; it's part Frankenstein, part zombie movie, and it has a darkly comedic streak running right through it... I look forward to seeing the sequels once were done with the time out 100.
