Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Beyond Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 25, 2018

Lionsgate’s Vestron Video imprint has just brought out two films simultaneously on Blu-ray which have at least a tangential connection to H.P. Lovecraft. In our recently published Dagon Blu-ray review, I mentioned how even some diehard fans of the author can sometimes have a challenge easily explaining exactly what “Lovecraftian” means, and I personally found at least some elements of Dagon to fit my personal bill of what that adjective denotes. I’d probably have a somewhat harder time making the same case for Beyond Re-Animator, but in a way that makes perfect sense since neither Re-Animator nor Bride of Re-Animator were especially true to Lovecraft’s tone, even if elements of all three films are certainly bound rather strongly (and sincerely, it might be added) to Lovecraft’s mythos. Kind of amusingly, given the three Re-Animator films' tendencies toward sometimes goofy, even whimsical, humor, as Lovecraft biographer S.T. Joshi mentions in a supplement included on this Blu-ray, the Herbert West stories actually began life in serialized form in a humor magazine that was run by a friend of Lovecraft's. Joshi also recounts how Lovecraft wasn't especially excited about the West tales, despite the fact that (according to Joshi) they provided him with his first actual paycheck for writing something. Joshi isn't shy about stating overtly that Beyond Re-Animator is probably the least "Lovecraftian" of the three Re- Animator outings, which is not to say it doesn't provide some gonzo entertainment along the way.

Two kids are camping out in their backyard sharing ghost stories, and just for fright’s sake one of them has a sheep’s eye in a jar. The boys are suddenly interrupted by both a nearby lightning strike and the sound of someone (something?) rummaging around their backyard, and they go out to investigate. Meanwhile, one of the boys’ sister also hears something and starts poking around outside. The three youngsters finally find each other, which is when the real mayhem begins (of course), leading to the gruesome death of the girl at the hands of a re-animated type who bears a certain anatomical resemblance to the daffy character played by John Astin in Peter Jackson’s wonderful The Frighteners. The sequence ends with Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) being taken into custody for having created the monster (more or less, anyway), though one of his fluorescent green syringes is left behind, found by the brother of the victim.

Thirteen years later West is ensconced in a prison where he’s consigned to coaxing the resident rat population into his lair where he can continue to work on his re-animating experiments. A new doctor who is kind of cheekily (for those who know what the H.P. in Lovecraft's moniker stand for) named Howard Phillips (Jason Barry) shows up at the facility, and the fact that he has specifically requested that West be his lab assistant probably gives away the fact that he’s that survivor from the opening fracas, now grown up. A mishap with an inmate leads to an impromptu decision to try the remaining glowing green vial contents on a supposedly dead person, with chaos of course resulting. But Beyond Re-Animator tends to go for the gusto in terms of actual re-animations, with a whole coterie of victims “magically” brought back to life (more or less, anyway), though almost always with a “new, improved” feral sensibility that makes them perhaps a bit dangerous to be around.

The film is filled to the brim (arguably over filled) with a whole host of supporting characters, many of whom are transformed by West’s experiments. These include yet another crusading journalist (my review queue seems to require this kind of character lately), Laura Olney (Elsa Pataky), martinet Warden Brando (Simón Andreu), Brando’s addlepated enforcer Sergeant Moncho (Lolo Herrero), and a rat loving inmate named Cabrera (Enrique Arce). Almost the entirety of the rest of the film plays out in the confines of the prison, which due to a number of mitigating factors is soon overtaken by the inmates, with a coterie of re-animated characters (some not exactly “whole”, so to speak) marauding through the premises and wreaking havoc as only a re-animated character can.

Beyond Re-Animator continues the Re-Animator franchise’s combo platter of extreme gore with off the wall humor, but there’s a hit or miss quality to this particular outing that keeps the overall presentation from really finding the bullseye all of the time. The special effects are rather winning, and many of the performances are goofily enjoyable, but despite some stylistic flourishes by director Brian Yuzna, including some fun cross cutting between two violent attacks at the film’s climax, some of Beyond Re-Animator feels a bit listless, as if it needed a glowing green injection itself.

Beyond Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beyond Re-Animator is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Film's Vestron Video imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Fans who were disappointed by the scrubbed appearance of Vestron's simultaneously released Dagon should be relieved to hear that there is grain on this release, though kind of ironically it tends to provide some compression hurdles at times (see screenshots 18 and 19), and in fact does seem to be somewhat variable at times, at least in terms of visibility and not necessarily related to the brightness or darkness of any given sequence. On the whole, though, this transfer is rather colorful, with a nicely suffused palette, and some really nice looking (if occasionally squirm inducing) fine detail in the many close-ups director Brian Yuzna and cinematographer Andreu Rebés provide of the accruing carnage. The CGI is generally decent looking as well, if a bit hokey, and some of the intentionally skewed POV shots are understandably devoid of the same levels of fine detail that the bulk of the film offers (see screenshot 5). Contrast and black levels are both solid and my hunch is fans of the film should be generally well pleased with the appearance of this release.

Beyond Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beyond Re-Animator's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track springs to life rather forcefully in some of the noisier sequences, as in the first re- animmation that goes horribly wrong or, later, once the inmates have overtaken the asylum (so to speak), when riots have broken out all over the place. I found the film's score to be rather enjoyable, and it's positioned nicely throughout the surround channels with regularity. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly and there are no signs of any age related wear and tear to report.

Beyond Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Brian Yuzna


• Isolated Score Selections and Interview with Composer Xavier Capellas are presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.


• Beyond and Back (1080p; 18:50) is an interview with Brian Yuzna.


• Death Row Side Show (1080p; 20:09) is an interview with Jeffrey Combs.


• Six Shots by Midnight (1080p; 16:13) is an interview with Lovecraft biographer S.T. Joshi (look at the end table next to Joshi for an artfully placed edition of his Lovecraft tome).


• Production Art Gallery (1080p; 4:38) is by artist Richard Raaphorst.


• Still Gallery (1080p; 17:07)


• Vintage EPK Featurette (1080i; 17:17) has some fun interviews and candid footage.


• Dr. Reanimator - Move Your Dead Bones Music Video (480i; 4:28)


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:28)


• International Trailer (1080p; 1:52)

Beyond Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beyond Re-Animator may not be "Lovecraftian" (whatever that may mean in your personal estimation), but it's often kind of goofily amusing, coasting on the same combo platter of extreme gore and black humor that informed its two predecessors. There's a somewhat uneven tone to this film, though, that may prevent it from ever really registering as either a Lovecraft opus or maybe even as a "real" Re-Animator film, but there are some nicely done special effects and it's obvious that no one is taking themselves very seriously here, so at least the proceedings aren't fraught with any pretentious qualities. There are occasional passing issues with video quality here, but audio is fine, and as usual Vestron has assembled a really impressive slate of supplements for those considering a purchase.