Beyond Re-Animator

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Beyond Re-Animator

Theatrical poster
Directed by Brian Yuzna
Produced by Brian Yuzna
Julio Fernández
Carlos Fernández
Written by Characters:
H. P. Lovecraft
Story:
Miguel Tejada-Flores
Screenplay:
José Manuel Gómez
Starring Jeffrey Combs
Tommy Dean Musset
Jason Barry
Bárbara Elorrieta
Elsa Pataky
Santiago Segura
Simón Andreu
Music by Xavier Capellas
Cinematography Andreu Rebés
Editing by Bernat Vilaplana
Studio Castelao Producciones
Fantastic Factory
Distributed by Filmax International (Spain)
Lions Gate Entertainment (U.S.)
Release dates
  • April 4, 2003 (2003-04-04)
Running time 95 min.
Country Spain
Language English
Budget $3,000,000 (Estimated)

Beyond Re-Animator is a 2003 Spanish horror film directed by Brian Yuzna and starring Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry, Simón Andreu, Elsa Pataky and Santiago Segura. It is the third installment of the Re-Animator series.[1]

The film premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel, though it was produced independently and acquired by the channel only as a distributor; this showing was cut to a TV-PG rating. The subsequently released DVD was rated R, but there is a slightly longer unrated cut available in some countries. It also received a limited theatrical run in the U.S.

Plot

For the past 13 years, Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) has been serving a prison sentence at the hands of one of his zombies. With what scant supplies he has on hand in the prison medical center, Dr. West has been capable of performing only extremely basic experiments on rats. However, his lack of supplies does not prevent him from uncovering a key element in his re-animation process. When a young doctor named Howard Phillips (Jason Barry) comes to work at the prison, he teams up with West to help him attain the supplies and tools needed to bring his experiments to the next level. Phillips is the younger brother of the teenage girl who was killed (he's shown watching West being taken away by the cops) and came to the prison for the explicit purpose of working with West. In the meantime, Phillips gets a girlfriend, the journalist Laura Olney.

Dr. West has discovered "NPE" (Nano-Plasmic Energy), an energy that can be extracted from the brain of a living organism through an electrocution-like process, to be stored in a capsule resembling a small light bulb. The capsule can then be connected to a corpse and used in conjunction with West's previously developed reagent to restore the former dead to a lifelike state. The NPE prevents the degeneration seen in previous instances, where the reanimated are nothing more than mindless zombies. Used together with the re-agent, reanimated corpses regain their skills, memories, and motor functions and nearly fully resemble normal humans.

The warden of the prison uncovers West's experiments, and is subsequently killed and re-animated a la Dr. Carl Hill in the first Re-Animator. However, West uses the NPE from a prisoner's pet rat, causing some unexpected side effects in the warden's behavior. It manifests itself as the prison descends into utter chaos as a riot breaks out, with vials of the reagent circulating through the population. Soon, it is unclear who is dead, who is alive, and who has been exposed to the agent. During the chaos, Laura is killed. Phillips is believed to be criminally insane by guards, when they find him weeping over Laura's head, severed from her body.

West manages to escape the prison by stealing Phillips' I.D., when he comes across him weeping over Laura's decapitated body before the guards appear. In the end of the film, West is shown putting on his glasses outside the prison, once he has slipped past security. He then throws a human eye, struggling to move, onto the lawn of the prison. After witnessing this, West slips into the night to continue his research.

Cast

Release

UK DVD front cover

In 2011 Arrow Video released a new Special Edition DVD, with the following Special Features:

  • Audio commentary with director Brian Yuzna
  • ‘All in the Head’ Brian Yuzna on the Re-Animator Chronicles (50 mins)
  • Original Trailer
  • Reversible Sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
  • Double-sided fold-out poster featuring new artwork
  • Collector’s booklet featuring ‘World of Lovecraft’ and an Interview with star Jeffrey Combs by author and critic Calum Waddell as well as an extract from H.P. Lovecraft’s original story ‘Herbert West: Renimator’

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that the film received positive reviews from 45% of 11 surveyed critics; the average rating was 5.2/10.[2] Allmovie gave the film a mixed review, calling it "almost a remake of the original".[3] Jonathan Holland of Variety writes that the film is "sometimes shocking but rarely scary" and "calculated to appeal only to hardcore gore hounds."[4] In a mixed review, Patrick Naugle of DVD Verdict called it "somewhat of a letdown" but "worth at least one viewing".[5] Writing for Bloody Disgusting, Brad Miska rates the film 2.5/5 stars and called it "a fun movie, but nothing special".[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Beyond Re-Animator". The New York Times. 
  2. ↑ "Beyond Reanimator". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-11-09. 
  3. ↑ Jason Buchanan. "Beyond Re-Animator (2003)". Allmovie. Retrieved 1 July 2012. 
  4. ↑ Holland, Jonathan (2003-08-04). "Review: 'Beyond Re-Animator'". Variety. Retrieved 2013-11-09. 
  5. ↑ Naugle, Patrick (2004-01-05). "Beyond Re-Animator". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 2013-11-09. 
  6. ↑ Miska, Brad (2004-10-22). "Beyond Re-Animator". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2013-11-09. 

External links

Re-Animator series
Films
See also
Films directed by Brian Yuzna
Media based on H. P. Lovecraft works
Films
RPGs, table-top
and card games
Video
games
Other
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