Talk:Re-Animator

Music
Is the main theme used in this not the same as that used in Friday the 13th? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.2.121.181 (talk) 01:12, 23 January 2008 (UTC)
 * The music's very clearly a cover of the classic theme to Psycho -- I said as much in this article before, but someone seems to have "tidied" that comment away... Dave-ros (talk) 22:10, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
 * The DVD commentary states the theme is a deliberately comic homage to Bernard Herrman's music for Psycho, the strings played "straight" with a comic jazzy drum track as a wink'n'nudge. (Kinda like the approach to the source material, which itself was a parody.) Naaman Brown (talk) 17:44, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

compared to the original
I have read the original story. I did not see the movie but from the plot section it is rather unlike that of the story. What is the source of the claim in the "Compared to Lovecraft's original" section? Eldar 23:20, 28 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Which claim? It's well-established that they intended the movie to be a modernisation of Lovecraft's 'Herbert West' stories. Mark Grant 18:21, 4 September 2006 (UTC)


 * The claim that it is "one of the few (if not the only) accurate film treatments of Lovecraft's original work". The plot here is nothing like the plot of the original story (I have read the story). Eldar 21:37, 4 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Well, the actual claim is that it's 'often considered to be', not that it is. Which I'd say is true, but primarily because most other Lovecraft adaptions are so bad :)... Re-Animator is one of the few movies that has the feel of a Lovecraft story, even though it doesn't follow the story terribly accurately. That said, the claim should really be backed up with a source. Mark Grant 22:40, 4 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Ok, I am editing the section somewhat to reflect this discussion. Eldar 21:50, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

That section does need a fair bit of work. Citations needed aplenty. Geoff B 22:46, 9 September 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree. I've removed this section from the article am placing it here until it can be probably sourced.--J.D. (talk) 18:36, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Lovecraft originally serialized the story (entitled Herbert West: Reanimator) in the amateur press, in a friend's magazine. In correspondence with others, he claimed to be unhappy with the work, only writing it because he was being paid five dollars for each installment. He was also unhappy with the requirements - unlike his normal style, he was forced to end each installment with a cliffhanger and begin them with a recap of the previous episode.

Because of this, according to his letters, Lovecraft wrote the story more as a parody of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein rather than a completely original piece of fiction. He drops in numerous Frankenstein references (even hinting at the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, as Shelley did) while at the same time purposely making scenes overly violent, gruesome and cliché.

Likewise, the movie is considered to be a great parody of traditional horror films because it refuses to take itself seriously. Evident from the commentary track on the Millennium Edition DVD is the fact that the cast and crew had an enjoyable experience in making the film (although actor David Gale had a difficult time with the infamous scene when his severed head is taking liberties with Barbara Crampton's naked body to where his wife walked out during a screening). The film is indeed grotesquely violent; however, the violence is more in the vein of black comedy. Overall, the film is known for taking a number of liberties with the story.

Angry and Moist: An Undead Chronicle
There's an external link to what appears to be a low-budget movie of this name on the page, added a few months ago by an IP user, which, to me, doesn't seem to have any relevance to Re-Animator (other than apparently being a cheap spoof that rips off the music). Is there any reason why it should stay? Mark Grant 22:40, 4 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Ok, I've removed it for now. It can be added back if someone can come up with a valid reason to do so. Mark Grant 11:45, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Rufus the Cat
I think we've got a conflict over wording in the cat trivia piece. I really don't see why it was edited from the original, but perhaps it's for clarity's sake. However the new version isn't very clear to me, either. Perhaps we can compromise by kicking this around a bit?

"When Rufus, Cain's cat, is discovered dead in West's mini-fridge, the cat seen is not a puppet or other prop, but an actual, dead cat." HamatoKameko 18:45, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Yep, I changed it for clarity and unencyclopeadic language, but I realise, looking at it again, it's not much of an improvement.

"When Rufus, Cain's cat, is discovered dead in West's mini-fridge, it is not a prop, but an actual, dead cat." - How about that? Geoff B 19:15, 29 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Hey, that sounds great! HamatoKameko 20:04, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
 * A bit of an improvement over my last 'revision' I feel. :-)  Geoff B 20:58, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I also want to thank you for catching my Gruber goof--I noticed it and decided to edit it out, only to find you'd fixed it seconds before. XD Though I'm very curious about the "Ghrurg" bit now; it's actually on the wall plaque beside Gruber's room door at the Zürich school (It says: "Dr. Gruber Ghrurg"). I hadn't given it much thought when I typed it into the entry (it was late), but I haven't been able to find a translation for it if it's anything other than a name. I wonder if it was an erroneous bit of set-artist fluff? HamatoKameko 22:02, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
 * No problem. As for 'Ghrurg', it certainly doesn't sound like a name...perhaps it's a qualification in French or German?  Not much of an idea, but the best I can think of ATM.  Geoff B 23:38, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I figure if it's anything, it's German, but I don't recognize the word myself and so far no translators have turned up anything. I'll keep my eyes open for an answer, though. (In case you can't tell, I tend to notice some of the stranger details of stuff. I'm the sort that finds bloopers the first time through a movie. lol) Now I'm really curious as to what it is, if anything. HamatoKameko 02:51, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

It'd be nice to know. AFAIK (though my knowledge of German is limited) 'Gruber' is only a surname, so 'Ghrurg' might be an acronym, or a contraction or something. Geoff B 03:05, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, Gruber is the doctor's surname; his first name is "Hans," as revealed by Dean Halsey when introducing West. HamatoKameko 03:11, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

The 'Ghirurg' on Gruber's nameplate is certainly a typo for "Chirurg,' which is Swiss for surgeon. Underneath his nameplate is another plate that says 'GEHIRN FORSCHUNGSL LABOR' (i.e. 'Brian Research Lab').2001:558:6026:B:215F:E816:348F:EB63 (talk) 02:30, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Headlines
Interviews - Jeffrey Combs --Some additional info for the article.--J.D. (talk) 19:58, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

House of Re-Animator no longer listed on IMDb
Just FYI, under sequels, its says that House of Re-Animator is still listed on IMDb. IT isn't anymore. LA (T) @ 22:07, 4 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Since no once had done so, I removed the IMDB reference. --66.110.6.119 (talk) 12:17, 7 June 2011 (UTC) (RedKnight)

Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the movie needs to be discussed. If I remember right, this was Richard Band's first soundtrack; it also includes some of the music from Psycho by Elmer Bernstein) in the opening credits (and elsewhere in the film. Shocking Blue (talk) 15:07, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

Genre
Is this a "science fiction horror film", or a "horror comedy film"? The comedic elements are nearly as intense as the horror. Young Frankenstein is described in Wikipedia simply as a comedy!203.184.41.226 (talk) 04:24, 14 July 2012 (UTC)

Plot
I have cleaned up the "plot summary", removing unnecessary details and adding others. In particular, there is no evidence that Dr. Hill is using hypnotic mind control on Dr. Halsey until AFTER both are re-animated. Previously the plot summary said he was using it to make Halsey dislike West; there's no evidence he uses anything for this except his influence as a well-funded colleague.Goblinshark17 (talk) 01:30, 21 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Looks good to me. I think it could be cleaned up a bit more, but it's fine for now. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 03:51, 21 September 2014 (UTC)