Re-Animator is the newest movie to be based on an H.P. Lovecraft work and to say that it is the best horror film in recent years is not to do it justice, in The Dauph's opinion, and, believe me, I have sat through my share of inept vampire flicks, Jason sequels and Stephen King drivel (did they make a film of this guy's high school diary yet?), which is what the 1980s seem to be all about—at least in the genre that, for whatever reasons of mental instability, continues to be Edouard's peculiar bailiwick. A debut film by Chicago theatrical director, Stuart Gordon, ReAnimator is the sort of picture that renews one�s faith in the ability of movies to shock, revolt, offend, amuse—in terms of sheer entertainment value, it�s about next best thing to a front row seat at an autopsy.

From its opening minutes, ReAnimator is a film with an unflinching devotion to cadavers and the day-to-day workings of a city morgue. Herbert West, a slightly deranged medical genius played by Jeffrey Combs, is convinced that he can restore newly-dead corpses to life by means of a chemical reagent he has perfected. Trouble is, unless you happen to be at a Ratt concert, it�s hard to find the properly fresh brain-dead specimens suitable for the re-animation process. West decides that the mortuary of a New England city (Arkham, a popular Lovecraft setting) would be a good place to body-snatch, so he settles in at the local medical school, experimenting on his roommate�s cat, Rufus, just to keep his hand in until he can go after bigger game. When the roommate (Bruce Abbott) discovers Rufus splayed out in the fridge looking like a furry Oven Stuffer Roaster, he is understandably peeved, until Herbert demonstrates that, with a mere injection, the kitty can once again be stalking Friskies Buffet, though, unexpectedly, Rufus acts like he could rip open a can of Beef And Giblets Dinner with his teeth.