The Resurrected

Plot

Claire Ward (Sibbett) hires private investigator John March (Terry) to look into the increasingly bizarre activities of her husband Charles Dexter Ward (Sarandon). Ward has become obsessed with the occult practices of raising the dead once used by his ancestor Joseph Curwen (Sarandon in a dual role). As the investigators dig deeper, they discover that Ward is performing a series of grisly experiments in an effort to actually resurrect his long-dead relative Curwen.

Cast

Production history

Director O'Bannon and screenwriter Brent V. Friedman had developed the Lovecraft property independently of each other. Friedman's version of the script was titled Shatterbrain. While Friedman receives sole writing credit, O'Bannon did incorporate some of his own ideas into the project. O'Bannon's original title for the film was The Ancestor, which was later changed to The Resurrected after being re-cut and altered by the studio for theatrical release.

Critical reception

In their book Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft, Andrew Migliore and John Strysik write: "The Resurrected is the best serious Lovecraftian screen adaptation to date, with a solid cast, decent script, inventive direction, and excellent special effects that do justice to one of [Lovecraft's] darker tales."

Release

The film was given a short-lived theatrical release on June 1, 1991. It was then released direct to video on April 15, 1992 by Live Home Video in the United States. It was later released on DVD internationally through Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 2003, and in the United States through Lionsgate in 2005.