User reviews

Dr Herbert West and Dr Dean Cain are back to their old ways. West isn't trying to bring back life now- but actually trying to create life from spare body parts. But along the way they have a police inspector snooping around and Dr. Hill is back.

This is a reasonably stylish, but crazy sequel to the very good original. Keeping with the tradition of the original it sticks to the black, campy humour we loved and also being soaked in blood & gore.

The story is pretty much the same as the original with West's freaks of nature causing havoc again. Though just like the title implies, it parodies the film 'Bride of Frankenstein'- but the repetitiveness' this time really shows throughout the film. It has some plot holes that aren't explained on from that of the first film- but it didn't fault the story, the humour or pace of the film.

The director this time around was the producer from the original, Brian Yuzna- he brings some nice added touches and a morbid sense to the film, though it might have been much better if Stuart Gordon held the realm.

The performances are good, with the ever-reliable Jeffrey Combs delivering the eccentrically insane Herbert West, Bruce Abbott as the sympathetic Dean Cain, Claude Earl Jones as the mischievous police detective, Fabiana Udenio as Cain's concerned girlfriend Francesca Danelli and finally David Gale as Dr West's Nemesis the deviously evil head (Yep, that's right) of Dr. Carl Hill.

The atmosphere is truly stunning- from the dark basement filled with enthusiastic experiments and West's bizarre creations to the coldness of the eerie mortuary and hospital. The cheese ball performances, along with the witty script and dazzling special effects add up to equal a lot of fun.

3.5/5

It's very hard to make a sequel to an absolute masterpiece that can live up to the original. Let us not forget how bad the Exorcist II and the Howling II were. Like the previous titles mentioned, Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator is a true classic in the field of horror, so I was very careful with my expectations towards this film. Yet, several elements showed that it could be a very good film. Jeffrey Combs returned as his memorable Dr. West character and also Dan Cain and Carl Hill are present again. ( well, at least his head is... ) Brian Yuzna took the seat of the director. Good sign, I thought. He knows what he does when it comes to horror. And this film proved itself to be good. It can never reach the level of the original but the complete cast and crew seems to realize that. They just tried to make a sequel worth watching and in that viewing... they succeeded.

TINY SPOILERS FROM HERE ... Dr. West is even more fantastic ( and that means more crazy :-] ) to achieve his discovery of re-animating dead bodies. He keeps convincing Dr. Dan Cain to assist him by claiming he can bring back Megan to live ( Dr. Cains love interest from the first film ) West found Megan's hart in the hospital and they shall create a new woman with it. Great !!! Also, the head of the infamous Dr. Carl Hill gets re-animated and he's only after one thing. Nail Dr. West and avenge his dissection ! By this he gets assisted by another doctor. Thing are even getting more difficult for Dr. West when a fanatic detective follows him around... The bride of Re-Animator (a clean tribute to Frankenstein) is 90 minutes of pure fun. Horrorfans won't be disappointed at all. It's a logical sequel to the original, but also a film that could stand to itself. As far as sequels go, this is a good effort. Now, after 13 years a second sequel is about to come. Beyond Re-Animator ( also directed by Yuzna and starring Combs ) is claimed to be a worthy addition to the series as well. I haven't seen it yet but I sure will when I get the chance.

Dr. West and Dr. Cain strike back again! This film is very similar to Frank "Basket Case" Henenlotter´s "Frankenhooker", but obviously shot with a higher budget and a more elaborated story. It never reached the status from its predecessor, the unique "Re-Animator" directed by Stuart Gordon, but it´s worth to be watched in any case! Especially Dr. West´s weird creatures like four spider-looking combined fingers, a strange symbiosis between arm and foot, and a dog whose leg was replaced by a human arm make "Bride of Re-Animator" being a bizarre pleasure! At the end Dr. Hill and some creepy zombie maniacs storm the laboratory and destroy the property. Dr. West seems to be dead, but recently I read on IMDb about the production of "Beyond Re-Animator" - starring Bruce Abott and Jeffrey Combs...

Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) and Dean Cain (Bruce Abbott) are up to their old tricks again--reanimating dead corpses and causing tons of gory fun to ensure. And the evil, dead Dr. Hill (the late David Gale) is back again too...

Strange sequel--for starters West and Hill were dead at the end of the first movie. In the special DVD edition of this they show there WAS footage shot to explain how they were back--for some reason it never made it into the movie leaving some gaping plot holes.

In terms of gore this equals the first one (despite the R rating) with some truly extreme sequences--especially the ending which is drenched in blood. It also has the pitch black humor of the first...some of it very funny. But this time around there's just not enough of a plot to fill 90 minutes. Poor Combs says essentially the same speech about reanimation five times! And there are just a lot of scenes not necessary to tell the story so the movie moves in fits and stops.

Still, it is a lot of fun (if you have a very strong stomach) and Combs is having a whale of a time in his role. Gale is very underused--but then he was written in at the last minute.

So this is a definite must-see for horror fans--just don't expect anything as good as the original.

Best line: "My God! They're using tools!"

I did not start watching this with the highest of expectations. I am sure that many of you did not/will not as well. There were two main reasons for me:

1. Its a sequel

Generally, sequels are a bad re-hash of the first, or some misguided attempt to bring the story and characters to a new setting. This movie is neither, instead we get a (semi) natural continuation of the first film, which attempts to slip in more of the original Lovecraft Novella, which ultimately, neither film lives up to. Sure, characters that had little to no hope for life return with out a bat of the camera's eye, but this is a horror-comedy people, not The Godfather: Part II type of sequel, and I'm willing to ignore this to an extent. it never got on my nerves, anyway. Escapes the "horror movie sequel trap" quite well.

2. Bad Reviews

For some reason, this has terrible reviews most places, while the first film is praised and given **** and ***** star ratings, this puppy is tossed into the "worth a rental for genre fans" bin, with nothing above a ** rating in any professional reviewers opinion. This is really a shame, although I do admit, if you are not a fan of the first film you probably may as well skip this one. I also strongly recommend that those of you who have not seen Re-Animator backtrack and watch it first, as it definitely would (or maybe I should say "should") heighten your enjoyment level of this film.

Bride of Re-Animator is an excellent chunk of horror-comedy, which gets over looked when standing next to its beefy pappy. Personally, I found that elements of the film surpassed the first, atmosphere and gore f/x being the most clear ones. I really have to hand it to the f/x design team, because this is currently one of my favorite horror films as far as "creatures". The many experiments highlight the film when ever they appear, and the Bride herself is an excellent piece of gore design.

As far as the atmosphere goes, it is surely darker then its predecessor in this respect. Perhaps only the climax of the film truly shows the best aspects, as for the most part it reflects a similar attitude to Re-Animator, if slightly watered down. However, at the end we are treated to multi-colored lighting, fantastic zombies, smoke and some well used gauze, used to invoke the dress of the Bride in Bride of Frankenstein. Not to mention the earlier stated creature effects.

At any rate, this is a very worthy follow-up to a horror classic. Perhaps the script is not as strong, the quotable lines fewer and farer between and supporting characters more forgettable. But admit at least, nay-sayers, that if nothing else you loved it when Dr. West yelled "My God! They're using tools!"

7/10

I have to say that I love the original RE-ANIMATOR, which I think is a sterling adaptation of the Lovecraft story and a minor classic of '80s horror cinema complete with all the gore and gooey effects that you could wish for. For some reason, I never got around to watching BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR, although I have seen the cheap and cheesy third film, BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR, which I didn't like.

I've now watched BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR and, sorry to say, it misses the mark in a big way. It seems that director Stuart Gordon brought the magic to the original movie because he's he's gone now and this sequel isn't up to scratch. Instead we get Brian Yuzna and special effects man Screaming Mad George, and together they produce what is simply a weak imitation of the first film.

Actually, the problem isn't so much with Yuzna, whose direction is fine, but the story, which simply retreads familiar material from the first movie. Bruce Abbott as Dan Cain has become a tiresome voice of reason and Herbert West just goes through the same motions as before. Plus, the film has a slow, dragged-out pace, and despite the quality of the gooey special effects, it doesn't feel innovative anymore, just predictable. I appreciate that the plot is a homage to THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, but even that goes nowhere come the rushed climax.

As far as a sequel can go Bride of Re-Animator is definitely a solid sequel when it not stray too far from the original plot and follow an icon of horror Dr. Herbert West played by equally brilliant Jeffrey Combs on yet another quest for the resurrection of the human body but because the return of an unwanted and annoying as hell character named " Dan Cain " this movie at least for me feel less enjoyable than the first one. I just wanna wish somehow right from the beginning of the movie that bayonet kill Dan right the way so the rest of the movie can be all about West trying to resurrected Dan and his girlfriend Meg leading up to the crazy re-animated corpse party of the finale then this movie would be a 10/10 for me.

Cult horror movie about Doctor Herbert West/Jeffrey Combs attempting to crack the unfathomable secrets of death . Based on the frightening story by the undisputed expert of the terror H. P. Lovecraft titled "Herbert West, Re-Animator". The picture packs thrills, chills , terror , fantasy and lots of blood and gore . Furthermore , unrelenting twists and turns . Director Brian Yuzna joined with Stuart Gordon and Charles Band's Empire Pictures to create the company's first major hit , Re-Animator (1985) , based on the story by H. P. Lovecraft, which won a Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival . It's second outing in Reanimator trilogy formed by ¨Re-Animator¨ "Bride of Re-Animator" and "Beyond Re-animator" . Herbert Wise continues obsessed with the idea of overcoming the obstacle of death and determined to vindicate himself by backing up his ambitious theory , as he goes on his creepy activities , as become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation . One again odd scientist called Herbert Wise (Jeffrey Combs) along with his colleague (Bruce Abott) become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue . Herbert (Jeffrey Combs) finds an unexpected ally in the person of the young medical doctor Dan Cain. Herbert West is back and this time he not only re-animates life but creates life -sexy female life (Kathleen Kinmont)- in this follow-up to the immensely popular ¨Reanimator¨. There is also an instant animosity between West and faculty member Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale) who here appears beheaded . Date. Mate . Re-animate !. Til Death Do Us Part !. The creator of the original cult injects new life into body parts other films cannot reach... it's a Scream! H. P. Lovecraft's classic tale of horror ! . Death Is Just The Beginning...Herbert West Has A Very Good Head On His Shoulders... And Another One In A Dish On His Desk It will scare you to pieces !. But For Dr. West, Death Is Only The Beginning !. Inject life into the dead !. The creator of the original cult injects new life into body parts other films cannot reach... it's a scream!. The Doctor Will See You Now. Death Is Just The Beginning...Herbert West Has A Very Good Head On His Shoulders... And Another One In A Dish On His Desk. . It will scare you to pieces !.

Herbert Wise/Jeffrey Combs stars an entirely Empire Pictures production with chills , tongue-in-cheek and loads of gore in this sequel loosely based on H. P. Lovecraft's classic tale of horror . In this second outing to the succesful trilogy about Herbert Wise he carries out more and more gruesome and sinister experiments . High camp and blood curling gore make this a standout horror movie . It is a frightening movie with plenty of thrills , chills , high body-count , hilarious scenes and lurid images with lots of blood and gore . In this sequel parade there're violent, offbeat , unpleasant events and resulting to be disappointing at times , but entertaining as well . Special effects are pretty well but there are several images without much sense and the interpretations are middling but acceptable . Available in a R-rated version too . Cast is pretty good , along with starring duo, Jeffrey Combs , Bruce Abbott , appearing other nice secondaries , such as : David Gale , Claude Earl Jones , Fabiana Udenio , Kathleen Kinmont , Mel Stewart , among others.

The original entry of the surprising trilogy was ¨Reanimator¨ (1985) by Stuart Gordon with Jeffrey Combs , Bruce Abbott , David Gale Barbara Crampton ; followed by ¨Bride of Re-Animator¨ (1990) by Brian Yuzna with Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott , Claude Earl Jones, Fabiana Udenio, David Gale . And ¨Beyond Reanimator¨ (2003) by Brian Yuzna , in which Herbert Wise is back , and this time he not only reanimates but creates life at a noisy prison , it stars Jason Barry , Elsa Pataky , Santiago Segura and Jeffrey Combs.

This horror movie was efficiently written/produced/directed by Brian Yuzna who along with Stuart Gordon are important American filmmakers expert on terror cinema , both of whom working for Castelao , Fantastic Factory or Filmax . It displays colorful and adequate cinematography by cameraman Mac Ahlberg , as well as impressive musical score by Richard Band . The motion picture was professionally shot by Brian Yuzna , a gore and guts expert director , such as : Faust , Dentist 1 and ,2 , Society, Bride of Reanimator . While Stuart Gordon helmed another H. P. Lovecraft adaptation Re-Sonator (From Beyond) (1986) and tackled the murderous Dolls (1986) followed by Robot jox (1989). Gordon co-created the story for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) a major hit for Disney. The same year, he directed the remake and more graphic version of The pit and the pendulum (1991). Other works include Fortress (1992), and the screenplay for The Dentist (1996) and Body Snatchers (1993) . In 2001, Gordon returned to the H. P. Lovecraft territory with Dagon (2001), and in 2003, directed King of the Ants (2003) . Rating Bride of Re-Animator : 6/10. Decent and entertaining , acceptable and passable film , though contains some flaws and gaps .

Much like the title character, this film was assembled from different pieces that don't belong together.

Don't get me wrong - some of the pieces are amazing. Specifically, the special effects! There are some wonderful 80s special effects. The score is strong. There are some very creative moments here.

However, there's some real problems too. Some of the acting is bad. Just over the top bad. The script is painfully bad. The characters are all over the place and blatantly make decisions just to get from one special effect to the next - it's so egregious. There is no cohesive sense to the story.

This can be a fun ride if you turn your brain off.

Why don't people think this is a great sequel? I loved this movie and I know it's not quite as good as the first, it kicks much more ass than most sequels(Scream 2, I still know what you did last summer, Inferno(sequel to Suspiria) and umm... any Nightmare on Elmstreet not called New Nightmare) Go see this if you want to see Herbert West help bring his good friend down the road of madness. Dr. West in this installment is more jealous than annoyed by his partner's suave ways with the ladies but this is most definitely hella fun. Dr. Carl Hill is back in the gizame and having a blast... and he doesn't exactly keep his head on straight...

Remember the end of the original? Dr. Herbert West was being strangled by a rampaging intestine. But don't worry, he's not dead. The zombie responsible didn't have the guts for it.

Now, five years after the massacre at Miskatonic University, he's in some South American hell-hole in the middle of a civil war using his re-animation serum on dead or wounded soldiers. As soon as the conflict boils over into revolution he legs it out of there with the naive/loyal Dr. Cain and heads back to Arkham Hospital. Where's he's apparently allowed to just take up his old position no questions asked.

Acting as if none of the previous carnage ever happened, they return to their normal jobs. Dr. Cain grows attached to a young girl dying of cancer and West is secretly stealing all the best body parts to make his own complete woman using the heart of Cain's dead girlfriend from the first movie.

A nosy Detective interferes and starts poking around as well as delivering the head of long dead Dr. Hill to Dr. Graves, the new Chief Pathologist at Arkham (there sure are loads of Doctors in this film huh?). Graves reanimates the head of Hill but refuses to do his bidding and chucks it in the bucket. A move he will come to regret.

The hokum goes into overdrive for this sequel. There's more atmosphere and more potential to be really scary. It's never fully realized as the film is too blackly funny to be frightening and feels a little limited in scope, being set mostly in only two places. But there's more going on in the climax as all the factions and body parts come together. The allusion to Frankenstein is much more apparent and the Freudian subtext of 2 men creating life without the use of a woman adds a curious depth to the mayhem. I know that the reanimated corpses are supposed to be darkly comic but I find their wild gesticulations and howling to be curiously upsetting.

You could call Bride of Re-Animator lots of negative words like corny, cheesy, dumb etc. But you'd be missing the point. Yes, it's a bit too pulpy to truly echo H.P. Lovecraft's original work, but the numerous zombies, monsters and demons are something I reckon Howard Phillips would love.

Gore fans will really dig the blood and make-up effects. There's loads of gruesomeness and severed limbs and guts spilled all over the place. It's the kind of thing Fangoria magazine would have had an 8-page feature of. Plentiful amounts of puss and nastiness from the KNB Effects Group and Screaming Mad George respectively. There's a lot of splatter in this house.

A must for fans of the movie, of Lovecraft, of horror, and of the wonderful Jeffrey Combs.

This time,Herbert West is aiming not just to restore life,but to create it from spare body parts.His twisted genius has given birth to hideous and disgusting combinations,both animal and human.Yet,still the ultimate triumph of rebuilding an entire woman from assorted limbs and organs eludes him...until now!Dr.Carl Hill is also back!Oh yeah,but it's just his head returning this time.As for the title "Bride of Re-Animator",it takes its reference from James Whale's horror classic "Bride of Frankenstein".The acting is far above average and there is plenty of gore.Overall,"Bride of Re-Animator" doesn't come as close to perfection as the original,but it does have some nice qualities that make it worth seeing.Recommended.

This reworking of The Bride Of Frankenstein does not match the original Re-Animator, however it is still a very watchable film. Director Brian Yukuza gathered together most of the cast of the original to make this more gory sequel. The film, to its credit, has several storylines including Dan Cain's attempts to revive his old-girlfriend and Herbert West's desire to fuse body parts into new grotesque combinations. Both continue to use West's glowing green slime. Furthermore, a renegade cop is after this dynamic duo; suspecting them of the hospital massacre at the end of the first film. Oh ya, Dr. Hill is back too... he - predictably - wants revenge. Unfortunately the film's juggling of these various plots results in several shotgun blast sized plot holes. Oh well, the final 30 min. is really good, although the conclusion is somewhat weak. In the years following two similar themed, though better, films have been made: Frankenhooker & The Bride Of Chucky. Skeeter says check them out - and gives Bride of the Re-Animator 7 for 10. Oh ya, by the way, in this one there is no head giving head.

Re-animator was not a high-quality movie, but it didn't really have to be to be enjoyable. The sequel, however, feels substantially less inspired and the low production values aren't as charmingly forgivable.

Dr. Hill is once again the villain, but there doesn't seem to be much of a threat and his interactions with Dr. Graves are pretty hokey and boring.

"Bride" did have its moments, though. When I think of the term "reanimation" I think of bringing any old thing to life, not just raising corpses. Hopefully this isn't much of a plot point, but in this movie West can animate body parts, not just bodies, and that makes the horror science feel more fresh and freaky.

Biggest Flaw: Not providing any resolution or explanation for the previous film's ending (for both West and Meg).

BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR is a great, gory, funny, all around fun film. This time, the good doctor decides that re-animating alone just isn't enough, he has to play "Dr. Frankenstein" and build his own woman!!! (among several other strange "creations"). BRIDE isn't quite as ground-breaking as the original RE-ANIMATOR, because we've already been prepared (sort-of) by the first film. But BRIDE has all the same sleazy, funny, over-acted elements of the original. Both are excellent films, as far as BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR is concerned - leave that one where it belongs...on the shelf. Not nearly as original, funny, or gory - the whole style of BEYOND just doesn't fit with the first 2 classics, in my opinion. 8/10 for BRIDE!!!

'Bride Of Re-Animator (1990)' is set eight months after the events of its predecessor, picking up with Dr. Herbert West and his assistant, Dr. Dan Cain, experimenting with West's fluorescent reanimation serum while working as combat medics in Peru. When they return home, West uses his new research to further compound his god complex and attempt to create new life from dead tissue, slowly assembling the eponymous Bride from a multitude of body parts he unscrupulously steals from the hospital in which he works. Where the movie really comes to life (pardon the pun) is in its finale, which features all manner of macabre grotesqueries crawling out of the woodwork to get their vengeance on their cruel creator. The special effects are goopy, over-the-top and darkly amusing, each one of them more conceptually unsettling than the last. The Bride herself is perhaps the crowning achievement in this department, as she convincingly looks cobbled together from a mess of decaying flesh, stringy tendons, exposed musculature, metallic bones and a freshly decapitated head with a striking visage that conveys all the pain and confusion that comes with being yanked from beyond the moral coil and thrust into a body that's already falling apart before it even begins to age. Prior to the excellent last act, the piece is more or less just alright. There are some moments of amusing dark humour, and the conviction of the central performances are commendable considering the notably amateurish efforts from some of the other players, but the narrative is just a bit too slight and there's not all that much tension or atmosphere until there suddenly is. Still, the flick is fairly fun despite its issues, and its ending really does make up for a lot of its less compelling segments. It's a gooey good time that isn't afraid to lean into its darker elements.

Full-Throated Fun Sequel to the Stuart Gordon Original.

Both are an Ultra-Gory, Over-the-Top, Take on the Legend of Frankenstein.

Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's "Dr. Herbert West...Re-Animator"

The First Film became a Cult Movie Instantly with its Outrageous Blood-Letting and Pitch Black Humor.

Jefferey Combs Star-Turn and Gordon's Eye for Visual Evisceration with a Wink,

Combined with the Classic Shelly/Lovecraft Prose,

Stitched Together "Nicely" and the Movie was a Big-Hit Among Fangoria Types and Fans of Outrageous Horror.

A Sequel was Inevitable and Welcomed.

With West in the Lab-Coat Once Again, getting most of the Best Lines and a Top-Notch SFX and Make-Up, Team, the Movie is Almost as Good as the Original.

Almost but Not Quite.

The Film seems a bit Busy and Chaotic with an Accelerated Pace and the Third-Act Birthing the Bride is a Slight Disappointment.

Her Entrance is Overwhelmed and Over-Shadowed somewhat by the Chaos.

But the Movie Cannot be Denied its Due with some Creative New Creatures and Staying True to the Original.

It's Quite a Ride to Miskatonic University to See what's Up with the Glowing Re-Agent.

One Final Thought.... TISSUE REJECTION.