Bride of Re-Animator (1990) | The ghoulishly fun sequel gets the deluxe restoration treatment from Arrow

From Arrow Films comes the 2k restoration of Brian Yuzna’s 1990 sequel to Stuart Gordon’s fan favourite on Blu-ray and DVD, plus a mausoleum’s worth of bonus material over three discs.

Just as soon as the end credits rolled on Re-Animator‘s gore-splattered finale back in 1985 (check out my review here), horror fans wanted more from Jeffrey Comb’s crazed Dr Herbert West and his ‘work’, and they got their wish when producer Yuzna – who helmed the melt-tastic satire Society in 1989 (check out my review here) – took to the director’s chair of what would become a worthy successor to the original cult classic (although critics might beg to differ).

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Eight months after the Miskatonic Medical School massacre and after a spell as a medic in Peru, the obsessive Herbert West (Jeffrey Comb) continues his re-animation research back in Arkham when he comes across the heart of Megan Halsey – the deceased girlfriend of his unwitting accomplice, Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) – and decides to build a new Megan out of stolen body parts. But our heroes had better watch out, as the revived head of Dr Carl Hill (David Gale) – West’s rival and nemesis –  has sprouted bat wings and hypnotic powers and has West’s ‘rejects’ under his control…

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While Bride of Re-Animator may not hit all the right notes all the time, Yuzna’s Freaks-inspired climactic set-piece, boasting wonderfully warped SFX creations, is a batshit crazy horror ride that’s worth repeated viewing. And let’s not forget the scenery chewing turns of Combs and Gale, who come off like the bastard acid-tripping offspring of Colin Clive’s Henry Frankenstein and Ernest Thesiger’s Dr Pretorius. But more than anything, Yuzna’s quickly turned around horror comedy sequel proves that pure cine-magic can happen with a little imagination and ingenuity – and a fair helping of team spirit.

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THE ARROW VIDEO BOX-SET
This new Arrow Video release includes director approved 2K restorations of the Unrated and R-Rated versions of the film on Blu-ray and DVD, with original Stereo 2.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) and optional English subtitles. The digipak, featuring artwork by Gary Pullin, contains a collector’s booklet and (in the limited edition) the Re-Animator: Dawn of the Re-Animator, the official comic book prequel to Re-Animator.

Disc 1 (Blu-ray) & Disc 2 (DVD) – Unrated Version
• Audio commentary with Brian Yuzna, Jeffrey Combs, special effects co-ordinator Thomas Rainone and the effects team.
• Audio commentary with Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott.
• Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride of Re-Animator: New featurette making of featurette.
• Splatter Masters: The Special Effects Artists of Bride of Re-Animator: New featurette.
• Getting Ahead in Horror: Archive making-of featurette.
• Meg is Re-Animated: Deleted scene with behind-the-scenes footage.
• Carnival Sequence: The cast and crew discuss this excised sequence.

Disc 3 (Blu-ray) R-Rated Version – Limited Edition
• 2K restoration of the R-Rated version
• Behind-the-Scenes Reel

TRAILER