Beyond Re-Animator, 2003 - DVD

I am a huge Yuzna fan. Huge. I've enjoyed all of his films... but the Re-Animator pictures... Re-Animator (directed by Stuart Gordon), Bride of Re-Animator... I think they're some of the best cult horror films out there. And man, was I psyched to hear there was going to be a third installment.

The first time I heard about the new film, I was helping out Rob Worley over at Comics2Film.com with the Faust review and interviews. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk to Yuzna on the phone (he was in the middle of a production), but I did send him a rather long list of questions regarding the Faust film. It was a pleasure to 'talk' to him, since he's been a favorite of mine.

You can read my review of Faust, along with all of the interviews, here. Yuzna makes some very insightful comments about the making of the film... if you're a fan of Faust at all, it's a must read.

So. During this time, I found out that they were making a third film. One thing I will say is that writers Jose Manuel Gomez and Miguel Tejada-Flores did a great job of seamlessly flowing the story from the second installment to the third. It wasn't as if no time had passed, but there were no story holes to get in the way for those who'd either never seen the previous two, or for the fans of the series.

The overall story was well done. There was as much humor and horror in this film as with the others, and then characters were pretty well fleshed out (besides West, who is the staple in these films).

Fantastic Factory (or Filmax out of Spain) has gotten themselves quite a nitch there. They're producing quality work in an environment that allows them to work without the limitations of the States. In fact, one of their next films is The Machinist starring Christian Bale. This should be a great movie.

I found a lot of this new film to have a more adept Yuzna. The editing, the camera work, the way some of the shots were blocked... I think he's coming into his own, in his new surroundings. He's also working with a crew that, according to the director and the actors, are wonderful. Happy to be working on features that they are passionate about (or just happy to be working), they are producing amazing results. I would think that the crew all appreciate and respect Yuzna... I don't think they would be doing as good work as this if they didn't.

I'm continually impressed with Yuzna. He's able to churn out respectable films his way. Society, the Re-Animator series, From Beyond, The Dentist, Dagon, Faust, Progeny... whether writer, producer, director or all three.

Beyond Re-Animator first appeared on the Sci-Fi channel last month (January). I didn't get a chance to see it, but I was very happy to find out that Lion's Gate had decided to pick the film up for distribution. I love Lion's Gate. They are the heroes of 2003. House of 1000 Corpses, Cabin Fever... they took some serious chances last year and they paid off. They know when they have a winner on their hands, which is what they have with Beyond Re-Animator.

Jason Barry, Simon Andreu and Elsa Pataky round out the rest of the main cast. They all do good jobs and interacted with each others character well. It's funny, the talent that Yuzna finds over in Spain. Again, another resource he doesn't have to use from the States... he's got an entire country of under used actors. Under used in the sense that they haven't made the transition to the US audience.

Andreu has been in some US mainstream work, including the latest installment of James Bond, Die Another Day He was also in Flesh & Blood (the Verhoeven film)... he's been acting since 1961 and is obviously a respected face in Spanish cinema. It's understandable why he was cast in this film. Watching the 'making-of' featurette, it was funny listening to him complain about the prosthetic make-up that had to be applied to him, and the amount of time it took. He probably didn't sign up for all of that, but was a good sport all the same.

I think Screaming Mad George is one of those great, unheard of people behind the scenes of films like this. He's such a great effects and make-up artist. You get a glimpse of him in the 'making-of' featurette, but unfortunately we don't get to hear from him. He's been with Yuzna for quite some time, it's obvious the two men get along and trust each others work. I hope they continue to work together.

Yuzna has a project coming up called Rottweiler with writer Miguel Tejada-Flores. Let's hope they have the same dynamic this time as they had with Beyond Re-Animator.

All in all, if you enjoy humor filled horror films, like cool special effects and great mad scientist characters, you should definitely rent all three of these films. You'll enjoy yourself. Then, you can move on to other Yuzna films. Night of the Living Dead III, Faust, The Dentist... you'll see a good director with a good sense of style, humor and ability at work.