Review: Bride of the Re-animator (1990)

Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott

Directed By: Brian Yuzna

Budget: $2 million

It took quite a while for this sequel to happen and in that time Barbara Crampton (under advisory) said no to a cameo then it changed directorial hands to Brian Yuzna. Not a bad change Yuzna is not inept when it comes to comedy horror.

So even though West and Dan have clearly aged 5 years since the last film this is set 8 months after the last one and they are both in the Peruvian jungles using their medical expertise to heal the wounded.
West and Dan are still testing out refined serums but this unfortunately comes to an end for them when they are stopped by enemy soldiers.

They some how make it back home and set up back in Dan's old house. West once again making a lab in the basement. They also somehow get their positions back at Miskatonic hospital too.
They manage to sneak out body parts from the morgue now and then and also from a cemetery conveniently next door. You see West has figured out that the serum can re-animate any dead tissue not just whole beings.

When he discovers Dan's old fiancee's heart he deems he should build her a whole new body for Dan. Another doctor Wilbur Graves also discovers from the leftovers of the massacre Dr Hill's head and a small vial of the reagent. He uses on the head and brings good old Dr Hill back to life.
A police officer who bears a grudge against both West and Cain starts to snoop around, following their actions. He's sure they had something to do with the massacre as they escaped unharmed and also His wife was one of the re-animated dead.

Snooping enough he comes across West's experiments and they start fighting. West has a special chemical now though that when inhaled caused cardiac arrest almost immediately and uses it on the cop. West of course reanimates the cop who is suitably bewildered and violently escapes into the cemetery next door.

With a fresh new reanimated corpse Hill uses his mind control to bring the police officer to him. Hill hates West now due to all the trouble he caused him previously. In perhaps the oddest thing in the movie or possibly anything I've seen he makes the cop sew giant bat-wings onto his head. Yes bat-wings, so he can flap about okay!
He then uses his powers to control all of the reanimated that actually survived the night of the massacre.

Meanwhile Dan has been caring for a terminally ill patient called Gloria, when she eventually succumbs to her malady West uses her head as the last piece of whats needed to make the new girl for Dan. Once he has finished Dan watches on as West pumps the serum directly into the heart. While they are waiting a package is delivered, which just so happens to be Hill's flappy head. Also all the reanimates start attacking too.

Back down the basement the bride awakes but Dan's heart has been claimed by another and he realizes he doesn't want this anymore. The woman is Francesca who he met in Peru, a photographer, a fight breaks out between the two women. When Dan openly rejects the bride she reaches inside her chest and rips out Megan's heart offering it to Dan. She proceeds to fall apart. West quotes almost inhumanly tissue rejection!

Dan, Francesca and West break through the basement wall into a crypt next door to escape Hill and horde of reanimates. Although creepily here we see West has been experimenting like a mad man and all of his previous creations also rise up. The crypt has been compromised though and starts to cave in as the try to escape.

That's where i stop for spoiling the end of the movie, on good films at least is not my thing. Theres not much left after this though but it's a good ending to a decent sequel. Unfortunately the sequels didn't end there. a third was made quite some years on. We'll see how that fairs in a future review, as for Bride gets a well deserved 4 out 5 stars from THN.