Screenwriters Rick Fry and Woody Keith took the short story, “Herbert West–Reanimator” by H. P. Lovecraft, and attempted to create another, in some respects, more faithful adaptation of the tale than Stuart Gordon’s original. Though still a very loose translation, the script endeavors to retain the levity of Gordon’s production while creating its own chaos by spoofing James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein. Is it successful? In its own fascinating manner, yes, which is to say that director Brian Yuzna’s sequel holds its own in most aspects without lapsing into mimicry like so many follow-ups of the time, though it does contain its fair share of missteps along the way.
Eight months after the Miskatonic Massacre, Doctor Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) and his sidekick, Doctor Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott), return from a Peruvian military hospital to Arkham, Massachusetts with the amniotic fluid of an iguana–which West believes to be the missing ingredient in his reanimating agent–in order to continue their undead experiments and, ultimately, attempt to construct and reanimate a makeshift body around the heart of Cain’s deceased girlfriend. Chaos ensues once Lieutenant Leslie Chapham (Claude Earl Jones) approaches the duo, convinced that they had something to do with his wife’s bizarre behavior.
From the very beginning of Bride of Re-Animator, the viewer is alleviated of the anxiety of being presented with a vastly inferior, disappointing cinematic effigy (i.e. the standard horror sequel) as it becomes readily apparent that Fry and Wood made the wise decision not to attempt to replicate the humor of Gordon’s original while maintaining the characterization of West. For example, we watch as West, in a moment of inspiration spurred on by boredom, reanimates an arm conjoined to a leg. Throughout the film, such biological abominations come to life at the hand of the mad doctor as a dog, sans a front paw, is given a human arm; a set of fingers is affixed with an eyeball; and a head is allowed locomotion via a pair of bat wings. Thus, it is obvious from the offset that the filmmakers intend to have fun with the production and are positing their own insane vision of West and Co. as we witness the reanimated corpse of Chapham attempt to seduce Cain’s new flame, Francesca Danelli (Fabiana Udenio), before Chapham’s wife, Elizabeth (Marge Turner), becomes jealous and tosses her unfaithful husband aside in order to kill the seductress herself. The mile-a-minute fun of the film continues by carrying the theme over into the next scene where the piecemeal reanimated body of Megan (Mary Sheldon) becomes enraged at the affection Francesca has for Cain. However, the trademark quips of Gordon’s original are somewhat diluted in Yuzna’s production but are nonetheless entertaining in their own right. As West watches Cain’s interest shift from their experiments over to Francesca, West mutters to Cain, “Don’t let the little head rule the big head, Dan.”
I was further intrigued when it became apparent that the writers returned to the original source material, H. P. Lovecraft’s short story, and lifted elements which the original omitted. Once West and Cain return to the States, they find sanctity in a house by the cemetery. For the bibliophiles watching the film, there are several winks-and-nods to the gothic writer’s works throughout. For example, as the basement wall of the doctors’ house begins to crumble, Cain states, “Sound like rats in the walls,” the title of yet another Lovecraft tale. The allusions–obviously, given the title–don’t cease with the American writer’s canon. Through the film, Fry and Keith reinterpret the Whale masterpiece, Bride of Frankenstein, as only West and Cain would have it. Never taking the project too seriously, we even have Cain at the climax looking all too similar to Colin Clive as his love interest comes to life via a contemporary reimaging of the Bride.
It is unfortunate, however, that the film doesn’t resume where the original left off, thus breaking the momentum at the end of the original. Perhaps Barbara Crampton couldn’t join the cast or wasn’t willing but, in this respect, the filmmakers thankfully opted for the film to begin elsewhere as opposed to attempting to replace the trademark character with another actress (at least in the strict sense, “Megan” does become the patchwork bride). Also, there are some plot holes which become bothersome. Doctor Carl Hill (David Gale) reemerges as a head in search of a body but this go around doesn’t need a pan of blood to maintain his essence. Furthermore, Hill is introduced early into the film and isn’t heard from again until almost two-thirds of the film has lapsed, thus depleting the character’s prowess and threat established in the original. Yet, for the most part, these are minor quibbles that, if tossed aside in order for the film to esteem toward its objective–to make a fun follow up as opposed to a serious attempt at following in its predecessor’s footsteps–they cease to be a major concern.
Brian Yuzna’s Bride of Re-Animator is an enjoyable return to the madcap chaos that is the world of Herbert West. The mayhem of Gordon’s production is arguably topped (Bride contains the most pandemonium for a climax in recent memory) while the humor pales by comparison. However, if taken as a mere foray into horror fun, the film is quite rewarding and stands above most sequels of today as well as yesteryear.
-Egregious Gurnow
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
