Re-Animator

1985 Directed by Stuart Gordon

Herbert West has a good head on his shoulders... and another on his desk.

A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus.

Jeffrey Combs Bruce Abbott Barbara Crampton David Gale Robert Sampson Carolyn Purdy-Gordon Peter Kent Ian Patrick Williams Bunny Summers Al Berry

Alternative Titles

幽灵人种, Der Re-Animator, Reanimator, 活跳屍, Reanimátor, Shiryo no shitatari, Реаниматорът, A Hora dos Mortos-Vivos, Ζωντανός-νεκρός, El resucitador, O Soro Maléfico

science-fiction comedy horror

86 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★½ 9

the hair and makeup department bodied this
Review by russman ★★★★ 2

Best use of a Talking Heads poster ever
Review by Hollie Horror ★★★★★ 9

I was asked by a few users on my Favorite Horror Comedies list why I had included Bride of Re-Animator but not Re-Animator and their questioning me made me question myself, even though I was pretty sure I always found the sequel to be more funny.
Interestingly enough, I shouldn't have doubted myself. I still love Re-Animator and I like it more than the sequels, and while I think it is a fun, fast-paced movie, I don't find it funny. I don't laugh while watching it, I may smile simply because I love everything about it, but it's not something I find overly hilarious.
The only word I can think of to describe Jeffrey Combs is unique. There is no…
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★ 4

This is a movie where I'd love to watch myself watching it because I could feel myself grinning like a goddamn idiot the entire time. It's a wonderfully campy low budget horror b-movie with some hilarious scenery-chewing performances from its entire cast (Jeffrey Combs especially) and great practical gore effects. Let's just take a look at what we have here:
- Glowing green liquid
- A soundtrack blatantly ripped from Hitchcock's Psycho
- Quotes like "You killed him!" "No, I gave him life!"
- The most traumatic/hilarious cat death since Boondock Saints
- The most obvious reanimated head effect ever
- Strong Freudian overtones
- Glowing green liquid
It's a very silly movie. If you like b-horror I really can't recommend it highly enough.
Review by Ian West ★★★★★ 15

I’ll never get used to hearing my name in a movie and whenever I revisit Re-Animator I’m constantly taken off guard every time someone says ‘Mr. West’
Equal parts grotesque splatter and darkly humorous, Re-Animator (especially the unrated cut) is superbly paced and expertly crafted by Stuart Gordon, who wastes no time onslaughting us with gallons of blood, reanimated corpses running amuck, glowing green reagent, shovel decapitations, tentacle-like intestines flying out of bodies, the lecherous Dr. Hill and his soon to be blood dripping talking head, and cast that knocks it out of the park—with Barbara Cramptin and Bruce Abbott perfectly relating fear and vulnerability, and Jeffery Combs sealing his fate as an actor who notoriously goes full throttle into a performance…
Review by amaya ★★★★★ 4

bitches be like "this is my comfort character" and it's an insane scientist who murdered someone with a shovel
Review by Jay ★★★★ 8

excited for the remake starring rihanna 'rihannimator'
Review by keahanzelka ★★★½ 12

I’d expect nothing less from a mf named Herbert
Review by katie ★★★½ 4

this movie is almost as weird as megamind porn
almost
Review by Coolnilk ★★★★½

Re-Animator is once again another excellent way on how to do a horror comedy just like many others in that category.
A brilliant start to the film, strong lead performances from all of the actors present, the over-the-top carnage, and the added crude humor make this film undoubtedly an exceptional cult classic for the ages that all should enjoy just like I did.
Can't wait to check out the sequels if they're anything like this as well.
Review by amaya ★★★★★

when herbert west starts pompously breaking pencils while maintaining intense eye contact with someone he wishes would shut up. powerful
Review by alex todd 🧟‍♂️ ★★★★ 9

Daily Horror Hunt #15
Cult of Personality

can we take a moment to appreciate how good the tagline for this film is:
HERBERT WEST HAS A GOOD HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS… AND ANOTHER ON HIS DESK.

Recent reviews

Review by fiefel ★★★★★

white boy summer but its for reanimating dead things
Review by brendanmccarthy ★★★★

86
Review by Kellie Fenner ★★★★★

My fist love of horror! This and Waxwork (1988) as a Double Feature. Pass the popcorn!
Review by hooligan_ ★★★★

Herbert is sexy and I will own my attraction to him
Review by Andrew ★

My dick did not get hard while watching
Review by weirdbees ★★★★

Excellent gay mad scientist
Review by Lu ★★★★

i watched this the way god intended: while eating
Review by Sara ★★★

Largely not my cup of tea but Jeffrey Combs is wonderful & the music is groovy
Review by aleix ★★

what the fuck was that
Review by emotionaldurian ★★★★

Watch this instead of your morning coffee… Or inject your homemade re-agent
Review by li 🦂 ★★★½

yes gay evil scientist go <33
Review by Emo Philips ★★★★

Campy, charming fun! Jeffrey Combs puts in a powerhouse performance as Dr West, a lovably unhinged and arrogant medical student obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. The "miracle" fluorescent green reagent, the origin of which is funnily never explained, is pretty finicky, leading to a comedy of errors where characters accidentally (or purposefully) die, and then are immediately juiced with Glowstick Potion. Delightfully macabre, this quick descent into insanity contains AMPLE gore (so much gore gets thrown and stuck to walls), and the silly premise makes this an enjoyable romp in a vaguely Lovecraftian world.