The first Re-Animator movie is a deserved cult and gore classic and after 1989's disappointing Bride Of Re-Animator I can assure you my hopes weren't high for this second sequel. Surprisingly enough though thanks to its ideal setting (horror flicks set in prisons usually have a mood advantage right off the bat), quick pacing and lots of appealling gruesome moments this turns out to be one heck of a follow-up.

Jeffrey Combs returns to his career defining role as Dr. Herbert West and is at his deadpan best when thirteen years after being tossed in prison for his re-animation experiments he's brought on to assistant the prison's new doctor (Jason Barry) who it turns out saw one of his resurrected zombies kill his sister as a child and wants to help West continue his experiments. Of course, this being a Re-Animator movie, the experiments soon get out of hand and we have resurrected zombies causing all sorts of havoc which to top it all off is made worse by a prison riot in the finale.

Kicking it off right with one sweet zombie attack (it's missing it's lower jaw and looks grandly sick) this is the lightest on gore of the series but still entertains thanks to all sorts of morbid humour, Comb's performance and lots of impressive bloody set pieces (a half-bodied zombie is lasso'd through the air, a junkie con shoots up re-agent with gooey results and there's some crazy body contortions in the finale).

If you love the first two movies then there's no reason you shouldn't enjoy this one too - it's demented enough to please anyone wanting to see the continuing adventures of a one Dr. Herbert West. Be sure to stick around during the end credits for one of the funniest moments in the series history. (Chris Hartley, 5/7/04)

Directed By: Brian Yuzna.
Written By: Jose Manuel Gomez.

Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry, Elsa Pataky, Enrique Arce.