By now Lovecraft was more or less established, although most of the film adaptations changed the story (unseen horror beyond the keen of the mind can be rather hard to film), so it shouldn't come as a surprise when they decide to remake one of the older films. The Resurrected took the Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward in a different direction. Did it do it better than the Haunted Palace?
We open with a frenzied scene in asylum. Orderlies, doctors, and a disgruntled janitor rush towards one of the rooms. Whatever is happening is a bit messy, as the room is covered in blood and entrails, with a small pile of ash in the center the only clue.
Flashing back, Claire Ward (Jane Sibbett) hires PI John March (John Terry) to investigate her husband Charles (Chris Sarandon). He's been behaving strangely lately. First by turning an old carriage house into a secret lab, followed by odd deliveries at all hours. The unholy screaming coming from the lab is also a bit odd. When asked, Charles promptly moved lock, stock, and strange bloody bags to a remote cabin out in the woods.
Investigating, March finds Ward is ordering a tremendous amount of blood and raw meat from the local slaughterhouse, but when he finds one of Ward's few neighbors missing most of their skin he decides this isn't some simple domestic dispute.
Calling the police, Ward is promptly arrested, but Claire isn't satisfied. After doing some rooting around in the old cabin, March finds what may be the answer. An old trunk was mailed to Charles a few weeks before. Inside was a journal of Charles's ancestor, Joseph Curwen (Chris Sarandon). Curwen was involved in some hickey stuff, it seems, and it looks like Charles seems rather keen on following in Curwen's footsteps.
This is enough to convince Claire and March that maybe Charles wasn't some random nut, but something far worse. Heading back to the old Ward cabin with a redshirt (Robert Romanus) and enough C-4 to punch a hole in the planet, can Claire and March stop Curwen's plan?
Not bad; the flashback and scenes in Curwen's basement are in particular are shot with the right amount of tension and claustrophobia. Sarandon is no Price though. If you can find a copy, it is worth a look.
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