Re-Animator (1985)

How great is this film? I first saw it in the cinema, and was just blown away. It was so audacious, so over-the-top, and just so brilliant! HP Lovecraft's original story was his first professionally published work and was written as a serial, which really shows; every chapter begins with a short recap of a bunch of stuff you already know, 'cause you only just read it... Not his best work, by a long shot. As a fan of Lovecraft's writing, what came as the biggest surprise with Re-Animator is just how much Stuart Gordon "gets" the feel. It couldn't be more different, stylistically, but somehow, it just feels "right".

The biggest problem with trying to make a Lovecraft film is that most of his characters spend their time reading old books and visiting libraries. Doesn't exactly make for an exciting film. Another huge problem, of course, is the constant references to things which can't be described (as they're too horrible). Earlier attempts to film his work were almost universally dismal; they would overlay gothic (as in Die, Monster, Die!), or just go for the weird/psychedelic (The Dunwich Horror). Re-Animator, on the other hand, updates the story to the present day, then goes berserk with the gore, and adds the most bizarre necrophilia scene ever into the mix. And the weirdest thing is that this actually works!

Jeffrey Combs is perfect as Herbert West; he's creepy, nerdy, and has a roaring case of Aspergers. He's also completely obsessed with his quest to return the dead to life, and doesn't let anything, least of all morality, get in the way. The other standout is Barbara Crampton as Megan Halsey; she is one of my all-time favourite screamers, and really pulls out all the stops when it comes to kinky... She is a recurring Stuart Gordon fave, as is Combs, and I can see why.

Richard Band's music is also great; hugely plagiarised from Psycho, this actually adds to the enjoyment. I particularly love the title sequence, with its Psycho theme and anatomical illustrations.

Filmed on a relatively low budget, and, of course, before CGI made some effects ridiculously easy, the film stands up well to the test of time; 25 years on it still looks pretty good, and its just as much fun as it ever was. If you've never seen (or imagined!) a severed head giving head, you need to watch this movie. Its gory, its truly sick, but its also a work of twisted genius. If you make it past the eyeballs exploding and the removal of the cadaver's brain, all within the first couple of minutes, you'll manage the rest just fine!

Stuck (2007)

I noticed Stuck when it was first released, but was a little put off by the subject matter; mostly because I knew it was based on a real story. A couple of years before the release of this movie, I heard an item on the radio about a woman who had struck a pedestrian, the pedestrian had become embedded in her windshield, and, rather than seeking assistance, she had driven home and parked her car in the garage, with the poor bastard still stuck in her windscreen. He died a few days later, and she only ran into trouble when she called on her friends to help dispose of the boy... It was noted that, had she sought medical assistance for her victim, he may well have survived. Instead, her fear of punishment created a situation which was much worse than it might have been if she'd faced her circumstances and done what she could have from the start.

On top of the horrific nature of the real-life events of this story, the fact that Stuart Gordon was the director put me off even more; not because I don't like Stuart Gordon, but because I know him well enough to be well aware of just how horrific his work can be. Re-Animator is one of my all-time favourite films, and yet again Gordon proves that he can handle any theme with style. As with so many other masters of horror, the closer he gets to filming reality, the more horrific it gets!

The film takes some detours from reality; it never claims to be accurate, just "based on real events", which allows for a much more cinematic experience than the original story would have entailed. Mena Suvari (who also has a production credit) is suitably hapless as the nurses aide, stoned off her tits, who hits Stephen Rea on her way home from a nightclub. Her complete lack of any empathy for her victim, who we see as being just some poor guy who has found himself at the receiving end of a terrible run of bad luck, is simply astonishing. Of course, it is even harder to stomach her behaviour when you know it is probably a fairly accurate representation of the real-life driver.

Again and again we are confronted with the sheer heartlessness of the main character, while at the same time cheering on the "bum" who she dismisses as not being worth the trouble "he" has caused her! Overall, I was really impressed with this harrowing, and depressingly accurate, portrayal of inhumanity. I'd recommend it to anyone who can stomach a little gruesomeness. Definitely one of Gordon's best.