“I created what no man’s mind, or woman’s womb could ever hope to achieve.”
After making it out alive from the Miskatonic University Hospital debacle Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) and Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) end up as volunteer medics in Peru during a civil war. Herbert is still working on his formula for reanimating people. The medical tent gets overrun by enemy troops so Herbert and Dan flee back to Miskatonic. Herbert returns to his basement laboratory to play with body parts from the cemetery next door and those stolen from the hospital. He has learned from his experiments that the human consciousness resides in every part of the body not just the brain. Now his plan is to create a person from dead body parts and reanimate it. To get Dan to agree to help, he steals the heart of Dan’s dead fiancée Megan.
Police Lt. Leslie Chapham (Claude Earl Jones) is investigating the horror that occurred at Miskatonic. He believes Herbert and Dan are involved. Chapham’s dead wife was one of the reanimated corpses. As part of his investigation he visits the morgue and speaks to Dr. Wilbur Graves (Mel Stewart). He brings with him the head of Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale). It had been found in a side show carnival. After Chapham leaves, Graves finds the reanimation serum that Dr. Hill had stolen from Herbert. He reanimates Dr. Hill’s head. Dr. Hill is one really angry head.
Chapham forces himself into Herbert and Dan’s house. He finds Herbert’s basement lab. He attacks Herbert. Herbert kills him. Then reanimates him. The zombified Chapham ends up wandering into the cemetery next door. While Herbert and Dan are creating their bride of Frankenstein, Dr. Hill is using his hypnotic power to control Chapham. Chapham forces Dr. Graves to stitch bat wings onto Dr. Hill’s neck. Now Hill can fly. With Chapham and the zombie survivors of the Miskatonic Massacre, Dr. Hill is an uncontrollable force. Things are not going well for Herbert and Dan.
“Bride of Re-Animator” was released in 1989 and was directed by Brian Yuzna. It is, of course, the sequel to “Re-Animator” 1985. The characters are from H.P. Lovecraft’s serialized story “Herbert West-Reanimator”. It is the second of three “Re-Animator” series movies. As with the first movie, the re-animation serum is the fluid from glow sticks. There are also the required copious amounts of blood, guts and gore here as well. The first “Re-Animator” movie was over the top. This one went around the bend.
Herbert’s megalomania keeps him going in his pursuit of god status. He wants the power to restore life. And his jealousy toward women makes him want to create life. Herbert’s immaturity is also evident. His penchant for sticking together different body parts just to see what happens would be childish if it were legos or a Mr. Potato head but this is people. This is mad scientist.
So what keeps these two tied together? I can see why Herbert needs Dan. I believe his latent homosexuality means he is in love with Dan. He wants to please him so he makes him a woman. Not any woman would do. It has to be one that Herbert created himself specifically for Dan. As for Dan’s reasoning to keep hanging out with Herbert, I’m not sure. There must be either a serious case of hero worship and/or some latent homosexual feelings on his side as well.