Editorials
‘Re-Animator’ Still Conquering Brain Death 32 Years Later
Of all the many great things that horror accomplished in the ‘80s, the introduction to the trifecta of Jeffrey Combs, Stuart Gordon, and Brian Yuzna ranks high on the list. Their first collaboration, Re-Animator, released in theaters 32 years ago on October 18, 1985, not only marked the first of many H.P. Lovecraft adaptations between director Gordon and producer Yuzna, but proved that even boundary-pushing horror could win the critics over with enough charm and wit. Though it may be only loosely based on the first half of Lovecraft’s novella, Herbert West-Reanimator, Re-Animator still remains one of the best, and most fun, cinematic adaptations of the prolific horror author’s works.
Inspired to come up with a new take on Frankenstein in a world inundated with vampire stories, a friend of Stuart Gordon suggested he read Herbert West-Reanimator. Thus, the idea for Re-Animator was born. Gordon, with his background in theater, initially thought to adapt the story for the stage, which soon gave way to adapting the story for the small screen with co-writers Dennis Paoli and William Norris. It wasn’t until Gordon was introduced to Yuzna that Re-Animator came together, with Yuzna making a solid case for the special effects that would be needed for the project. Most impressive of all was that this film was a first for both; Re-Animator was the first feature film that Yuzna produced and the first that Gordon ever directed.
The last piece of the puzzle was Herbert West himself, a blond-haired, blue-eyed scientific automaton according to the original story. Neither of which fits the description of actor Jeffrey Combs. When Combs read for the role, though, it didn’t matter. Combs was Herbert West, and no one else came close. Though Bruce Abbott’s Dan Cain may have been the everyman, it was Combs’ West that audiences gravitated toward with his dry humor and unflappable demeanor. It was Combs’ delivery of lines like, “Who’s going to believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow,” along with the clever writing that solidified Combs’ status in the horror genre.
It wasn’t just the dialogue and clever writing that made Re-Animator such an enduring favorite, either. The unapologetic blood and gore, pushing the boundaries of nudity and gore on screen to the point that it had to be cut to attain an R-rating for theatrical release. The uncut, unrated version made it to home release, which was Gordon’s preferred and intended vision for the film. Who can blame him? West getting choked by intestines, a severed head getting inappropriately deviant with Barbara Crampton’s Meg Halsey, and at least 25 gallons worth of blood meant that the horror and comedy were in equal balance.
The gore and comedy delivered in spades, but it was Barbara Crampton as Meg Halsey that really made you care. Tasked with both being the fixation, and then victim, of Dr. Hill’s desire, Crampton had the unenviable task of portraying Halsey as the exposed damsel as well as the straight man counter to the madness around her. Like Combs, it was a breakthrough role for Crampton.
Upon release, even hard-to-please critics like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert couldn’t help but fall for Re-Animator’s charms, despite the way it really went for broke in gore and sexual humor at poor Meg Halsey’s expense. The practical effects, the over-the-top humor, and Jeffrey Combs’ legendary performance makes Re-Animator a classic, even 32-years later.
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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