Unlike many of the video nasties of the eighties, such as The Evil Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, this film looked surprisingly good, with high production values (well, for then). This is a Lovecraft adaptation, and is about two medical students who are drawn into a bizarre experiment which involves bringing the dead back to life. Soon however the dead turn into mutant beings that have to be stopped by the two students, and the brilliantly mad scientist Herb (Jeffery Combs).
The style of this film is great, it offers what many horror films of recent standards have failed to produce; comedy, gore and scares. Directors like Eli Roth, who have had a go at this, should really take a step back and see how it�s done properly. This film just seems to blend the genres so well, and I guess this is so apparent in this film due to it doing each of them to the extreme. Gore here is plentiful, with severed heads, cool spade play and drills through the heart - and there�s more! Comedy is achieved through the hammy performances and set pieces that are done through the film, which are all silly and downright fun, like the severed head that talks and in the uncut version, gives...erm, have one guess - head. Head! Yes, and for scares, this film does it well, giving off many shocks due to gore, and downright nastiness. Also the morgue scenes are pretty scary.
Overall this film is a great horror film, and must be taken tongue in cheek, as the acting is not always acceptable for the film. The gore is over the top, which gives the film a dark edge, and with its vulgar sense of humour, like throwing zombie cats against walls and crushing it, makes this a strangely fun film to sit through. If you�ve seen Evil Dead 2, Braindead or Bad Taste, you may like this. If you want a more serious horror film go see The Shining. However for those of you that want a little fun, something a little different on the horror genre and something wacky see this gem. |
