Empire International Pictures released Re-Animator to the US market on 18 October 1985.

Re-Animator is arguably the greatest horror-comedy ever made. But it’s hard to say why. It was Stuart Gordon’s first film. And it is easy enough to give him the credit. But I frankly think the film is over-lit and this would be catastrophic if it weren’t for everything else that works in the film. It looks a lot like Gordon’s later Space Truckers.

Jeffrey Combs is a huge part of why the film (and its sequels) works so well. He went on to have a great career as a character actor. But he seems to have been born to play Herbert West. He behaves exactly as he should.

Of course, there is another reason the film works. And it has to do with that over-lighting I mentioned above. The special effects and gore are great. And this is notable in a film where you can see everything.

But Re-Animator is one of those films that defies words. It just is a ton of fun. And everyone should watch it. Even the people who don’t like scary movies. Because it isn’t scary! It’s just fun. With lots of green goop!

Other 18 October Birthdays & Releases

Filmmakers

• Miriam Hopkins (1902-1972): Actor known for the Fredrick March Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Savage Intruder.
• Victor Sen Yung (1915-1980): Actor in a ton of low-budget films — known especially for the role of Jimmy Chan in a series of Charlie Chan films.
• Klaus Kinski (1926-1991): Unhinged actor known for films like Venom.
• George C Scott (1927-1999): Actor known for They Might Be Giants, The Changeling, and The Exorcist III.
• Calvin Lockhart (1934-2007): Actor known for Cotton Comes to Harlem and The Beast Must Die.
• Peter Boyle (1935-2006): Actor known for Joe and Young Frankenstein.
• Dawn Wells (1938-2020): Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island.
• Howard Shore (1946-): Composer associated with David Cronenberg in films like The Fly and eXistenZ.
• Joe Morton (1947-): Actor known for The Brother from Another Planet and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
• Pam Dawber (1951-): Star of Mork & Mindy who also appeared in Stay Tuned.
• David Twohy (1955-): Writer-director of mostly science fiction films like Timescape and The Arrival. He also wrote Warlock and Waterworld.
• Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960-): Martial artist known for films like Bloodsport.
• Erin Moran (1960-2017): Tragic actor known as Joanie in Happy Days. She was in Galaxy of Terror.

Films

• The Invisible Boy (1957): A little boy and Robby the Robot team up against a computer trying to rule the world.
• Mr Sardonicus (1961): A baron with a frozen smile extorts a doctor to fix him.
• Burnt Offerings (1976): A family moves into an old house with an evil force.
• The Ring (2002): A video kills people.
• Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005): Army creates a virus that turns people into zombies.

Re-Animator poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.