The Film (4/5)

    Cinematic adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft's work have been happening at least since the 1960's (I'm looking at you Roger Corman). However, Lovecraft as an author working on more metaphysical and otherworldly terms has a very difficult time translating from the written word to the visual language of cinema. Only a handful of directors have handled his work with the respect and care it needs to be done right, and fortunately Dan O'Bannon's second and sadly final film The Resurrected is one of the ones that gets it right.

    The Resurrected is an adaptation of Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.  Chris Sarandon stars as Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist who had become obsessed with his ancestor Joseph Curwen who was a necromancer/alchemist in his own time, roughly 3 centuries prior.  As the story begins Ward's wife Claire has become concerned with his behavior and his recent arrest over the possession of some dead bodies, and hires a private investigator John March (John Terry) to investigate. This leads March into Ward's obsession with beating death using Curwen's ancient secrets. Of course, defeating death isn't as easy as mixing a few ingredients, and March begins to discover some grotesque things under the surface of Ward's research.

    The Resurrected is a solid entry into the lineage of Lovecraftian cinema. It blends the gross out cinema O'Bannon became known for with Return of the Living Dead and Lovecraft's original story. The pacing is a bit slow, at times, but when the film picks up it does so quite well. There is also a really amazing flashback sequence to the colonial era of Joseph Curwen that is almost worth the price of admission alone. Performances throughout are quite solid, and though not set in the time of the Lovecraft story, the adapted characters work well in the 90’s era of the piece.

Audio/Video (4/5)

    Scream presents The Resurrected with a solid 1:85:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer that preserves the original OAR of the film. Detail is solid, color reproduction is fine, and honestly, colors here are more natural, and those are maintained. There is a natural, but not 

The audio is handled by an English DTS-HD MA 2.0. Every thing sounds quite clear and crisp here, and I found no issues.

Extras (5/5)

    Oddly, not labeled a collector's edition but packed like one Scream Factory has loaded up this one like it is. There is a commentary track with producers, writers, actors, and FX artist. We also get a bunch of interviews with creatives behind the film, and also with Lovecraft expert S.T. Joshi, deleted and extended scenes, multiple trailers, the Chainsaw Awards win for the film, and more.

Overall

    The Resurrected is an excellent Lovecraft adaptation and has been neglected on home video for too long. The Blu-ray looks and sounds excellent, and has an IMMENSE slate of extras. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.