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Bride of Re-Animator is Violently Underrated

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The amount of times I’ve seen 1985’s Re-Animator is insurmountable. It’s a staple in any conversation of greatest horror movies, whether or not we’re speaking Lovecraftian films or just flat-out greatest horror movies. The general consensus is that the film is amazing, and I can attest to that. But what about the sequel?

In all of my years of watching, reading, or finding any other possible way to consume horror, I’ve not heard much about Yuzna’s sequel to the film. Bride of Re-Animator, released four years later in 1989, has passed by generally undetected for a very, very long time. Despite this, Bride is actually an astounding display of gore and terror. It has its own unique set of quirks, and the tone is substantially different from the original. While they’re both different, they work very well as companion pieces to one another.

Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott return to their respective roles as Herbert West and Dan Cain. West is up to his old tricks once again and plans to reanimate the perfect woman. Using the heart of a dead lover of Cain’s, the results are, as one may imagine, disastrous. All the while, the two scientists are being pursued by both the head of Dr. Hill and a detective hot on their trail. To make matters even more complicated, the irresistible Dan Cain has gotten involved with another woman who is oblivious to the insidious experiments being performed in the basement of West and Cain’s house. What could possibly go wrong?

Image courtesy of Home Cinema Choice

The effects are top-notch, as one would expect in a sequel to such a phenomenal film, and there are more than a few scenes which are cringeworthy – but I mean this in the best of ways. The sequences which involve the titular bride, in particular, are stomach-churning. Her body, a mutilated amalgam of discarded human body parts, is a much more gory version of the unforgettable Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The film almost serves as an updated version of the 1935 film. It once again reiterates the point that maybe man was not meant to play God after all.

Bride of Re-Animator finds its true strength towards the end of the film when the re-animated shit begins to hit the proverbial fan. All of West’s experiments are unleashed at once after being discarded as rejects. They are monstrous, disfigured, confused, and angry. In a fearful display, the end result is what one may imagine the darkest depths of Hell to look like. Oh, and there’s also this little guy:

Image courtesy of DVD Exotica

I can offer quite a few reasons as to why I believe the sequel seems to be so under appreciated. One is that the first was so quirky and original that anything less than astounding would be sure to be buried underneath the weight of its predecessor. A genuine horror comedy, Re-Animator was darkly silly while reaching levels of blood and surreal gore rarely seen in cinema before. Bride of Re-Animator lacked a strong humorous component. While it still was very much a goofy movie, it was much more subdued. From start to finish, it plays as a much more tongue-in-cheek affair than the first film.

Jeffrey Combs seems much more sinister in this film. Beyond curiosity, West no longer seems to have the slightest regard for the life he is reanimating. The lives he ruins in the process appear to be nothing more than collateral damage. This is illustrated perfectly in the beginning of the film when Cain and West are seen volunteering in a foreign civil war as doctors. Except, instead of tending to the wounded soldiers, West uses the bodies as raw material for his experiments. It’s a bizarre introduction with not much explanation and serves only to help create a bizarre tone for things to come.

Though I am quick to praise the film, I would be lying if I said that Bride of Re-Animator was as groundbreaking or simply entertaining as its predecessor. It’s a great film – especially the dark descent into madness at the end – but much like The Exorcist, nothing that follows could ever compare*. It’s an uphill battle that can never be won. Still, it’s one that’s worth mentioning, and a double-feature of the two films would make for a very fun and extremely gory night in.

*no, I’m not talking about The Exorcist 2, ya dummy. That movie sucks. The Exorcist 3, though? Now we’re talking.

Image courtesy of Nerdist

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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