Episode 25 - Herbert West: Reanimator - Part 2
This week, it's part two of two with special guest host - Stuart Gordon, director of 'Reanimator.'
We again have the vocal stylings of Andrew Leman to take you to the battlefields of WWI and creepy basements of New England.
Wanna read about real and crazy experiments? Check out Elephants on Acid!
The show's run is over, but it may come back! Check out Nevermore!
That town in Illinois Chad was talking about? Delavan!
And last (but not least), our super sponsor Tor.com is still doing Cthulhu December! Check it out!
Next week: Hypnos!
Download | Duration: 00:32:14
Posted by chrislackey at 12/22/2009 10:17 AM 
Categories: Podcast
Tags: hppodcraft lovecraft stories hplhs call of cthulhu necronomicon lovecraft audio stuart gordon yog sothoth hp lovecraft weird tales lovecraft horror chris lackey cthulhu miskatonic reanimator lovecraftian chad fifer jeffrey combs herbert west lovecraft books cthulhu mythos unfilmable lovecraft movies herbert west reanimator lovecraft music of erich zann lovecraft podcast lovecraft music andrew leman howard lovecraft hp podcraft howard phillips lovecraft arkham pickmans model rats in the walls horror
Categories: Podcast
Tags: hppodcraft lovecraft stories hplhs call of cthulhu necronomicon lovecraft audio stuart gordon yog sothoth hp lovecraft weird tales lovecraft horror chris lackey cthulhu miskatonic reanimator lovecraftian chad fifer jeffrey combs herbert west lovecraft books cthulhu mythos unfilmable lovecraft movies herbert west reanimator lovecraft music of erich zann lovecraft podcast lovecraft music andrew leman howard lovecraft hp podcraft howard phillips lovecraft arkham pickmans model rats in the walls horror
The "immortal", I prefer undead, cells mentioned in the commentary are "HeLa" cells. These were originally taken from a cancer patient who died in the 1950s. Her name seems to have been Henrietta Lacks, although initial efforts to disguise her identity have caused some confusion. HeLa cells are primarily used in cancer research although they have also been used to grow viruses in captivity.
There are two rather Lovecraftian touches to this story. Firstly, there are now more HeLa cells in the world than there were cells in Ms. Lacks' actual body! Better still, especially with regards to Re-animator, HeLa cells are rather prone to contaminating other cell culture lines. Almost as if they had both sentience and a plan...
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Never saw Reanimator, and as enjoyable as these two shows have been, I'm not feeling motivated to go find a copy. Did indeed enjoy the story and analysis, though.
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Excellent podcast and excellent episode, guys! You know, listening to this podcast has given me a great new perspective on H.P. Lovecraft. It's because of you that I can now form new and unexpected connections between Lovecraft and Christmas poetry, comedy, and musical sherbet. Or was that mental sherbet???
You know, the last time I read a bunch of Lovecraft stories in one fell swoop, I noticed different themes than I do now. Back when I was in college, I thought Lovecraft was all about basements and sub-basements that got progressively older and more evil, and a universe that contained way too many cyclopean things. But now that I'm reading these stories along with your podcast, I'm focusing more on those narrators of stories like Herbert West: Reanimator and Hypnos and trying to get inside their heads. I'm thinking that there are enough of these narrators that they could (and probably should) form a support group. But instead of "Men Who Are Idiots and the Women Who Love Them," it could be something more along the lines of "Men Who Are Mad and Their Guy Friends Who Enable Their Madness." What do you think???
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I'm still suspicious that Lee's head was actually in the box to be burned. Could it be seen as a final statement to West from Lee that indeed the brain was not necessary for life? Although West had already posited that it was so - he was himself still completely ruled by his intellect - his own brain and head. Perhaps Lee's surrender of his head and the eventual taking of West's could be Lovecraft commenting on the futility of intellectualizing about life itself. Or something -- Happy New Years...
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