When it was my turn to pick the topic and movie for our Spinsters Fun Month, I was really excited as I selected the 1985 film, Re-Animator. Not just because it is a terrifically fun movie, but because it features my B-Horror movie crush, Jeffrey Combs. When I first saw Jeffrey Combs’s portrayal of H.P Lovecraft’s Herbert West, I was completely enamoured. Not only is he a cute young man, but he made me laugh from the onset and I have had a crush on him ever since.
Jeffrey Combs is an American character actor that often frequents horror and science fiction television series and movies. If you don’t recognize him from the EIGHT H.P Lovecraft film adaptations that have been made, then you may have seen him play various characters in the Star Trek Universe such as Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. He has also voiced characters in cartoons and video games such as Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, Spider-Man, Lego Marvel Super Heroes and so much more. He is such a versatile actor that he has over 138 credits on his IMDB page and it doesn’t look like he will be stopping any time soon.
I get very excited whenever I am watching a horror movie or episode of Star Trek where he makes an appearance because, in my mind, he always steals the scene. I don’t care much for the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, but his role as Mr. Brooks (the hotel manager on the island) is just pure gold! I have yet to watch the remake of House on Haunted Hill where he plays the sinister Dr. Vanncutt, but it is on my list. And yes, I do have a running list of horror movies in which he has either starred in or had a small role to watch!
Now I mentioned earlier that he has been in eight film adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories or novellas, and I have pretty much watched them all. I know that they are not the greatest adaptations and tend to go off the rails - I am looking at you Full Moon’s Lurking Fear - but I still enjoy them immensely because of Combs’ performances. He has the ability to play seriously among the chaos OR really ham it up to really provide the audience entertainment.
This is what I love about B-Horror movies; there are always actors who are such treasures that you can’t help but become a fan of them and maybe make your heart flutter when they enter a scene.
