Cinefantastique Online

Icons of Fright has an interview with actor Jeffrey Combs, who discusses the proposed HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR, rumblings of which we have been hearing for some time now. The basic premise is that Combs’ character, resurrectionist Herbert West, would be clandestinely brought into the White House to revive a dead president.

The idea obviously is designed as a political satire, but Combs fears that Stuart Gordon (who directed the original and is expected to return for the sequel) wants to do something too specifically targeted to the current administration:

Well, this is one of those things where Stuart and I still have an on-going difference of opinion on! Because my argument was “Fine.” I love the idea of Herbert getting put into a political story where the President or Vice-President is dead and can’t be, so I resurrect him, bring him back and chaos ensues. I love that sort of idea! But where we sort of veer away from each other is that Stuart wants to do it right on the nose. Like an impersonation of Bush and Cheney and all of them. I just thought, firstly RE-ANIMATOR has never been a political vehicle and you’ve got a long way to go to convince me that it should be! And two, that’s fine now, but in two years I don’t know if it’s still relevant. Then as it came closer and closer to like, you have to write this thing, then you have to shoot it, then you have to post, then you have to release it before an election day, it became even more and more clear to me that it shouldn’t be an impersonation. It should be like DR. STRANGELOVE. Have a dynamic where there is a President and a Vice-President that are running rough-shot over all of our liberties and freedoms. But don’t have it be so obvious. When you see DR. STRANGELOVE, none of those people are particularly recognizable as anyone that’s ever been president. And yet, the point is made about power. Absolute power and corrupting absolutely. And so, that’s sort of been my take on it.