Cult-Classic Lovecraft Horror Movie Is Getting a Remake

H.P. Lovecraft breathed life into several classic horror stories that helped define the genre over the years. According to Deadline, Lovecraft’s work is once again being primed for a new film. Haunting in Connecticut screenwriters Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe are working on an updated adaptation of Lovecraft’s Herbert West: Reanimator. The novella is about a brilliant scientist who pursues ways to prolong life, creating a “reagent” in the process that brings the dead back to life, leading to deadly trouble. The story has already spawned the cult Re-Animator franchise, with the original 1985 Re-Animator movie being loosely based on Lovecraft’s story. However, this new update aims to adapt the novella while moving it into a contemporary setting.

“We are very excited for Woodlake and the amazing team assembled to reinvent this classic horror literature into a contemporary, frightening feature film,” Woodlake Entertainment owner Jeffrey Lewis said. The production will be the first of many new “elevated genre” movies set to be developed and financed by the company in the coming years.

Herbert West: Reanimator follows the titular doctor, who has created a serum that can “reanimate” the bodies of the deceased. Set in the 1920s, the story is told by an unnamed narrator and former medical student who ends up helping West steal supplies from the medical school and steal bodies from the graveyard. The serialized story is one of the first depictions of classic “zombies” in pop culture, and established some of Lovecraft’s fictional locales, like the Miskatonic University near Arkham.

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The narrator and West work together for years, even going to World War I to obtain more bodies for their work. Like most mad scientists, Herbert West ends up the victim of his creations. He is gutted and loses his head before the reanimated venture off into the night. The narrator survives but is labeled a madman.

Herbert West: Reanimator inspired several adaptations over the years, the most notable being the 1985 film. Jeffrey Combs seals his spot in horror history as West, portraying the doctor as a wild-eyed mad scientist. Combs returned to the role for two sequels, first in Bride of Re-Animator in 1990 and again in Beyond Re-Animator in 2003. Re-Animator is available to stream through Full Moon Features’ channel on Prime Video. The new film won’t have any connection to the Stuart Gordon-directed cult classic, so fans should expect a shift away from the cartoonish gore of that series.

How do you feel about a different take on the Lovecraft classic? Will it be able to exist outside of the shadow of Re-Animator? Let us know in the comments.