Roger Ebert Praised This Low-Budget H.P. Lovecraft Adaptation That Spawned A Movie Franchise

Roger Ebert wasn't always kind toward '80s sci-fi horror movies that still terrify audiences. The famous critic even dismissed John Carpenter's "The Thing" as a gross-out affair with poorly written characters — an opinion most horror aficionados probably disagree with. With that in mind, you might be shocked to learn that Ebert enjoyed Stuart Gordon's "Re-Animator," an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West — Reanimator" that's full of schlock and awe.

Roger Ebert's three-star review praised Gordon's gory horror film for boasting genuine artistic ambitions, despite being part of a so-called trashy genre. "I walked out somewhat surprised and reinvigorated (if not re-animated) by a movie that had the audience emitting taxi whistles and wild goat cries. In its own way, on its own terms, in its corrupt genre, this movie worked as well as any other movie in the [Sundance] festival."

"Re-Animator" stars Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a scientist who becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. However, his experiments spawn zombie-like creatures that don't play nice, proving that it's wiser to let the deceased rest in peace. That said, West doesn't learn his lesson — in fact, "Re-Animator" was merely the beginning of this mad scientist's quest to play God.

You can't talk about the concept of reanimation in horror and sci-fi without mentioning Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and its film adaptations. Shelley's shocker is probably the most popular story about a scientist resurrecting the dead. Therefore, it's fitting that the "Re-Animator" franchise paid homage to it with Brian Yuzna's "Bride of Re-Animator." The sequel takes cues from 1935's "Bride of Frankenstein," a horror classic that centers around Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his attempts to create a lover for the Monster (Boris Karloff). "Bride of Re-Animator," meanwhile, sees Herbert West try to create life from scratch by using the heart of his assistant's ex-girlfriend. It doesn't go well.

The next installment, "Beyond Re-Animator," sees West doing hard time in prison for his crimes. This should have marked the end of the scientist's illegal experiments, but the arrival of a new doctor, who also has macabre interests, allows West to return to his old habits. What could possibly go wrong? "Bride of Re-Animator" currently boasts a 57% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while "Beyond Re-Animator" sits at 52%. Critics generally agree that neither sequel is a must-see horror movie, but schlock aficionados might have fun with their excessive gore, general mayhem, and twisted sense of humor.