Re-Animator (1985)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1985
Running Times: 86 mins 95 mins (unrated version)
Format: colour 35mm
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Empire Pictures/Re-Animator Productions Inc
Executive in Charge of Production: Dennis Murphy
Executive Producers: Michael Avery, Bruce Curtis
Associate Producers: Bob Greenberg, Charles Donald Storey
Producer: Brian Yuzna
Production Manager: Michael Muscal
Production Coordinator: Misty Carey
Unit Manager: James D. Herrick

SCRIPT
Script: Dennis Paoli, William J. Norris, Stuart Gordon
Story: Herbert West, Re-Animator by H.P. Lovecraft

DIRECTION
Director: Stuart Gordon
1st Assistant Director: Robert Roda
2nd Assistant Director: Deborah Herbert

PHOTOGRAPHY
Directors of Photography: Mac Ahlberg,
Additional Photography: Robert Frederic Ebinger
Exterior Photography: Stephen Sealy
2nd Unit Camera Operator: David Schmier
1st Assistant Camera: David Boyd, R. Michael Givens
2nd Assistant Camera: Brian Armstrong
2nd Unit Assistant Camera: Melinda Sue Gordon
Gaffer: Dennis Bishop
Best Boy Electric: Tim Morton
Electricians: Rick A. West, Marc Peterson, Gregory Stewart, Cory Greenfield, Mark Morton, Dave Morton
Key Grip: Ron McCausland
Best Boy Grip: Michael Stocks
Dolly Grip: Philip M. Sloan
Grips: Brian Reynolds, Steve Lang, Michael Listorti, Khan Griffith
Stills: Abram S. Perlstein
Cameras and Lenses: Ultra Vision Inc
Colour: DeLuxe

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Lee Percy
Assistant Editor: Tom Scurry
Apprentice Editor: Nancy Greenfield
Executive in Charge of Post Production: Brad Arensman
Post Production Controller: Betty Martin Mallin
Post Production Facilities: Empire Productions
Negative Cutter: Jack Hooper

MUSIC
Music: Richard Band
Music Performed By: The Rome Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Editors: TJV Productions
Music Coordinators: Road Runner Ltd
Music Recorded At: RCA Studios, Rome, Italy
Music Mixed At: GHR Studios, Los Angeles

SOUND
Sound Mixer: Don Summer
Boom Operator: Steve Sollars
Re-Recording Mixers: Gordon Day, Dean Okrano, Jim Cook
Assistant Sound Editor: Lisa Leeman
Dialogue Editor: Greg Jacobs
Special Sound Effects: John Paul Fasal
Sound Effects Editor: John Kwiatkowski
Re-Recorded At: Glen Glenn Sound

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Key Make Up: Sharon A. Long
Hair: Melonie Nadinia Cleric
Costumer: Robin Burton
Assistant Costumer: Regina Wrubel

SPECIAL MAKE-UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: Anthony Doublin, John Naulin
Assistant Make Up Effects: Gerald Quist

Mechanical and Makeup Imageries
Additional Special Effects Designers and Creators: Mechanical and Makeup Imageries
Supervisor: John Carl Buechler
Crew: Desiree Soto, Chris Witherspoon, Cleve Hall

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Anthony Doublin, John Naulin
Assistant Special Effects: Richard McGuire
Effects Assistants: Melonie Cleric, John Criswell, Dana Ginsberg, Julie Maugers, Jeff Segal, Therese Harding Shirley, Steve Patino, Richard Davison, Ken Myers

VISUAL EFFECTS
Main Title Sequence Designer: Robert Dawson
Opticals: Movie Magic

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Robert A. Burns
Associate Art Director: Charles Nixon
Assistant Art Director: Tom Talbert
Set Decorator: Betty Block
Property Master: Kerry L. Jennings
Carpenters: Jack Joslin, Daryl Reynolds, Dean Ramser
Painter: Catherine Vallin
Leadman: Brian Hansen

OTHER CREW
Script Supervisors: Marion Cronin, Coby Turner
Production Accountant: Barbara Pieters
Production Payroll: Payments Plus
Set Manager: Lisa Girolami
Production Associates: Martin Bernholz, Barrie Bergman, Cathy Cherry Yuzna
Head Production Assistant: Jeffrey Littman
Production Assistants: Steve Cassling, Rick Berman, Bonnie Sills, Lorenzo O'Brien, David Ordaz, Paul Madoff
Production Coordinator's Assistant: Patricia Dubos
Intern Production Assistants: Tim Minear, John Lawrence
Unit Publicists: Bob Villard
First Aid: saskia Loddeer, Lynnda Donelson
Craft Service: David Ferrara
Caterers: Kay's Gourmet, Jodi Maroni's
Production Vehicles: Acme Rents
Camera Van: Pacific Mobile Studios
Honeywagon: Joe Dugan Studio Rentals
Honeywagon Driver: Jack Hager
Animal Handlers: Critters of the Cinema, Rob Bloch
Security: The Cammacks
Medical Consultants: Dr Ronald Bergman, Kerry L. Jennings

LOCATIONS
Location Manager: Eve Moss
Studio: S and A Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special Thanks: Charles Band; Ann Cline Bernholz; Albert Band; Sammy Martin; Peter Manoogian; Sara Curtis; Debra Dion; Janice Storey; Dr Daniel Del Boccio, Pathology Dept., Henrotin Hospital; Dr Robert Stein, Cook County Morgue

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinator: Dan Bradley
Stunts: Scott Alan Cook, Ray Lykins, George Wilber, Mike Filloon

CASTING
Casting: Anthony Barnao
Extra Casting: Take-1 Casting, Judi Zimmerman

CAST
Jeffrey Combs (Herbert West)
Bruce Abbott (Dan Cain)
Barbara Crampton (Megan Halsey)
David Gale (Dr Carl Hill)
Robert Sampson (Dean Alan Halsey)
Gerry Black (Mace)
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon (Dr Harrod)
Peter Kent (Melvin)
Barbara Pieters (nurse)
Ian Patrick Williams (Swiss professor)
Bunny Summers (Swiss doctor)
Al Berry (Dr Gruber)
Derek Pendleton (Swiss policeman 1)
Gene Scherer (Swiss policeman 2)
James Ellis (psycho ward guard 1)
James Earl Cathay (psycho ward guard 2)
Hans Jonnason, Greg Rose (Dr Hill's body doubles)
Annyce Holzman (E-R patient corpse)
Velvet Debois (slit wrist girl corpse)
Lawrence Lowe (failed operation corpse)
Robert Holcomb (motorcycle accident corpse)
Mike Filloon (bullet wound to face corpse)
Greg Reid (one-armed man corpse)
Jack Draheim (tall skinny guy corpse)
Robert Pitzele (bald O-R corpse)

PLOT SUMMARY

American medical student Herbert Wise returns from Austria where his experiments in reanimating the dead have ended in tragedy. At Miskatonic University, he enlists the help of roommate Dan Cain to pursue his work, and the pair are soon up to their necks in walking dead...

One of the great genre films of the 80s may not be too popular with Lovecraft purists, but it remains a satisfyingly gory, perverse and hilarious film which benefits enormously from the excellent ensemble cast and some wonderfully splashy effects. Gordon's direction is spot-on and the script is littered with hysterical throwaway gags amongst the wall-to-wall carnage. One of the best genre films of the 80s.

France
Laserdisc Distributor: Delta Vidéo

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Empire Pictures
Video Distributor: Vestron Video
Laserdisc Distributors: Image Entertainment Inc (IDVL 5114); Elite Entertainment Inc (EE 4323); Vestron (VL 5114)
DVD Distributor: Elite Entertainment Inc (EE 4324); Elite Entertainment (The Millenium Edition - EE 4325)

Australia
Rating: R; M (Queensland only)
In most parts of the country, the film played uncut, though the British censored version was screened in Queensland.

France
Rating: -12

Italy
Rating: VM18

Sweden:
Rating: banned

UK
Rating: 18 (with cut version)
The theatrical release and initial video releases were cut by approx 1m 50s by the BBFC. In 1999 an uncut print was submitted by Tartan Terror for DVD release, and even more footage was removed, the Board this time claiming 2m 20s.

USA
Rating: R (cut version (1986)); unrated

West Germany
Rating: 18

1985
Catalonian International Film Festival, Sitges, Spain
Caixa de Catalunya Best Film (Stuart Gordon) - winner

Fantafestival
Best Film (Stuart Gordon) - winner
Best Special Effects (Anthony Doublin) - winner

1985
October
18: USA – theatrical release

1986
March
12: France – theatrical release

1991
December
31: USA - laserdisc release (Image (IDVL 5114))

1995
October
17: USA - laserdisc release (Elite Entertainment Inc (EE 4323))

1997
December
10: USA - DVD release (Elite Entertainment (EE 4324))

2002
April
11: Netherlands – shown at the Fantastic Film Festival
30: USA - DVD release (Elite Entertainment (The Millenium Edition - EE 4325))

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.

Der Re-Animator - German title

SEQUELS
Bride of Re-Animator (1990)
Beyond Re-Animator (2003)

SEE ALSO
The Brain (1988)
Braindead (1992)
Fortress (1993)
The Guyver (1991)
Free Enterprise (1998)
Idle Hands (1999)
Nightmare Sisters (1987)
Ninja: The Violent Sorcerer (1986)
Psycho (1960)
Robocop: Prime Directives (2000)
Severed Ties (1992)
Vertigo (1958)

MAGAZINES

Empire February 1999 p.126 (UK)
review (Adam Smith)

Entertainment Weekly no.656 (31 May 2002) p.83 (USA)
review (by Ty Burr)

Première March 1986 p.15 (France)
review (Stella Molitor)

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

bone saws, disembodied heads, doctors, gore, heads, hospitals, human experiments, scientists, splatter, zombies

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009