Re-Animator 4K UHD Review/Comparison

Ignite Films

4K UHD Release: November 11, 2025 (following multiple April 3, 2025 limited edition collections)

Video: 1.85:1/2160p (HDR10/Dolby Vision)/Color (unrated cut); 1.85:1/1080p/Color (integral cut)

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo; English LPCM 1.0 mono; isolated score DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles: English, English SDH

Run Time: 86:03 (unrated cut), 104:55 (integral cut)

Director: Stuart Gordon

Note: This is a re-edit, update, and replacement for my 2017 review/comparison of the Arrow and Second Sight Blu-rays.

When medical student Dan Cain advertises for a roommate, he soon finds one in the form of Dr. Herbert West. Initially a little eccentric, it soon becomes clear that West entertains some seriously outlandish theories – specifically, the possibility of re-animating the dead. It’s not long before Dan finds himself under West’s influence and embroiled in a series of ghoulish experiments, which threaten to go wildly out of control… (From Arrow Video’s official synopsis)

As someone who lived through the era, I’ve grown weary of our current state of overblown ‘80s nostalgia, but even a curmudgeon like myself must admit that it might have been the best decade ever for comedy-horror hybrids. From John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London (1981), George Romero’s Creepshow (1982), and Joe Dante’s The Howling (1981) & Gremlins (1984), to Dan O’Bannon’s Return of the Living Dead (1985), Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2 (1987), and even Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters (1984), it was truly a golden age. 

At the center of a decade of heavy-hitters stands Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985) – a modest production compared to its studio-backed counterparts that is nonetheless the funniest, sweetest, most efficiently told, and, arguably, most subversive of the bunch. Looking for a Frankenstein-like story to tell, Gordon, along with writers William J. Norris and Dennis Paoli, culled their script (which was initially intended to be a six-part TV miniseries) from H.P. Lovecraft’s shockingly racist six-part serial Herbert West–Re-Animator (pub. between 1921 & 1922). Already acknowledged as a light parody of Mary Shelley’s book, the filmmakers magnified the story’s satirically over-the-top violence, added a tragic romantic element, deleted the racism, and slowroasted the whole thing in dry wit and irony.

Re-Animator had a lot going in its favor, but its secret strength is in the fact that it was made by people with roots in theater. Gordon had founded/co-founded Screw Theater at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Organic Theater Company, which began in Madison and moved to Chicago, co-founded it with his wife, actress Carolyn Purdy-Gordon. His often controversial and transgressive stage work included the influential Warp! trilogy (1971/’73), Ray Bradbury’s  The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1972, adapted to film by Gordon in 1998), and David Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago (1974, adapted to film as About Last Night in 1968 & 2014). Many years later, Gordon returned to stage to spearhead a musical version of Re-Animator.

Generally speaking, good low-budget horror films either disguise their lack of funding or embrace their limitations and find creative solutions to their problems. Sam Raimi, for example, goes into stylistic overdrive on The Evil Dead (1981), turning into a practically abstract spectacle, while George Romero shot Night of the Living Dead (1968) in a black & white vérité style that emulated a television documentary. The cinematic context renders budgetary consideration moot. Could these films have looked better with more money in hand? Maybe, but it doesn’t matter, because they would be intrinsically different movies; something made evident by the 2013 and 1990 remakes of each film, respectively.

In the case of Re-Animator, Gordon and cinematographer Mac Ahlberg didn’t scrimp on the visual artistry – they ensure that every scene is vividly lit and rendered, almost like a comic book page – but the blocking, set dressing, and all-around vibe preserve plenty of the stage play aesthetic Gordon had been perfecting for more than a decade. The gory special effects are made in the spirit of the Grand Guignol, not in hopes of matching the complex transformations of American Werewolf in London or revolting realism of Romero’s Day of the Dead (also released in 1985). The theater vibe extends to the actors, many of whom also came from stage backgrounds, and the extensive rehearsals conducted before filming – something that would’ve been almost unheard of for a major horror film, let alone an indie production.

For many fans and critics, Re-Animator’s legacy is connected to other horror-comedies of the ‘80s (I’m doing that myself, after all). Its success was an indication of the breadth of the genre at the time, which extended from Gordon’s transgressive ironies to the slapstick excess of Raimi’s Evil Dead 2. In addition, Charles Band’s Empire International Pictures and, by extension, Full Moon Features probably wouldn’t have had the same impact on the home video market, had Re-Animator not been a hit. Much of the studio’s reputation and personality was built off the back of Gordon’s work and, in turn, the bulk of Gordon’s filmography was produced via Band’s studios.

I’m a little less confident crediting Gordon and Yuzna with the rise of interest in Lovecraft during the late ‘80s and into the ‘00s. It’s possible that other pop culture artifacts, like Ghostbusters or the Alien films, might have drawn attention to Lovecraft’s work, but it’s pretty telling that there were only three direct adaptations of the author’s work in the years before Re-Animator (The Haunted Palace [1963], Die, Monster, Die! [1965], and The Dunwich Horror [1970]) and then dozens in the decades that followed. At the very least, Gordon and Yuzna’s continued commitment to adaptation – From Beyond (1986), Bride of Re-Animator (1990), Necronomic (1993), Castle Freak (1995), Dagon (2001), and Beyond Re-Animator (2003) – kept Lovecraft’s stories in rental shops for a couple of decades.

A note on the various cuts of the film: Re-Animator was originally released unrated to avoid an X, which would’ve made it impossible to advertise in some areas. This cut, which runs about 86 minutes, is considered Gordon’s preferred director’s cut. At the time, some major video rental stores were even stricter than theaters and would refuse to rent any X-rated or unrated movies (exceptions were typically made for special interests and children’s/family entertainment), so, when it came time to put the movie on home video, Gordon and Yuzna were forced to cobble together an R-rated cut. Unfortunately, after excising all of the footage the MPAA deemed offensive, the R-rated Re-Animator was too short to be considered a feature film, so they had to add scenes from a previously excised subplot. The final runtime ended up being longer than the unrated version. Then, when trying to put together a family-friendly TV edit, even more deleted scenes were added.

The R-rated and TV cuts were always considered subpar and left off of almost all home video collections. However, there was a bootleg cut that combined the X-rated gore and nudity with all of the deleted subplot footage. This was eventually and officially included on Blu-ray releases and dubbed the ‘integral cut.’ It runs about 105 minutes. Because Gordon admits to editing out some of the gore himself before submitting the film to the MPAA (specifically pieces of an early brain autopsy sequence), there have long been legends of a fourth cut, but this footage is most likely lost forever, because Gordon didn’t want it in the final cut.

Video

Re-Animator has changed distributors and, consequently, has been re-released on home video about a million times now. Each version tends to be a slight improvement over the last. In North America, Vestron Video released unrated and R-rated VHS copies, followed by a pan & scan, unrated Laserdisc from Image Entertainment, a 10th Anniversary letterboxed Laserdisc from Elite Entertainment, a DVD version of that Laserdisc, an anamorphically enhanced Millennium Edition DVD (also from Elite), a version of that DVD with better compression from Anchor Bay Entertainment, and one more barebones DVD from Image.

The first US Blu-ray was also released by Image in 2012 and that transfer was culled from the same source as their DVD. Those efforts would then be blown away by a new 4K scan/2K master that first showed up on Blu-ray from German company Capelight in 2013, then from UK company Second Sight in 2014, then came to North America from Arrow in 2017. That transfer was a mix of the original negative and interpositive elements taken from both the unrated and R-rated cuts.

The new 4K scan, which sets itself apart from the old one by also being a 4K master, was approved by producer Brian Yuzna (Gordon, who passed away in 2020, or cinematographer Mac Ahlberg’s input might’ve been preferred, but Yuzna was very hands-on with the project) and is presented in its original 1.85:1 and 2160p with HDR/Dolby Vision enhancements. The second disc includes the integral cut on a 1080p Blu-ray and that is where I got the screencaps that I’m using on this page. They aren’t the full 2160p, but they still illustrate the differences in color quality. I’ve placed two comparison sliders with the Ignite Blu-ray on the left and Arrow’s Blu-ray on the right to show everyone that the two 1080p transfers are basically identical.

The Capelight, Second Sight, and Arrow transfers were already great, but there’s always room for improvement where a 2K to 4K upgrade is concerned. The UHD master is generally more vivid, even before the HDR boost, which helps those neon greens pop and clarifies some of the darker scenes; though, as you can probably see from the 1080p screencaps, the color-timing hasn’t changed a lot. And speaking of the darker scenes, the black levels are rich and details are tightened without appearing oversharpened. The occasional roughness is in keeping with the softer photography and diffused lighting schemes, and grain levels appear fine and consistent.

Audio 

As in the case of the last few Blu-rays, Re-Animator comes with three audio options – its original mono and stereo, both presented in uncompressed LPCM 1.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and the 5.1 remix that was designed during the 2012/13 restoration, also presented in DTS-HD Master Audio. Ignite doesn’t go into any detail on how they achieved their mix, but I have to assume it was similar to what Arrow did, where they used the original 3-track master for the unrated cut and utilized alternate sources when mixing for the 1080p integral cut.

I opted for the original mono for my complete viewing, but sampled the other tracks and they’re honestly fine. There’s actually very little differences outside the scope and shape of Richard Band’s synth score. Dialogue is crisp and consistent, effects are natural when needed, supernatural when not. In addition, Band’s score has been included on an isolated 5.1 track. This was originally produced for the Elite DVD, but I believe that this is the first time it has been presented in uncompressed DTS-HD Master Audio.

Extras

Disc One: Unrated Cut (4K UHD):

• Commentary with director Stuart Gordon – This track was originally recorded for the Elite Entertainment Laserdisc and has been included on most North American releases ever since.

• Commentary with producer Brian Yuzna and cast members Bruce Abbott, Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Robert Sampson – Another oft-heard Elite Entertainment Laserdisc archive track.

• Commentary with Stuart Gordon and actors Jesse Merlin & Graham Skipper – This track, recorded for the Arrow release, features the director and two of the lead cast members of Re-Animator: The Musical (who also recently appeared together in Beyond the Gates). The participants mostly stick to the production of the musical itself, which is good, given the breadth of behind-the-scenes knowledge already available on the two older tracks.

• Re-Animator at 40 (44:32, HD) – A new retrospective roundtable conversation with actors Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, and producer Brian Yuzna, who chat about the production, the locations, the casting process, the release, their post-Re-Animator careers, working with Gordon, David Gale, and other cast & crew members, and more.

• Piece By Piece: Cutting Re-Animator (14:57, HD) – A new interview with editor Lee Percy about his process, his training as an actor, switching to film school, meeting Gordon after already being a fan of the Organic Theater Company, and cutting Noel Marshall’s insane vanity project Roar (1981) and, of course, Re-Animator.

• The Horror of it All: The Legacy and Impact of Re-Animator (18:19, HD) – Filmmakers Joe Lynch (Mayhem [2017]), Mike Mendez (Big Ass Spider [2013]), Nicolas McCarthy (The Pact [2012]), Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers [1992]), and Rob Savage (Host [2020]) reflect on the film and their experiences seeing it. 

• Suzie Sorority and The Good College Boy (14:07, HD) – Actress and Gordon’s long time partner Carolyn Purdy-Gordon warmly reflects on her relationship with Stuart and her career acting on stage and film.

• I Give Life: A Look Back at Re-Animator: The Musical (27:36, HD) – A new look at the stage production, including interviews with producer Dean Schramm, composer/lyricist Mark Nutter, and cast members Chris McKenna, Graham Skipper, Rachel Avery, Jesse Merlin, and Liesle Hanson, and footage from the production.

• Re-Animating a Horror Classic: The 4K Restoration of Re-Animator (2:22, HD) – A behind-the-scenes restoration featurette.

• The Organic Theater Company of Chicago (27:57, HD) – Perhaps the best of Ignite’s new extras is this 1977 documentary from Richard Christian Jr. and Ira H. Moshman, including interviews with Gordon and the cast members (Joe Mantegna among them), and footage from various performances.

• 40th anniversary trailer

Disc 2: Integral cut and archival extras (Blu-ray)

• Re-Animator Resurrectus (68:35, HD) – This retrospective documentary was originally produced for Anchor Bay’s special edition DVD and also appeared on every Blu-ray release since.

2017 Arrow extras:

• The Catastrophe of Success (13:08, HD) – Gordon talks about his roots in directing controversial stage plays and continuing work in theater, despite his success on film, in the second exclusive interview.

• Theatre of Blood (12:04, HD) – Re-Animator: The Musical lyricist/songwriter Mark Nutter discusses meeting Gordon and adapting the film in the first disc’s final new extra.

• Barbara Crampton in Conversation (36:05, HD) – A very personable and career-spanning interview with the actress, conducted by writer/journalist Alan Jones at FrightFest London in 2015.

• A Guide to Lovecraftian Cinema (54:03, HD) – Chris Lackey, the host of the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, moderates this look at the history of movie/TV adaptations of the author’s work. Lackey briefly explores the making-of each film/TV episode and compares each plot to the source material. The information is relatively exhaustive and certainly informative (at least as a primer for a larger subject), but the presentation is a little bit dry, consisting mostly of Lackey’s talking head, quick glimpses of poster/book art, and brief footage from the movies (usually borrowed from trailers). 

• Doug Bradley's Spine Chillers: Herbert West – Re-animator (98:32, HD stills) – A six-chapter audio version of Lovecraft’s story as read by Jeffrey Combs.

1999/2002 Elite Entertainment extras: 

• Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna interview (48:42, SD) 

• Writer Dennis Paoli interview (10:41, SD) 

• Composer Richard Band interview (14:43, SD) 

• Interview with former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone (4:34, SD)

• Music discussion with Richard Band (16:31, SD) – The composer introduces four sections of isolated score

• Extended scenes (23:05, HD) 

• Deleted scene (2:40, HD)

• Trailer and five TV spots

• Still gallery

The images on this page are taken from Ignite’s BD and Arrow’s BD (for the comparison sliders)  – NOT Ignite’s new 4K UHD – and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.