Our society and culture can be so weird and unbalanced at times. While television seems to be more out of control and controversial than ever, I get the feeling (and again, this is just me) that people are becoming more conservative. In this climate, we often hear of thing being "over the top". The question is, what does that phrase even mean anymore? We see things in entertainment which certainly push the envelope, but it also seems that much of the populace is easily surprised or shocked, so they would easily think that something was "over the top". The bottom-line is that few things really live up to that label. This is where Re-Animator comes in. When this movie debuted in 1985, it was like nothing we'd seen before, as the film took the ideas of restraint and good taste and tore them to shreds. Even today, when things like Jersey Shore are the norm, Re-Animator is still completely over the top.

Re-Animator takes place at Miskatonic University. Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) has everything going for him. He's a medical student who is close to finishing his studies and he's dating Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton), who just happens to be the daughter of the Dean (Robert Sampson). Things change for Dan when he meets a new student named Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs). West has come in from Switzerland, and he quickly becomes Dan's roommate, despite Megan's protests. The strong-will West immediately butts head with Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), the school's esteemed physician. Dan soon learns why West is so arrogant and secretive -- He's created a serum (called a "reagent") which can bring the dead back to life. West has experimented on animals, and he convinces Dan that he needs a human subject. They visit the morgue to find a subject, performing what seems to be a simple experiment. This will set off a wave of terror which involves death, zombies, and the revelation of secret desires. As the relationship between Dan and Megan is threatened, West becomes more determined than ever to finish his work.

Over the years, Re-Animator has solidified its position as one of the touchstone films of 80s horror. At a time when the slasher cycle was winding down and zombie movies were suddenly en-vogue again, Re-Animator came in and blew the doors off of the genre with its mix of an old-school Frankenstein story combined with no-holds barred gore effects. Horror is very cyclical and at time when scary movies were in flux, Re-Animator was a breath of fresh air. And that reputation stands to this day, as no less than Entertainment Weekly has singled out the movie on no less than two occasions.

But, what makes Re-Animator work so well. Director Stuart Gordon's background was in the theater (he founded a theater group in Chicago and worked with the likes of Dennis Franz and Joe Mantegna) and Re-Animator marked his feature film directing debut. However, you would never know this watching the movie, as Gordon directs with a very steady hand, using some creative camera-work and pacing the movie so that the outrageousness is slowly ramped up and the viewer never gets bored. The movie also takes the time to develop the characters. When those familiar with Re-Animator think of the film, they most likely dwell on the finale, but watching the movie again, you note that we actually get to know West, Dan, Megan, and Hill, and the details of these characters help to bring the movie to life. The movie also contains a healthy dose of humor, which is a necessity given the pitch-black dread shown in some scenes. In fact, there are at least two laugh-out-loud moments in the movie.

However, it was the insane violence which made the movie famous. Sure, we'd seen gore effects before and movies like John Carpenter's The Thing and Dawn of the Dead has pushed the limits in on-screen violence and wacky effects, but Re-Animator took things to a new level. For once, a movie promised to be over-the-top and it delivered. Just when we thought the movie couldn't go any farther, things get totally bonkers during the finale and I'm sure that many an audience member has said, "No they are not." during the infamous scene between Dr. Hill and Megan. And while the movie is decidedly gross, there is still enough of a tongue-in-cheek attitude to let you know that it's all in good fun...right up to the chilling ending.

Few movies in the horror genre stand the test of time, as the world is often a far scarier place than our films, but Re-Animator is the rare exception. The movie is still shocking today and it hasn't lost any of its punch. In fact, the only real negative here is that we realize just how inferior the Re-Animator sequels are. Fortunately, we can experience the bizarre exploits of Herbert West whenever we wish, as this movie keeps coming back to life.

Re-Animator's best line comes when West gives Hill career advice on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Image Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains a VC-1 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 32 Mbps. The first thing that you'll notice is that this transfer doesn't look very good. The image is grainy and shots white spots -- was this a theatrical print? The picture is soft at times and notably flat. When compared side-by-side with the DVD release from 2007, the DVD actually looks better. Is this due to some noise reduction or filtering? I don't know, but the lack of grain on the DVD is certainly more appealing at first glance. Yes, this is an older, low-budget movie, but it's also one which is revered in certain circles and I would have like to have seen more care given to the transfer. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.5 Mbps. The audio doesn't fare much better than the video. The original mix for Re-Animator was mono, so the artists involved here have attempted to create a surround mix for the movie. The result is very flat. We get very little surround sound here, save for the music. At most times, the rear channels are very faint and only seem to be reproducing the audio from the front channels. The stereo effects have their moments, but overall are weak. The main title theme music does produce some noticeable bass effects.

The Re-Animator Blu-ray Disc contains several extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director Stuart Gordon. This is followed by a second COMMENTARY with Producer Brian Yuzna and cast members Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, and Robert Sampson. "Re-Animator Resurrectus" (69 minutes) is a documentary (which still bears the "Anchor Bay Entertainment Presents" credit) which gives a very in-depth exploration into the making of the movie. Featuring interviews with Gordon, Yuzna, Screenwriter Dennis Paoli, and the primary cast, the piece begins with the origin of the project, looks at pre-production, and then explores the shooting of the film. There are some production stills, but there is no on-set footage. However, the stories from the interviewees really helps to pain a picture of what it was like. As one would expect, there is a detailed look at the gore effects. Some of the most entertaining comments come at the end, when the reaction to the film is discussed. We get three INTERVIEWS with "Gordon and Yuzna" (49 minutes), Paoli (11 minutes), and Composer Richard Brand (15 minutes). This is then followed by a "Music Discussion with Composer Richard Brand" (16 minutes) where he gives specific examples of how musical cues were applied to certain scenes. "Interview with Fangoria Editor Tony Timpone" (5 minutes) has the journalist reminiscing about his experiences covering the movie. The Disc contains 18 DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES which run about 26 minutes.  There are some nice moments here, including a dream sequence (although it's not clear where this would fall in the film), a scene which shows how hypnotic Dr. Hill can be, and the secret as to why West is always so agitated. The extras are rounded out by the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film and five TV SPOTS, which harken back to the exploitation tactics of the 70s.