Re — Animator (1985) Features One of the Most Evil Villains in Horror

I was thrilled to watch Re — Animator in theaters again this year for the 40th anniversary. It was pretty awesome to watch this film on the big screen. The experience was amazing, and wow, this film still looks amazing for the time it was released. I knew after watching the movie again, I had to talk about one of the most evil villains in horror history.

I was in so much shock by the amount of gore present in the film, and I can’t believe the director was able to get away with everything that takes place in the story. It’s considered to be a Lovecraftian horror tale that contains a love story that is caught in the throes of evil.

A couple named Dan and Megan are caught in a horrible world of evil science experiments, that involve bringing back the dead. Dr. Herbert West meets the couple, and reveals his special syringe that is able to bring back the dead. His experiments lead to nothing but chaos and death.

And perhaps the biggest tragedy is what Dan and Megan go through at the hands of Herbert West. Like seriously, this dude is the reason why a lot of bad things happen throughout the entire film.

And Dr. West does not give a damn about what happens to anyone that gets in his way. All that matters to him is what he can accomplish with his science. He never really shows any regard for human life from the very beginning of the film. He is willing to bring back anyone for his experiments. He literally brings back a piece of shit doctor that is infatuated with Megan, who eventually goes after her when he realizes that he is now back from the dead.

West ends up killing Megan’s cat and her poor father, proceeding to bring both of them back to life as well, and it does not go well at all. Dan forcibly becomes the sidekick of Dr. West, finding himself stuck in a world of madness as he helps the doctor with his sick experiments.

And just when you think that this horror story can’t get any worse, the film ends with Dan and Megan getting one of the worst fates I have ever seen in a horror film. Toward the ending of the film, Megan is kidnapped by the sick perverted doctor, and Dr. Herbert West teams up with Dan to go and stop this monster from causing any more harm.

During the confrontation, Megan and Dan are able to escape, but they end up getting chased by bodies from the morgue who are back from the dead.

Despite all of their efforts to survive, poor Megan gets killed by the dead. Dan loses his mind, and the film ends with his character injecting Megan with the syringe, bringing her back from the dead. The screen goes black, and all we can hear is her character screaming.

Like what the hell did Dr. West hope to achieve here? This guy ruined so many lives, and he even disrupted the dead from their peaceful slumber. Watching Dan go into shock and bring the love of his life back is so heartbreaking to watch. They never deserved such an awful fate.

I think I would rate the evil of Dr. West from an 8/10.

He was super damn evil with never caring about what he did to others, but he didn’t outright murder anyone…except for one dude that deserved it.

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn