Bride of Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Bride of Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 7, 2016

H.P. Lovecraft hasn’t been especially well served by the film world attempting to adapt his tales of forbidden knowledge, mystical powers and quasi-religious zealotry. Oh, sure, there have been lots of cinematic (and small screen) versions of Lovecraft’s works through the years, but how many of them have actually been any good? A cursory list of middling Lovecraft adaptations might include everything from The Dunwich Horror (available on Blu-ray as part of the double feature Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Dunwich Horror), Dagon, and The Curse (again, found on Blu-ray as part of the double feature The Curse / Curse II: The Bite). While perhaps not tonally consistent with Lovecraft’s typically sober presentation of often outré material, 1985’s Re-Animator certainly counts as one of the more successful Lovecraft adaptations, at least if one defines success as fashioning a hugely entertaining film out of copious amounts of blood and guts along with very black (or at least red) humor. The success of Re-Animator virtually guaranteed a sequel, but as some of the supplements included on this Blu-ray set detail, getting there was perhaps only slightly less difficult than reinvigorating a sewn together corpse with the spark of life.

As Director Brian Yuzna mentions in his “standalone” commentary included on the Unrated Version as a supplement, his love of schlockmeisters of yore like William Castle informed his approach to Bride of Re-Animator, something that’s evident from the get go when a supposedly detached floating head bursts into bloody view. That turns out to be the cranium of Dr. Hill (David Gale). The “adventures” of this disembodied head provide a throughline for the film as well as providing a fairly dependable source for Bride of Re-Animator’s sometimes cheeky (sorry, couldn’t resist) sense of humor.

Despite Hill’s presence in what amounts to the film’s prologue, the main story actually picks up in a patently silly vignette that places doctors Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) and Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) in the midst of a civil war, one which evidently includes female combatants (as evidenced by another character bursting in out of nowhere), but which at least is providing the good (?) doctor West with ample “samples” on which to continue his reanimation experiments. Yuzna also talks about several discarded prologues for the film which were abandoned along the way, and in fact it takes a few minutes for the “real real” story to get underway, once West and Cain rematriculate to Arkham and Miskatonic Hospital.

Cain is of course the skeptic of the duo, and West is still almost palpably psychopathic, especially once he discovers a “bargaining chip” (and/or aorta) which he uses to convince Cain to come over to the dark side. The main thrust of the plot therefore details an effort to stitch together (as in really, truly stitch together) a being out of disparate body parts and to re-animate it, providing Cain with some semblance of his long ago love, Megan Halsey. But Bride of Re-Animator really isn’t content to just deal with one putative plot point, and part of this film’s delirious ambience comes courtesy of any number of subplots that play out simultaneously. These include an initial investigation by Lt. Leslie Chapham (Claude Earl Jones), something that of course goes off the rails almost immediately. Also providing significant comic fodder are the interactions between the appropriately named mortician Dr. Graves (Mel Stewart) and the scheming head of Dr. Hill.

As unapologetically gory as Bride of Re-Animator is, something that will no doubt recommend it to a certain demographic, it’s the film’s humor that repeatedly pays the best dividends. There is such a goofy ambience running through this film that it’s hard not to surrender to its downright silliness. Little throwaway moments like the “finger-eye” beast West fashions (which hilariously gets “loose”) are expertly handled and provide Combs with the chance to chew the scenery to his (or anyone else’s) heart’s content. Abbott is understandably more restrained, but anchors the film in a bit more of a realistic mien, even when saddled with a probably unnecessary “new” romantic interest (a lovely Fabiana Undenio).

The film goes the Freaks route (or, perhaps, The Sentinel or The Island of Dr. Moreau route) in its closing moments, as the hapless victims of West’s experiments take vengeance. The film’s special effects are surprisingly well done, especially when one considers the relatively miniscule budget the filmmakers were utilizing. Bride of Re-Animator is perhaps at least slightly less appreciated by some fans than its progenitor tends to be, but for those in a darkly comic frame of mind, it provides blood, guts and laughter in about equal amounts.

Bride of Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bride of Re-Animator is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Films with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.78:1. The insert booklet contains the following information about the provenance of the elements utilized for the transfers of the Unrated an R Rated versions (the following is excerpted from longer printed comments):

Bride of Re-Animator was restored in 2013/2014 using the best elements available to achieve complete presentations of both the R- Rated and Unrated versions of the film.

For the R-Rated version, a second generation intermediate interpositive was used. For the Unrated version, locating a 35mm element that was suitable for the restoration involved a near year-long search until a DeLuxe Composite Master Positive Print with the cut sequences intact was eventually found.

Both the 35mm Intermediate Positive and the 35mm Composite Master Postive Print elements were scanned at 2K resolution at 16-bit colour depth on a pin-registered IMAGICA Imager XE Advanced Plus. . .The colour grading was performed on a Baselight.

There's quite a bit of supplemental information in the "About the Transfer" page of the insert booklet not included here, but it's obvious that a great deal of care has been taken to deliver Bride of Re-Animator in as good a shape as most fans could hope. The Unrated version has an overall more consistent look, though the film's garish lighting schemes often rob individual scenes of at least some fine detail. There's somewhat variable grain structure at times (some of which might be attributable to cut sequences, as mentioned in the "About the Transfer" article), as well as slightly variable color temperature at times (on a few occasions, elements like flesh tones can vary from brownish to pinkish). In the best lit moments, the palette looks natural, detail levels are commendably high, and grain resolves naturally (if a bit chunkily quite a bit of the time).

The R-Rated version, which for all intents and purposes is really a completely different (feeling) film than the Unrated version, has a slightly softer look, as well as an even chunkier grain field most of the time. Color timing seems slightly blue looking at times, at least in some early interior scenes, but, again, when the film offers brightly lit sequences, the palette is appealingly natural looking.

The "About the Transfer" article mentions issues of image instability, and while ameliorative efforts have obviously been applied, there are still some slightly wobbly moments, noticeably in terms of the some the text overlays that provide a bit of segueing information at a couple of early junctures. The restorative efforts have largely eliminated the typical signs of age related wear and tear like dirt and debris.

Note: Screenshots 1-15 are from the Unrated Version. Screenshots 16-19 are from the R-Rated Version.

Bride of Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both versions of the film feature nicely robust LPCM 2.0 tracks. The soundtracks offer sometimes silly sound effects which are presented with a good deal of vividness, and dialogue is cleanly presented and well prioritized. Richard Band, who famously (infamously?) "borrowed" some ideas from a certain Psycho composer, is back on this film, providing another pastiche laden score that sounds bright and enjoyable. There are no problematic dropouts and no damage of any kind to report.

Bride of Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unrated Version (1080p; 1:37:45)

• Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride (1080p; 9:37) is a fun reminiscence by the director, who gives a brief but detailed accounting of some background information. There are some enjoyable candids included.


• Splatter Masters (1080p; 14:39) focuses on the SFX, and includes interviews with Robert Kurtzman, Screaming Mad George, Tony Doublin and John Buechler.


• Getting Ahead in Horror (1080p; 23:50) features archival behind the scenes footage.


• Deleted Scenes

  Meg is Re-Animated (1080p; 8:04) is actually a kind of "making of" detailing this sequence.

  Carnival Sequence (1080p; 2:03) features audio of the cast and crew talking about the sequence playing out under stills.

• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:53)


• Audio Commentaries

  Audio Commentary by Brian Yuzna also features David Gregory

  Audio Commentary with Cast and Crew features Brian Yuzna, Jeffrey Combs, Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman, Tom Rainone, Mike Deak, Screaming Mad George, John Buechler

  Audio Commentary with Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott

R Rated Version (1080p; 1:37:45)

• Behind the Scenes Reel (1080i; 14:30)

This deluxe Arrow package also includes a beautifully illustrated booklet reprinting Re-Animator Dawn of the Re-Animator from Adventure Comics in 1992. The insert booklet contains an excellent essay by Michael Blyth of BFI.

Bride of Re-Animator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Horror fans have any number of so-called niche labels providing cult items to videophiles, but very few of them go the extra mile in terms of packaging and supplements the way Arrow Films does. Along with the "swag" and supplemental material this new release offers, the best news is that the transfers are largely excellent looking, with an understanding that both the lo-fi filming methods as well as the provenance of the elements play into the ultimate appearance of both versions. One way or the other, Bride of Re-Animator provides a lot of squirm worthy blood and guts (and sinew and bone—but I digress) as well as some wonderfully pitch black humor. Highly recommended.