August's Blu-ray of the Month: Re-Animator (1985)

"HERBERT WEST HAS A GOOD HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS… AND ANOTHER ONE ON HIS DESK. One of the most wildly popular horror movies of all-time, Stuart Gordon’s enduring splatter-comedy classic Re-Animator returns to Blu-ray in a stunning restoration packed with special features! When medical student Dean Cain advertises for a roommate, he soon finds one in the form of Dr. Herbert West. Initially a little eccentric, it some becomes clear that West entertains some seriously outlandish theories – specifically, the possibility of re-animating the dead. It’s not long before Dean finds himself under West’s influence, and embroiled in a serious of ghoulish experiments which threaten to go wildly out of control… Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s classic terror tale ‘Herbert West – Reanimator’ and featuring a standout performance from Jeffrey Combs as the deliciously deranged West, Re-Animator remains the ground-zero of ’80s splatter mayhem and one of the genre’s finest hours."

If there's any classic Horror movie from the 80's that deserves the 4K Blu-ray treatment, it's Re-Animator (read our review HERE), and if there's any company that we trust to give us the best possible release of said movie, it's Arrow Video.

Now, we already own Re-Animator on Blu-ray, and we're not fans of double-dipping unless there's a good reason to, but this new 2-Disc set by Arrow is packed with so much goodness, that we're going to have to. Both cuts in 4k is just too good to pass up.

2-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:

• 4K restorations of the Unrated and Integral versions of the film
• Original Stereo 2.0 and 5.1 Audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Digipak packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Justin Erickson
• Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by writer Michael Gingold
• Re-Animator – the original 1991 comic book adaptation, reprinted in its entirety

DISC 1 – UNRATED VERSION:

• Unrated version [86 mins]
• Audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon
• Audio commentary with producer Brian Yuzna, actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, and Robert Sampson
• Re-Animator Resurrectus – documentary on the making of the film, featuring extensive interviews with cast and crew
• Interview with director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna
• Interview with writer Dennis Paoli
• Interview with composer Richard Band
• Music Discussion with composer Richard Band
• Interview with former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone
• Barbara Crampton In Conversation –the Re-Animator star sits down with journalist Alan Jones for this career-spanning discussion
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Trailer & TV Spots

DISC 2 – INTEGRAL VERSION – LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE:

• Integral version [105 mins]
• A Guide to Lovecraftian Cinema – brand new featurette looking at the many various cinematic incarnations of writer H.P. Lovecraft's work

The Limited Edition Blu-ray of Re-Animator hits stores on August 8th. Get it while you can.