Ivan Zuccon is certainly the best, most successful and most consistently interesting Italian horror film-maker of the 21st century. All his films have been influenced by HP Lovecraft and a few have been direct adaptations, like this one. To create a new adaptation of the story 'Herbert West - Re-animator' is a bold move as the Stuart Gordon/Brian Yuzna version is so beloved. But there are many Frankensteins and Draculas, so why should there not be multiple versions of the Herbert West legend?
Like so many Frankenstein and Dracula movies - and indeed like the original Re-Animator - this take only the most basic premise of its source story and then creates an original plot. The essential theme is the problems that inevitably arise when the distinction between alive and dead becomes irrelevant. Here West is working to restore life to his daughter, a talented violinist killed in a road accident.
From this, Zuccon weaves a tale of murder, rebirth, cruelty, despair, gender identity and the nature of 'the other side'. Like all of Zuccon's work, it's enigmatic, obtuse and strangely beautiful.
Another reviewer calls this "a weak re-tread of the '80s flick" but it's no such thing. However, in an homage to Gordon's film Zuccon has cast as an actor as 'Herbert West Jr' who looks like Jeffrey Combs, and it's easy to see how this could confuse people especially if all they see are stills or a trailer. People may also be disappointed if they expect elements of Gordon-esque black comedy - this is a serious film.
A ffine piece of work from the director of The Shunned House and Colour from the Dark, this will please fans of both Italian horror cinema and the Lovecraft-ian canon.
