Good idea lost in the noise

Fantastic!

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Simply put, an atmospheric horror masterpiece worthy of having been adapted from short epistolary novel (51,500 words) by H. P. Lovecraft in 1927.The novel, set in 1918, describes how Charles Dexter Ward becomes obsessed with his distant ancestor, Joseph Curwen, an alleged wizard with unsavory habits. Ward physically resembles Curwen, and attempts to duplicate his ancestor's Qabalistic and alchemical feats. He eventually uses this knowledge to physically resurrect Curwen. Ward's doctor, Marinus Bicknell Willett, investigates Ward's activities and is horrified by what he finds.This film closely follows the novel. Dan O Bannon who wrote the screenplay for Alien, and was co-screen writer for Total Recall 1990, Invaders from Mars 1986, Lifeforce 1985, directs this film superbly.The most well known film personality is Christopher Sarandon, whereas the most known TV personality is John Terry. Robert Romanus is also a well known B-film actor who has starred in films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High(1982), Bad Medicine(1985) and Pulse(1988). Plot: Claire Ward (Sibbett) hires private investigator John March (Terry) to look into the increasingly bizarre activities of her husband Charles Dexter Ward (Sarandon). Ward has become obsessed with the occult practices of raising the dead once practiced by his ancestor Joseph Curwen (Sarandon in a dual role). As the investigators dig deeper, they discover that Ward is performing a series of grisly experiments in an effort to actually resurrect his long-dead relative Curwen. Watch the film to find out what happens next...Verdict: 10/10. Guaranteed to satisfy seasoned horror film enthusiasts. Beautiful background sound, photography and special effects. The director succeeds in creating an atmosphere of Lovecraftian horror. It becomes so apparent when I was watching the film, that had this film been released before Clive Barker's Hellraiser, many people would have given the acclaim that this film truly deserves. Suffice to say it is the best film made by the late Dan O Bannon(September 30, 1946 – December 17, 2009). Movies based on H.P. Lovecraft: Re-Animator 1985, H.P. Lovecraft's: Necronomicon 1994, From Beyond 1986, Dagon 2001, Castle Freak 1995, The Call of Cthulhu 2005, The Unnamable 1988, The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter 1993. There are many more films, I can't write down all of them. Just type: Films based one H.P. Lovecraft in Google search, and you will get a list.Thanks for reading, live long and prosper.

I love Lovecraft stories. Living in Massachusetts and spending summers in Northern Vermont put my childhood smack dab in the middle of his world. All the creepy elements of his stories invoke moods that I already felt and saw. Like Hitchcock, Lovecraft makes use of the readers imagination instead of blatant descriptions that may or may not let down the reader. One cannot fault one's own imagination for coming up with gore and deep implications Lovecraft puts forth for consideration. Unfortunately, todays movies feel the need to put everything in your face, too weak for some, too strongly for others. I have been searching for a good film adaptation of a Lovecraft story for quite a while. I found the re-animator series cute, but without any serious bite. Likewise for From Beyond. The black and white (and silent) "Cthulhu" came verbatim from the book, and I couldn't even finish it, having reread the story a week before. The new "Cthulhu" was horrible. "Resurrected" captured the mood in many places and follows the original story somewhat, but fails to make the primary connection between Curwins centuries old bid for resurrection (using his great, great, great grandson Charles Ward as a catalyst) and his continued intention of raising an Old One. Marsh makes note of the urns in the laboratory containing the remains of wizards and practitioners of the black arts, but fails to relate that Curwin was resurrecting them for their knowledge and power. The flashback raiding party, instead of being the culmination of the Curwin attempt to bring forth the Great Old One Yog-Sothoth, merely marks the incident from the book. There is no link between how close Curwin got and the fact that his resurrected body in the guise of Charles Ward is currently attempting the same thing. This is a crucial part of the story and makes this movie version a less than complete letdown.

"The Resurrected" is a really great film with only a few small flaws to it.**SPOILERS**Going to his investigation service, Claire Ward, (Jane Sibbett) meets up with John March, (John Terry) for help in trying to determine why her husband Charles Dexter Ward, (Chris Sarandon) moved out of their house to continue his chemical experiments. Taking up the case, he ventures out to find out what happened, he finds that a series of shipments to him concerning human bones are in his possession, even though he consistently claims otherwise. Further investigation reveals that he is studying black magic, like his ancestor Joseph Curwen, (Chris Sarandon) to whom he bares an almost uncanny resemblance and forcing him to believe that he has become by his spirit to carry on his work in modern times. Despite a raid on his house that puts him away, they are still convinced something is going on when a series of brutal slayings occurs around town, forcing them to delve deeper into the past to uncover the real nature of the experiments, and are soon plunged into a terrifying world that they won't be able to escape from easily.The Good News: This here was a very impressive film with a lot right about it. One thing it gets right is that the house where it takes place in is pretty creepy. An old Victorian monstrosity that looms large over a gigantic graveyard, with old wooden frames, tattered windows and dead and dying plants and bushes laying around give an impressive atmosphere here, and the talk about the stench coming from a location which looks like that gives it a lot of credibility since it isn't out the question for such a place to be like that. The constant uses of thunderstorms or heavy rains makes for some wonderful atmosphere in here, and there's some fantastic scenes to come about because of them. The flashback to the ancestor's times is really great as well, being creepy, action-packed and wonderfully gory, setting up a lot of greatness to come. The best is the discovery of what was fished out of the river, which is one of the most memorable and iconic-looking faces around in here, and with first-rate make-up work that helps it out even more, this one is a fantastic scene that is entirely memorable. It's also nicely done that there's a healthy amount of work done in here that feels akin to the intent of the original stories, with the different topics, themes and interests that it brings up. It's all quite fun to see these all inside. Also fun is what is all in the last half hour. From the journey through the catacombs through to the confrontations in the mental asylum, this one here is just packed with goodness. Included in there is most of the gore and some fantastic creepy moments that are tense and just all-out fun. The last thing that works in here is the gore, as this is a pretty bloody tale that features a lot of goodness to come from it. There's more than a couple bodies that are melted down to a pile of flesh and blood in one huge heap, there's the discovery from the flashback which provides some more, one has their flesh peeled off in chunks and there's a large amount of mangled and incomplete bodies that are seen in many locations, giving this one a fantastic amount of bloodshed that really helps this one out. These here are the film's good points.The Bad News: This one here has only a few flaws. The main one here is that it feels a little too long at times. This is due to the really long beginning before it gets to the great parts in the later half, and with the introduction being more about the mysterious disappearance more than the actual plot about the resurrection formulas that come into play later, and this derailment from, the true emphasis into the other area, makes for a slow-start to this one before it really hits it's stride, and by the time that it switches over to the good parts, it's pretty deep and it really feels much longer than it should be. The last flaw in here is that the film has a much more intellectual feeling to it, relying more on other tactics rather than just having stuff bounce out of the shadows to generate the scares, and for those who are into the more campy aspects of the genre will find a film like this to be a tad dull. Otherwise, this here had only a few flaws.The Final Verdict: A really fun and underrated entry, with a lot of good stuff that helps it to overcome the few flaws in here. Give this a chance if you're in the mood for a film of this type, a fan of the authors work or just plain interested, but those who can't appreciate the intellectual side should seek caution.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language

"The Resurrected" is a fine little re-animator style gore fest from the early nineties. It takes awhile for the aforementioned fest to begin, but when it does, every viewer who ever read/wrote a letter to "Fangoria" magazine should be pleased. So should fans of the fine (both as in looks and as in talent) actor Chris Sarandon, who has delivered in every film I've seen him in. (Yes, I'm a Fright Night freak).It begins with an escape from an asylum, where we are - perhaps I spoke too hastily in my first paragraph - treated to the sight of a partially-eaten body. The escapee, we learn, is Charles Dexter Ward (Sarandon). We then go back in time, to when Ward's dish of a wife (Jane Sibbett, looking her Hitchock-blonde best and delivering a good performance as well), goes to a private investigator (John Terry, passable; Sarandon is the real highlight)and expresses her concern over Ward, who has just moved out of their house after she has refused to allow him to continue his mysterious "reaserch" in their home. She has not spoken to him in some time, and their first wedding anniversary is approaching.Anyhow, there follows a bizarre tale that boils down to: Ward has become obsessed with an anscestor of his, who, in addition to being physically identical to Ward, had discovered a way to re-animate dead people. We travel back to this anscestor's time, where we are treated to the sight of a failed re-animating "experiment" floating in a lake and subsequently burned alive (an act of mercy, believe me) on a woodpile.Ward, as it turns out, has discovered and duplicated the research and brought his identical forebear back to life. But, it seems that this particular method of re-animation comes with a catch; the "subject" must have fresh (preferably human) meat to survive. Poor Ward, it turns out, has been murdered by his own re-animated anscestor, who, being identical and all, has assumed his identity after some time masquerading in a fake beard as the mysterious "Dr. Ash".The final confrontation between the investigator, who has discovered the truth, and the false-Ward is the true highlight of the film, largely due to Sarandon's performance. (Yes, I'm a Fright-Night freak, as I said, but you don't have to be to be impressed by his performance here). He chews the scenery with his (fake) bad teeth and is genuinely menacing, especially in the moment when he tears himself out of the straight-jacket.I won't give away the ending, partly because, I must confess, I'm still somewhat confused by it. (I've only seen the film once as of this writing). But I am now planning a Halloween double-feature of this film and the inestimable Fright Night; what a perfect night to spend with Chris! I would recommend this to horror/gore buffs of any stripe.Cheers.