Violence/Gore: A lot more than your typical mainstream release, but the animatronic zombie puppets are more laughable than horrifying; some mildly understated use of CGI towards the end. The movie also seems to go out of its way to keep things under control, which is kind of a shame.

Sex/Nudity: A tame romp, and a topless scene played for equal parts laughter and nausea. Once again, they appear to be exercising remarkable restraint…but why?

Best Line: “She’s not getting any fresher.”

Score:

I was looking forward to the release of this, the first new RE-ANIMATOR installment in 13 years. After all, what fan could resist? The original from 1985 remains a classic of modern gross-out horror, with a career-defining performance by Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Herbert West. While many tend to discount the first sequel, BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR (1990), I found it a worthy follow-up that not only expanded the mythology of the first film but added a few choice West quips to the litany: “Make a note of it, Dan: tissue rejection!” And of course the ever-popular “My God, they’re using tools!”

But perhaps because of the less-than-stellar performance of that film, a third RE-ANIMATOR was often mooted but never produced…until now. It’s 13 years later, and Combs is back as a slightly older, slightly more guarded West. Languishing in prison following the events at Miskatonic and ‘beyond’ (the cemetery we see in this film’s opening flashback sequence is not the one from the end of BRIDE), West has become an even more distant individual, surprisingly capable of surviving in the harsh prison society but not at all deterred from his life’s work. To date, the major problem with his reagent has always been the violent and soulless behavior of his reanimated subjects. But now, West has discovered what he believes to be the scientific equivalent of the soul - nanoplasmic energy, lost at the moment of death, and carrying the spark that could transform a reanimated zombie into a living, thinking being once again.

With a method for collecting the nanoplasm and a fresh batch of reagent courtesy of the prison’s new doctor, whose childhood neatly dovetails with West’s own illustrious past and who desperately wants to work with the lunatic genius, West is back in action, and soon a predictable level of chaos is settling in at the prison. It’s carnage galore by the end, although even with the over-the-top make-up effects by Screaming Mad George, it’s perhaps not quite as bloody as the original - and there’s definitely no show-stopping moment on the order of the infamous Meg/Dr. Hill “head” scene. Ah, Barbara, where are you when we need you?

If you’re a RE-ANIMATOR fan and you like Combs’ work as West - and he is indeed in top form here - you’ll probably find BEYOND satisfying, if a bit disappointing. For me, much of the disappointment can be blamed on the excessive amount of time between movies and therefore the loss of the rest of the cast to career and health. Only Combs has returned, with erstwhile partner Bruce Abbott AWOL and villain David Gale long since passed away. West’s new partner, played by Jason Barry, is a fresh-faced actor who only has one expression - mildly puzzled. The main female lead, Elsa Pataky, is sexy and capable enough (she even gets to prance around somewhat incongruously in stillettos and garters in the climactic showdown) but she’s no Barbara Crampton, and Simon Andreu’s Warden Brando hardly matches the villainous charisma of the late Gale’s Dr. Hill. While the movie attempts to set up a similar sexually charged dynamic between the Warden and Pataky’s Laura along the lines of the Meg/Hill match-up from the first film, it just doesn’t come off as well. A few fan-pleasing references to the first movie (including a laughing severed head at movie’s end) may wind up reminding you a bit too much that the first RE-ANIMATOR is a true classic while this one is…well, a second attempt to recapture the magic. But it does the job for the most part.

Perhaps the best thing this movie does is put the hypo with glowing green goo back in Combs’ hand, giving him a chance to preen and peer suspiciously at others in true Herbert West style. Combs even manages to infuse this older and not much wiser West with a degree of endearing vulnerability that his younger self just never possessed. The movie also sets him up for a fourth go-round. Here’s hoping they don’t wait another 13 years to revisit the RE-ANIMATOR again.

…Oh, and make sure you stay through the end credits, or you’ll miss what might be the most insanely twisted little boxing match of an epilogue you’ve ever seen.

DVD Extras: No embarrassment of riches here, but a perfectly decent blend of the usual suspects: audio commentary by director Brian Yuzna, a trailer, a short but pleasant “making of” documentary, and even a peculiar dance music video that is infectiously catchy. I don’t know who the lead singer is, but he’s clearly patterned his image (and possibly his private lifestyle) on Wham-era George Michael. Move them dead bones bones bones!

ATB