#brian west

[classichorrorblog]

Bride Of Re-Animator (1990)

[opalwisteria]

Blasphemy? Before what? God?

I will not be shackled by the failures of YOUR god.

The only blasphemy is to wallow in insignificance.

[periwinklefemur]

"Worship of the Female Form" - Alméry Lobel-Riche // "Bride of Re-Animator" - Brian Yuzna

[milton-dammers]

Beyond Re-Animator (2003) Herbert West

[gl4m0ur0us]

women in horror: red

carrie (1976)

house (1977)

suspiria (1977)

pearl (2022)

the shining (1980)

the love witch (2016)

black swan (2010)

us (2019)

terfs dni with this post

[heliojip]

i asked brian yuzna if the transgender and queercoding in bride of reani was intentional and he told me herbert gets off putting body parts together. my mother always told me not to look a gift horse in the mouth...

[qimidapigu]

Four characters with glasses

[astralbondpro]

Bride of Re-Animator // Dir. Brian Yuzna

[stone-stars]

Transcript:

Murph, with ominous music playing behind him: Sol and Calder, you guys start to walk around the ruins of the fortress here, and you see-- Caldwell: The Frogson to your Holmes. [A pause. Emily and Jake make inquisitive noises in synch. Music cuts out.] Caldwell: Continue. [Jake laughs nervously.] Caldwell, with increasing desperation: Continue. Continue! Jake, laughing: I don't-- Emily, softly: The what? Murph: The frogs into your-- Caldwell: The Frogson to your Holmes. Jake: Oh. So I-- It's-- Caldwell: The Watson to your Holmes. Emily, with realization: Oooooh. Murph: Good lord, Caldwell. [Jake, Caldwell, and then Emily laugh.] Caldwell: I-- We didn't need to dwell on it is the thing. I just said it casually! [Emily laughs harder.] Murph: Now we have to! Jake: I genuinely just-- Murph: Jesus christ! Jake: I just didn't-- I didn't-- Caldwell: I just don't think it's worth this level of attention. [Murph laughs.] Jake: Frankly I didn't hear it! Emily: I-- it was-- the funny part too, was that Caldwell said it at Jake, and Jake (laughs) did not get it and was nervously laughing (cackles) Murph: Yeah (laughs) Jake: I was-- Caldwell: It was a little views for Jake and honestly, it was not for either of you! [Emily laughing in the background.] Jake: It wasn't that I wasn't laugh-- I truly didn't hear it! [Caldwell laughs.] Murph: I was also mid-description. I was also speaking! Jake: I didn't clock what you said! [Emily laughs harder. Everyone starts talking over each other.] Murph: Good god. Jake: I thought you said "let the frog into your home." Murph and Emily: Yeah! Caldwell: Let's just-- let's just keep it moving. I just think we should keep moving. Jake: You had me like huh? Why did you say that a frog-- Murph: Just like-- let the-- frog homes? What? Caldwell: I just think it would be great if we could keep moving. [Jake laughs.] Murph: (laughs) Oh, yeah, we can keep going. Caldwell: I'm really excited to hear the story. [Emily laughs harder.] Murph: Sweet. So. Calder (Jake): Elementary, dear Frogson. Murph: You guys-- [Everyone laughs] Caldwell: Don't, man. Emily: Callie takes out the shit note. [Everyone laughs harder.] Murph: H--Holmes and Frogson walk around the grounds.

[lemonzone]

I've hired this roach to stare at you

[f-misc]

Spies Are Forever West End Concert rehearsals in full swing!

[joe-spookyy]

something i find intriguing about re-animator (1985) and its sequel bride of re-animator (1990) is how truly similar they are to frankenstein (1931) and bride of frankenstein (1934), SPECIFICALLY in regards to their queercoding. the original re-animator stories were of course, according to lovecraft, written as a parody to mary shelley’s frankenstein. however in the cases of both films and their sequels, they differ significantly from the original source material. interestingly, though, it seems they have a lot in common with each other. sound interesting? read on.

obviously, there are base level similarities in the original frankenstein movie and original re-animator movie. both feature a classic mad scientist figure with the goal to conquer death. and both films end with the supposed death of their mad scientists, along with their creations. but where the real similarities, as well as the heavier queercoding comes in, is with bride of frankenstein, and of course, bride of re-animator.

so, to draw the comparisons and explain the queercoding, we first have to establish the characters, and who they tie to in the other film. first, we look at the classic queercoded mad scientist. in the first movie, herbert west is mirrored by henry frankenstein. however, in bride of frankenstein, the character that more lines up with his character archetype and plot line is dr. septimus praetorius. for those unfamiliar with the character, dr praetorius seeks out henry frankenstein, a former student of his, hoping for his assistance in creating life. although the relationship between dan cain and herbert west is not that of a teacher/student arrangement, we still see herbert seeking out dan’s help in building the bride. and of course, both west and praetorius are often read as queer. with west as praetorius, dan cain falls in as henry frankenstein. both are reluctant to return to the whole re-animating dead bodies business, clinging onto the life of “normalcy” they think they can have, and pushing back against the other man who is trying to draw them back in. dan and henry are both less often read as queer, but if you step back, it’s very easy to see.

now, we can look at the plot and how it influences a queer reading of the characters. aside from the similarities in name, there’s a lot in common in the two movies. early in the bride of frankenstein, praetorius tries to draw henry in with some of his own miniature creations - several small homunculi. this actually sort of mirrors the scene we all know and love from bride of reanimator, where herbert brings the finger/eyeball puppy to life. there’s a little more queercoding in the scene from re-animator. herbert reads almost like a proud father, showing the critter to dan, and it’s then followed by dan telling herbert that he’s “moving out”, coming across as almost a breakup/i’m leaving you moment, which is met with extreme dismay.

of course, in both cases, these small demonstrations aren’t quite enough to sway henry and dan to the cause. praetorius starts by promising henry his original creation, the creature, as long as henry helps him craft a bride, but ends up having to step things up and uses henry’s fiancée, elizabeth, as bait to convince him. sound a bit familiar? in bride of re-animator, herbert convinces dan to join in again on the reanimation with promises that he can return his dead fiancée meg to him. again, this scene plays out significantly more homoerotically, with herbert producing meg’s heart and offering it to dan. yeah. herbert offered dan his heart. and it works. dan’s sold. now, you’re probably thinking, what’s so homoerotic about joining forces with a man just to get your girl back? well. listen. it’s more, in this case on the part of herbert and praetorius. there’s something very homoerotic in using love to entice a man into creating life with you. and yes, technically it is heterosexuality being taken advantage of here. but there’s still a bit of seduction that’s happening. if herbert and praetorius can’t draw the others in the way they’d like to, they know they can take advantage of the emotions on dan and henry’s end.

additionally, we know west and praetorius are queercoded from more than just this specific scenario. it comes through simply in the way the actors portray them, their lines, and their actions. praetorius was intended that way, despite the movie being produced in an era where the hays code was enforced. actor ernest theisger was allegedly told by director james whale, an out gay man, to play the character as an “over the top caricature of a bitchy and aging homosexual.” which. is kind of hilarious. and herbert west is. well. where do i even begin. actor jeffrey combs chose to play him in a Way, and there are nods to herbert’s lack of interest in women throughout both films (to me beyond reanimator does not exist), most overtly shown when one of his coworkers asks herbert if a recently female deceased patient was attractive, and is met with the single most effective “are you fucking stupid” stare i have ever seen. this, in my opinion is clearer than if he would have just declared then and there that he was a homosexual. but i digress. he also shows nothing but disdain and frankly, a little jealousy, towards dan’s girlfriends, slinking away to sulk in the basement and reanimate some random limbs, or, in the first movie, pushing meg out of the frame and physically coming between her and dan in the shot, symbolic of how he promptly pushes her out of dan’s life entirely.

but what about dan and henry? as far as we’ve discussed, they don’t seem to be reciprocating any of herbert or praetorius’s advances. BUT when it comes time to create the titular brides, both dan and henry seem to finally give in to the temptations. of course, there’s the inherent homoeroticism of creating life with another man. and of course, dan choosing to stick with herbert despite what he’s been put through doesn’t make a lot of sense if you don’t consider there might be more than friendship involved there. but what really matters is how they both lean into it towards the end of their respective films, throwing away their chance at a “normal” heterosexual life with elizabeth (in henry’s case) or francesca (in dan’s) to stick with their own queercoded little mad scientists and continue the work. the moment where each of them finally gives in is clear. henry’s comes when the first heart they attempt to put in the bride is not worthy, and he makes an Active choice and asks for another heart. dan’s is in the final seconds before re-animating their bride, when he makes an Active choice, taking the syringe from herbert and asking that he himself be the one to start the process. both men finally go from passively following their counterparts, in dan’s case rather like a dog to its master, to finally making that active choice and turning to the other side. and the other side, represented by west and praetorius and blasphemy and evil science, can also be a symbol of that queerness. they really step into and embrace creating life with that other man, despite the perfectly fine and normal life that they Could have with their fiancées. it can sort of be read as an allegory for homosexuality alongside bisexuality - praetorius and herbert both only have the scientific way of creating life, and no chance at societal “normalcy”, if we read them both as gay. and they bring henry and dan into their queerness, who can be read as bisexual: they have the opportunity to pursue a societally “normal” life. but they also have the opportunity to do the very opposite.

and finally, in true bury your gays fashion, dan and francesca, as well as henry and elizabeth, escape unharmed, while herbert and praetorius along with their creations, are left to die as the building collapses. the creature leaves us with the haunting line “we belong dead”, referring to himself, his bride, AND praetorius. they’re all, in their own ways, a part of a world they don’t belong to. and the same goes for herbert and his creations. in both movies, heterosexuality triumphs, since that’s what we’re supposed to see as “good” and “normal”, fitting in with our good and normal protagonists who both make the last minute choice to save their girls and escape, abandoning the other men to die. despite being queercoded, the idea of being queer cannot be endorsed by the narrative, and so the story must end this way. even in 1975’s incredibly queer film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is another frankenstein esque story, the queer creator frank n furter and his creation rocky both die, while janet and brad, a “straight” couple, manage to survive. it’s an interesting take on the idea of being doomed by the narrative that seems to appear in a lot of frankenstein adaptations.

anyways. sorry for yapping so hard but bride of frankenstein and bride of reanimator are so similar to each other that they end up queercoded in very similar ways and follow the same pattern as many frankenstein adaptations. yeah.

[opalwisteria]

I HAD TO KILL HIM!

What? He's dead?

...not anymore.

[re-jeracize]

started watching dexter

[milton-dammers]

Beyond Re-Animator (2003) Herbert West

[splooosh]

“End”

Brian Bolland