Editorials
Remember When ‘Beyond Re-Animator’ Begged You to “Move Your Dead Bones”?!
Fifteen years ago, director Brian Yuzna (Society, Bride of Re-Animator) jumped back behind the camera to helm the third film in the Re-Animator saga that he’d begun with filmmaking partner Stuart Gordon so many years ago. That film, Beyond Re-Animator, did not go on to garner the same “classic” status as the previous films. This time out, Dr. Herbert West has found himself a new batch of warm bodies for his experiments once he’s let loose on a high security prison along with its ill-fated inmates and wardens. The final third descends into utter chaos as West’s lab rats (some quite literally) go berserk and set the stage for a brutal prison riot. Overall, Beyond is a fun time that certainly doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessors but still feels comfortably at home within the Re-Animator franchise. A fourth film to be directed by Gordon, House of Re-Animator, would have seen West taking over the Oval Office and then President Bush. That never came to fruition. Though, I’d be game to see what a West/Trump combo might look like.
While the critical and fan reception for Beyond may have been tepid, its legacy has been bolstered by one truly bizarre addition to the film’s home video release – a music video. For anyone who has witnessed this slice of head scratching Eurodance cross marketing, you’ve surely never forgotten it. “Move your dead bones, bones, bones. You’ll dance for the rest of your life. Re-Animate your feet!” That’s only but a small taste of the poetic lyricism on display here, folks. I’ll never forget perusing the special features on the Beyond Re-Animator DVD only to land on this obscure oddity, “Move Your Dead Bones.” The song is performed by none other than Dr. Re-Animator, naturally. It features a plethora of clips from the film itself interspersed with the overly suave Dr. Re-Animator dancing about in sexy-scrubs while waving around a hypodermic filled with reagent. For those who’ve been sleeping on this hidden gem for the last fifteen year – here, you’re more than welcome.
I’ve tried to find more information on just how something like this came to be, but there hasn’t been much luck in that department. What I did discover was just how deep the legacy of this particular song goes. Apparently, it became quite popular amongst the Furry community. For those not in the know of what a “Furry” is, Wikipedia breaks it down like this:
“The furry fandom is a subculture interested in fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes.”
In 2005, an artist who presented herself under the pseudonym of Zarla and was only ever pictured as her avatar (a red fox) released a flash animation set to the tune of “Move Your Dead Bones.” In the strange clip that appears to be an ode to fan-fic, Zarla the Fox can can be seen dancing with various fictional characters from Silent Hill, Harry Potter, and Super Metroid. It took Arcturus Kirwin to help launch the clip’s popularity amongst other Furries. Arcturus has been a vocal member of the Furry community having developed and admined several of the community’s websites. She blogged about Zarla’s video on LiveJournal, it got reposted on the forums, and blew up from there.
The song has been performed live at several Furry conventions and continues to be popular amongst the fandom. I’ve got to admit, all of this came as quite the surprise to me when I set out to do my research for this track. Though, I remember having a friend who had no idea what Beyond Re-Animator was, yet he knew every word to “Move Your Dead Bones.” After the interesting things I discovered about him later, his knowledge of this song makes a whole lot of sense in retrospect. Annnnyway! In terms of the recording itself, I was able to uncover the David Lyme was the song’s writer/producer. Lyme had an extremely successful career throughout the late 80s/early 90s in the Italo-disco realm. He now writes music for other artists as well as promotional tracks for corporations. Perhaps he was hired by Fantastic Factory (Beyond’s production company) to craft a hit song to help market the film? We may never know. What will always ring true, though, is if I “give you some green color, you will ask for mo’. You will see that you never felt this way before!”
Alright, fiends – celebrate 15 years of Beyond Re-Animator and “move your dead bones!”
Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.
To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.
Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.
For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.
Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.
Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.
From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.
The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.
Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.
With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
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