The Rejuvenator

Dr. Gregory Ashton (John MacKay) and his assistant, Dr. Stella Stone (Katell Pleven), are on the verge of finding a serum extracted from dead human brains that will restore youth. However, the envious and arrogant director Dr. Germaine (Marcus Powell) wants to jeopardize his research. The wealthy sponsor Ruth Warren (Jessica Dublin) is the main donor of the research fund that supports Dr. Aston's experiments. Ruth is an aging actress that wants to return to her glorious days and forces Dr. Ashton to use her as human guinea pig of his experiments. Dr. Ashton exposes that it would be unethical and dangerous to her since his trials are limited to rats and is not concluded, but Ruthe threats to call off her donations. Ruth's operation is successful and she rejuvenates, becoming a beautiful young woman. She names herself Elizabeth Warren (Vivian Lanko), who would be Ruth's niece, and rejoices to party every night. Dr. Ashton has not synthetized his serum yet and needs more cadavers to extract the fluid from the brain to inject Elizabeth. But soon there are side effects, and Elizabeth needs more and more serum when she turns into a monster. But soon she has the lust for human brains and begins a crime spree to get the brains.

"Rejuvenatrix", a.k.a. "The Rejuvenator" (1988), is a great horror B-movie about the side effects of a research to find the fountain of youth. The screenplay is well written and, despite the low-budget, has great make-up and special effects. Dr. Ashton is hurried in his experiment by the lead donor of his funds and is forced to test his serum in her, despite his warnings. The conclusion is gore and gruesome, with a hook for a sequence. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Rejuvenator"

So many 80's horror films that were made mostly for the video market have been unfairly thrown aside in the 30+ years since they were released and many of them have a lot of creativity that deserves to be seen by a new audience. The Rejuvenator is one of those lost films that still has the capacity to entertain.

A doctor has been working on an anti-aging serum forever, but he hasn't been working fast enough to please one of his biggest financial benefactors - an aging actress whose career could use a refreshing. Even though he's nervous about it, he agrees to shoot her up with the serum, telling her all the risks and that she'll need multiple doses of the serum or else the entire thing will reverse. The only problem is that he needs human brain tissue to make more serum and he's running out of cadavers.

The special makeup effects are top notch, the performances are spirited with just enough camp appeal given the subject matter, and the script is smarter and better written that other films of this type and budget. This is a film that could benefit from a new Blu-Ray release.

An aging actress employs a scientist to make her younger and it comes with drastic side effects. Whenever the potion wears off, she turns into a monster and needs human blood to rejuvenate. It's a fun concept that well executed with excellent special effects.

A rich actress who has gotten too old for leading roles employs a scientist who is working on a formula for eternal youth. The formula involves withdrawing certain fluids from the human brain. She takes the serum, but its unforseen side effects turn her into a murderous monster. Brian Thomas Jone's "The rejuvenator" is a surprisingly gory and ambitious horror outing, with a ambitious plot and some excellent make-up effects. Granted, it lacked down-to-Earth characters, but if you liked films like "Society" and "Re-animator", the The Rejuvenator may be up your alley. The final transformation sequence is astounding!

Rejuvenatrix isn't really a proper horror film in my eyes, but it makes a nice change from the norm and is entertaining throughout. The story involves an old wealthy woman who wants to be young again, and is investing vast amounts of money in a "serum" that will make her young. She gets her wish, but the catch is that after the serum wears off, she is transformed into an old hag with a taste for blood. There are some respectable gore scenes such as a woman's brain being pulled from her head, and a nurse splattered against a wall. But the tone of Rejuvenatrix is different from a slasher film so these scenes don't seem as cool as they normally would. Still this is thoroughly entertaining, it never really gets boring, and there's some decent gore - what more can you ask for? It also provides some interesting views on the debate of 'growing old gracefully'.

I wouldn't recommend this to slasher fans, but those who love all styles of horror film should enjoy it.