James Raynor

This is the Sam Raimi that made the Evil Dead films. After holding back for the last decade, he really lets rip with the OTT camera-work and gross outs. Once the plot is established, he steams from one set piece to another with barely a pause for breath. It's amazingly suspenseful. You WILL jump. It's physically impossible not to with the volume of the shock cuts, but Raimi actually delivers on the creepy visuals to accompany the jump, which instantly elevates it above the cheap-scares of a typical modern horror flick.

Alison Lohman and Lorna Raver really kick the crap out of each other. The séance scene is AWESOME. The make-up and practical FX are fantastic. The CG is good for the most part, although there are a couple of dodgy moments. You see the ending coming a mile-off, but it's so well done and fantastic to watch that you don't care.

People, check it out. It's a ridiculously enjoyable motion picture.

Well, I finally got around to watching this flick, having bought it some months ago for 50p on DVD after reading some good things about it on a forum (possibly from Sic Coyote, I know his review is around here somewhere).

I think I laughed about 3 times throughout the film's 90 minutes running time. The opening line of the captain's log is a true corker, but this remains the highlight of the movie.

The film remains notable for the presence of Dorothy Stratten in the title role, and even though she has relatively little to do, she does a fine job. Also present are veteran John Carpenter cinematographer Dean Cundey (who's work is seen in it's full 2.35:1 ratio on this DVD, surprising for a half a quid disc) and FX master Chris Walas, who you'd have a hard time believing went on to do the wonderful effects on Gremlins and The Fly after seeing this.

All in all, not the worst film I've ever seen, but far from the best.

I was heartily entertained by Christian Matzke's tale of the Re-Animator. The B&W photography really lends itself to any Lovecraft adaptation, and this flick doesn't skimp on the atmosphere. The music also helps a lot, which never once falls into the dodgy Casio-synth chasm that many a low budget movie does. The actors put in great performances all round too.

I saw this at a time when I had recently read the original stories for the first time (in preparation for my own Re-Animator short) and was impressed with the faithfulness of the adaptation. In terms of re-creating Lovecraft's sense of dread, Matzke has done a stellar job.

5/5