Disc Details
Special Features:	-zip-
Video Format:	Full Frame (1.33:1) [SS-SL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Stereo Surround 2.0)
Subtitles:
Captions:	No
Casing:	1-Disc Keep Case

"This is not just about re-animating the dead, we will create new life", says Dr West. Tempting colleague Dan Cain with the possibility or resurrecting his lost love, Megan, - and the boy is hooked. Using Megan's heart as a starting point, the two begin assembling "The Bride" from various and sundry bodies.

The suspicious Lt. Chapham is vigilantly watching the lads leading to a demented scene with our heroes trying to stop the lieutenant spotting some re-animated fingers topped off with an eyeball that happens to be scurrying around.

Meanwhile local pathologist Dr Graves has discovered the properties of Dr Cain elixir and after re-animating a bat graduates to re-animating the severed head of Dr Hill (David Gale). Dr Hill soon amasses an army of the re-animated and sets out for his revenge on the two scientists.

Back in 1985 director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna unleashed a low budget black comedy gore fest called Re-Animator on an unsuspecting world. Their mission was apparently to break every taboo and out gross every horror film that had come before. To their credit or not, they succeeded. I had the good fortune of attending the UK premiere, uncut at the London Film Festival with Gordon in attendance. An audience of hardened film critics and moviegoers, groaned, laughed and averted their eyes through the flick and gave a round of applause to the director at the end, who commented "You're the sickest audience I've ever watched this movie with".

1989 and Brian Yuzna picked up the directorial reigns on the sequel.

How do you top something like Re-Animator? You can't. Yuzna took the view that more-is-more and packed the sequel with more rubbery effects from no less than six special effects companies, including the delightfully named Screaming Mad George.

Alas, the strategy doesn't pay off. The two doctors merely register as demented here since they've never re-animated anything successfully. The romantic core of the movie goes awry since the previously devoted Cain falls for not one but two other women. Both of whom, naturally go to pieces (literally in one case).

The first film, Re-Animator, despite everything somehow manages to ward off audience disbelief, Bride fails because its comic gore is way out there from the get go. Despite this there is nothing to top the first films politically incorrect set pieces.

The Artisan release is in fact the second DVD release of the movie. The first in 1999 from Pioneer Video included loads of extras like a very funny commentary track AND an Unrated widescreen cut of the movie! Alas, this is now out of print and going for big bucks at on-line auction.

Picture Quality: 3/10
No particular effort has been made to restore the picture which is grainy.

Sound Quality: 3/10
Sound is adequate.

Easter Eggs:
No Easter Eggs found during review.

Extra Features: 0/10
No extra features. More annoying because we know that there are good extra features around for this film.

The Final Word:
"Re-Animator" remains a stand alone classic of 80's over-the-top horror up there with Peter Jackson's "Bad Taste", Michele Soavi's "Dellamorte Dellamore" and Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead". Despite a couple of funny lines, "My God, they're using tools" says West of the zombie horde, this sequel doesn't come close to the original.

wearysloth