The Rejuvenator

Would you risk everything to be young again? Would you willingly be a guinea pig in an experiment to reverse ageing? Juvenatix's answer to this is yes. And the result is a Jekyll and Hyde type tale where the guinea pig in question keeps changing from a young female into a hideous monster with an urge to kill. The special effects in this movie are well worth seeing , especially the part were she transforms for the last time. Lowlight : Attractive lab assistant gets the top of her skull knocked off.

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 scientist is tasked to create a 'rejuvenating' serum with a huge investment from a has-been star. When a break in the development was discovered, a youth obsessed star tries it without care AND discover a much more scarier after-effect AND pushed to insanity.

That was ok.

I really watched this simply because I want to watch see the comparison against the Substance. Its practically similar in that an aging star drinks a somewhat untested product that has out-of-this-world repercussion to its host. Its rife in similarity but fundamentally it differs in how it tells its story.

This film is very focused on the Monster of it all. Its more interested how awful she is as a monster and loses any kind of satire or commentary that the Substance really succeeds on. I mean this has a great make-up special effect too BUT the only characterization the star has is that she wants to be young again and work - which is fine but she uses her new found youth to be able to hang around the youth of time. Its quite a weird disjunct to her original position.

I also think that this solidly putting the blame towards her is sad. Initially, I posit the lack of a male antagonist is the reason I did not like how this story is told BUT the more I think about it, I just felt that there is something missing in how this film put blame. I felt that it was more complicated and there's no easy pass for everyone involved. I think it condemns the star far too much for my own liking.

And ultimately, i think it did not fully just developed certain characters to make us care for their plight. Its not bad AND I see where it succeeds but it clearly flawed.

Soft Recommendation.

"Rejuvenator" is a fresh spin on the immortality theme. Aging actress, Vivian Lanko, puts the squeeze on a doctor, John McKay, who's rejuvenation experiments she is funding. Pressed to use the youth serum he is developing before it is perfected, he injects Lanko with disastrous results. This fountain of youth story flows nicely, the script includes interesting characters, and touches of dark humor. The make up effects are especially interesting, and the whole production has class not usually associated with the horror genre. Fans of "Re-Animator" should seek out this impressive, similar film. .............. - MERK

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!