Greetings, Boils & Ghouls...
...and welcome to 'Day Seven' of "Awesome Horror Streams for Hallowe'en Screams on Roku" where I will be bringing you my top picks of the fright flicks in the carefully curated catalogue of macabre movies from the 'Shudder UK' horror streaming service - any of which can then be streamed to your television via the magic of Roku player - so, let's dim the lights... and prepare for some frights! :-O
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which was published last Saturday, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - which was published last Saturday, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
Re-Animator (1985) [British Quad Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: liveauctioneers.com
This adaptation tells the story of how a dedicated student in medical college & his girlfriend become involved in a series of bizarre experiments (centered around the re-animation of dead tissue) when an odd new student arrives on campus as a housemate. With the emphasis on humour, you could say this was just a send-up of the original H.P. Lovecraft story but, once they have injected some life into the corpses (if you'll pardon my film-based pun), there is plenty of gore to add some horror credentials - just ask the special effects department, who went through 25 gallons of fake blood during the shoot!
Al Berry as Dr. Gruber in Re-Animator (1985)
PHOTO CREDIT: cinematicautopsy.com
If you haven't seen this film before, here is a brief taster in the shape of the original trailer for this timeless horror comedy science-fiction classic, courtesy of the Arrow Video 'YouTube' channel:-
If you'd like to know more... there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "Re-Animator" (1985), FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there's even more tidbits of information to be had from the Wikipedia Page for Stuart Gordon's "Re-Animator" (1985) VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, if you're as much of a fan of this film as I am, or have a penchant for eighties horror in general, it probably won't take too much persuading for you to watch this absolute gem of a movie again! ;-) :-)
Re-Animator (1985) [USA Movie Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Falling From Vertigo
Anyway... you probably guessed already but, if not, this film (like the others from this series of posts) is also available via the 'Shudder' streaming service and can be easily viewed on any Roku device via their dedicated channel (app) for these streaming media players. There are other opportunities for UK Roku users to watch "Re-Animator" (1985), including via 'Amazon Video' where it is (currently) only £0.99 (yes, just ninety-nine pence) to rent this film in either 'SD' or 'HD' quality - although I'd suggest taking a look at some possible free alternatives before you part with any money, because this is one movie for which I know there are free sources available. However, since my original idea for this month-long blogathon was to suggest thirty-one great Hallowe'en / Horror themed movies from the fang-tastic 'Shudder UK' streaming service, I'm recommending you stream it on their channel! ;-) :-)
If you haven't already added it to your channel selection, you will find "Shudder" listed among the "Film & TV" channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. You can easily add it to your Roku player(s) by navigating to the built-in 'Channel Store' (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the home screen on your Roku device) and scrolling through the options until you see the channel icon (pictured above). It's completely FREE-TO-ADD so, once you've located it in the list of channels, just click the "OK" button on your Roku remote to select it and then click "OK" again where it says 'Add channel' to install it on your Roku player(s). Having done that, it's simply a case of launching the channel via the 'Go to channel' option and navigating the on-screen menu to log-in (if you already have an account, but haven't yet done so) or start your free trial (if you are new to the service) and, once you see 'Shudder TV' playing on the screen, just push the "DOWN" arrow on your Roku remote to get to the main menu... from where you can "Search" for the film, "Re-Animator", and then press "OK" to select and 'Play' the 1985 movie by that name which, for the record, runs to 1h 23mins.
LINK TO WATCH 'Re-Animator' (1985) ONLINE VIA THE 'SHUDDER UK' WEBSITE
Unfortunately for readers outside the UK, at the time of writing, this horror comedy sci-fi classic does not appear to be available via 'Shudder' in the U.S. or Canada... however, as suggested earlier for streamers in the UK, there are numerous other Roku streaming sources at your disposal so it might be best to check for any free alternatives that might be available before you pay to rent this film. If you get stuck, message me via Twitter: @ukrokuchannels and I'll sort you out with a link if need be! ;-) :-)
Meanwhile, for that full cinema experience, here's a few of the other film posters that movie-goers in 1985 (and more recently) would have encountered depending on their location around the world:
Re-Animator (1985) [Alternative Poster #1]
PHOTO CREDIT: Demon's Resumé
Re-Animator (1985) [Alternative Poster #2]
PHOTO CREDIT: comingsoon.net
Re-Animator (1985) [Thai Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Foreign Movie Posters
Re-Animator (1985) [Contemporary Poster Art]
PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Jones
Re-Animator (1985) [Special Screening Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Written In Blood
Finally, to round-off this 7th instalment in my month-long blogathon on 'Day Seven' for this 2017 edition of the 'Countdown To Halloween', here's more FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACTS... for example, did you know that Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Robert Sampson, and director Stuart Gordon all paid visits to both an insane asylum and a morgue in preparation for the film? Or, that the "brains" used in the severed head were made up of meat by-products, ground beef & fake blood!?! And, when they shot the scene in the autopsy room with the severed head being thrown out the door before smashing onto the hallway wall, the crew were all behind the cameras with garbage bags over their clothes as no-one could be certain quite how much the "brains" would splatter!
Other interesting tidbits of trivia include the fact that the first man to be re-animated at the morgue is Peter Kent, Arnold Schwarzenegger's stunt double on fourteen films from The Terminator (1984) to Jingle All the Way (1996). Also, the doctor Herbert West re-animates in the opening scene is named "Hans Gruber", which just so happens to be the same name used for the villain in 'Die Hard' (1988), a role played by Alan Rickman, which was an action movie starring Bruce Willis released 3 years later!