Beyond reAnimator

[mudsliptones]

anyone seen this movie?
I saw it was out on DVD

maybe I'll buy it

[avenger00soul]

I thought it didn't come out til the 30th.

[allmykids]

There are two of thoughs movies, so your saying theres a third one out?

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by allmykids
There are two of thoughs movies, so your saying theres a third one out?

Yes, the third one debuted on the Sci-fi channel back in October. According to Fango, it hits DVD on the 30th.

[allmykids]

COOL i liked the first two!!

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by allmykids
COOL i liked the first two!!

Then you should like the third one as well. It's every bit as over the top as the last two installments.

[mudsliptones]

The original Re-Animator is deemed a classic of the genre, though to be honest, my admiration for it is only mild. Sure, it boasted a terrific performance from Jeffrey Combs, delivered tons of memorable gore, and featured a deliciously nude Barbara Crampton, but I always found the pacing a little off and I felt the movie took to long to get to the all-out carnage I expected. Is Beyond Re-Animator a "better" movie? Maybe not, but I enjoyed it more, and it's a rare sequel that actually remains true to its predecessor's roots.

Set thirteen years after the events of Bride of Re-Animator, Doctor Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is in prison for his crimes (makes you wonder what he was charged with, resuscitating the dead?), but the arrival of a new doctor, Howard Phillips (Jason Barry), proves interesting to West's studies. Apparently, Phillips was a first-hand witness to the results of West's re-agent years ago, and has arrived to work with him on perfecting the formula. Their studies further progress to the discovery of an electrical phenomenon that could restore a dead person back to its normal state, sans the rage that typically accompanies their revival. But not everything goes to plan, thanks to a nosy reporter (Elsa Pataky) Phillips is seeing and the sadistic prison warden (Simon Andreu) who's catching whiff of West's plans.

Like the previous movies, Beyond Re-Animator isn't plot driven, it's meant to play as a rollercoaster ride of extreme gore and dark comedy. The grue is even better than its predecessors and there are a couple of laughs to be had (even if they're also simultaneously wince-inducing). The f/x stand out, with loads of memorable gore effects; there's a jawless zombie in the opening, a prisoner who overdoses on the re-agent and literally explodes, and my personal favorite, a prisoner missing the lower half of his body who's lassoed around by West himself. Hilarious.

Brian Yuzna is confident at the helm, giving the movie a slick look and feel, while maintaining a fast pace that nicely builds and rarely lets up. That said, the film is still packed with flaws, a lot of it pertaining to the repetitive nature of the story, which is basically "kill person, revive person, then kill person again," a cycle that endlessly repeats itself. The script brings up the topic of the electrical phenomenon, but doesn't really do anything with it. Are we supposed to assume that (spoiler) the reporter is somewhat possessed by the warden because she was given his NEE? There also aren't as many "zombies" as the first film, or at least not as many who are in any position to harm our protagonist (there's a scene where West discovers quite a few undead bodies hanging from the ceiling)

Jeffrey Combs-whose character actually starts to look a little normal compared to some of the nutsos here-is as delightful to watch as ever, and is really the one element that holds the film together in between the gore-soaked scenes. Jason Barry is flat and unconvincing as Phillips, whose decidedly complex character is clearly out of the actor's range. Elsa Pataky is very pretty, but has a hard time passing off as an American journalist (her Spanish accent slips through more than once). The only other worthy performer of note is the foxy Raquel Gribler, playing the prison nurse who reveals a LOT of cleavage and wears an almost see-through uniform. Pure eye candy, but a successful one at that.

Beyond Re-Animator works simply because it's a lot of fun, no more and no less, and whether or not you enjoy it depends on whether you mind (literally) eye-popping violence. The ending leaves things open for a sequel, but I'm actually looking forward to the further misadventures of Herbert West. Let's just hope the next sequel boasts a tad more plot and variety to go along with all the fun, gory mayhem.

[mudsliptones]

I have it, it kicks ass

it got all things a movie needs

2 naked tits
a wound that gets uglyer everytime you see it
a rat that rolls forth a penis
a blowjob that ends in biting of a penis
an ear that gets bitten of
a living upper part of the body, walking on hands thing
a living person trying out a potion that's ment for the dead
a guy injected with the energy of a rat so his teeth grow and he gets a weird twitch in the backbone

I LOVED IT!!!!
the jawless guy in the opening scene was awesome!!!!
try to drink milk then

favorite quote: "she's not getting any fresher"

[avenger00soul]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Mud.

[Ritualistic]

I want to buy this movie... havent found it anywhere though. Guess I will just buy it online ...