Re-Animator: Millennium Edition (US)

Usually gore is looked upon by today`s horror film makers. They can be right in certain places, because in most cases gore isn`t there to scare, it`s there just to offend. Good example is Cannibal Ferox, which wasn`t really scary, but gut wrenching. But in some movies, when gore is well placed and justified, it makes sense. Re-Animator is one of them.

Ok, so basically the movie tells about mad scientist who invents a serum which can raise the dead. Well of course, the walking dead aren`t too happy about it and not too thankful. Even better, he mixes a completely normal medical student, Dan Cain and his girlfriend, into his research, and soon the two find themselves in a middle of a nightmare.

What could I say about this movie? It`s extremely difficult to review a movie if you just happen to like it. Gore might offend some, some hate the story, characters, or just plain everything in it. I in the other hand, loved this movie, and the DVD.

Video: OK, the transfer is (at least for what I`ve heard) same as the laserdisc, with it`s occasional dirt, but otherwise the image quality is the best I`ve seen. But with an old 4:3 TV, you can`t really tell. The picture is in 1.85:1, and enhanced for those lucky bastiches with widescreen TVs.

Audio: We do not get only one, or two, but THREE different audio mixes. First there is DD5.1, which is very crisp and clear, the dialogue being very distinctive. Then we get DTS, and you can only guess is it better then the first. And for the purists, we also get the original mono mix. great, eh?

Features: Now here is what makes the whole package different from the original laserdisc. The disc no.1 is the same, with it`s two commentary tracks. The first track features Stuart Gordon`s commentary. A bit boring actually, but for the fans it really is iteresting facts about the background and the making of the film. The second track...that`s right, you`ve been invited to a party with producer Brian Yuzna and Actors Jeffrey Combs (Herbert West), Robert Sampson (Dan Haley), Barbara Crampton (Megan Haley) and Bruce Abbott (Dan Cain). It`s almost like watching MST3K, as they joke and make fun of the movie while remembering things about when they were in the production. And for the finale of the disc one, there is an isolated music track in 5.1.
Ok, the disc two is the real bang. They are already listed, and I don`t think I will go into their depths here, but I can tell you they are worth of it. The TV spots are bit funny, but I guess all TV spots are like that. Overall the extras are, while there is a load of them, a bit boring. With the xception of the 2nd commentary track which is hilarious.

Overall: Great movie in a great disc. Well OK, the latter part is true, but the first one is only if you happen to like movies like this. I certainly do not regret getting this one.

Herbert West has recently joined Miskatonic University as a medical student. He has been working on a serum that can re-animate dead bodies. He enlists the help of fellow student Dan Cain to help him perfect the serum. Unfortuneatly, one of the tutors, Dr. Carl Hill, finds out about West`s experiments and attempts to steal his discovery. West kills the doctor and then re-animates him. This proves to be a bad idea when Hill knocks out West and steals his work. Now it`s up to Herbert and Dasn to not only stop Hill but also an army of re-animated corpses.

Based on H.P. Lovecraft`s story, Herbert West, Re-Animator, 1985`s Re-Animator is considered to be one of the best horror films of the 1980`s and is given an excellent release by Elite Entertainment.The picture quality is excellent throughout. There are some minor defects but nothing major. The film has never looked so good. The sound quality is also very good.

There are plenty of extras on this disc. On disc 1 are two commentaries. The first features director Stuart Gordon and the second features producer Brian Yuzna and actors Jeffrey Combs, Robert Sampson, Barbara Crampton and Bruce Abbott. These two commentaries originally featured on Elite Entertainment`s 1995 laserdisc. The commentary with Gordon is the best in terms of information. The other commentary just has the actor`s make fun of the film. Both commentaries are worth listening to though.

The 2nd disc.has 4 new video interviews which feature director Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Rochard Band and Fangoria editor Tony Timpone. All of these vary between five minutes ( Tony Timpone) to forty eight minutes ( Gordon and Yuzna ). All of the interviews are interesting though. Next are 20 minutes worth of deleted scenes. Many of these were used for an R rated version in the USA ( The film was originally released unrated ). Other extras feature music discussion with Richard Band, multi-angle storyboards, behind-the-scenes photo gallery, trailer and 5 TV spots.

Overall, this is a great horror film presented on a superb disc.