6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The third RE-ANIMATOR film finds Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) getting out of jail after fourteen years for inadvertently killing a young girl as a result of one of his experiments. During his time on the inside, West continued to perfect his methods on rats. When a young doctor who is aware of West's discoveries, becomes the new prison M.D., he asks West to help him on a project he is working on. Before long, dead bodies are being reanimated left and right, and the prison walls are running red with blood...!
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry, Elsa Pataky, Tommy Dean Musset, Bárbara ElorrietaHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | 9% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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.
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'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 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.
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