I don't know man I feel like if we snapped Herbert West, and shook him a little, he'd glow green like a fucking glowstick

thinking about this jeffrey combs tweet posted at 2:25 AM from his fucking ipad

So y'all know how Jeff Combs was doing a theater production which someone involved with Re-Animator saw him in, and how he's suggested that the character he played there influenced how he played Herbert West.

I relayed this to @andalusiapunk and they were like "Oh! That explains it! He's theater-acting!"

I am not an expert by any means, but I did misspend my teenage years in a magnet school as a theater student. I understood immediately what they meant by theater-acting and I'm mad I didn't come up with it.

A lot of this has to do with Herbert's overall physicality. We all love talking about how he's hyper-dramatic, right? How he moves in a particular way that is extremely precise and sharp and, to be on point, theatrical. How he spins the tape recorder in his hand; how he offers Meg's heart in BRIDE; how he fumbles or manipulates syringes in various scenes.

None of that's in the script and it's not necessarily justified by what's happening... unless you're trying to make sure the audience in the backass end of the theater can see you're holding something small, like a tape recorder or a syringe or a human heart. As I observed elsewhere, you can trick the audience into 'seeing' or 'hearing' things that aren't present onstage or screen if your body language insists on its reality.

And, not to get into super-nerdy film history, but: originally theater-acting and movie-acting were one and the same. Early films are blocked like plays, they have extended sequences without constant cutting between shots (like an audience watching a play), and the extremely clear, over-enunciation of a play-actor trying to make sure those poor bastards in the back can hear what they're saying. And like a play, all acting was heavily rehearsed and expected to hit the same points and produce the same results every time.

What changed this was Marlon Brando introducing the idea of improvisation into movie-acting, a choice which also led to a greater flexibility in movie-acting... including delivery of lines. A more "natural", verisimilitudinous delivery became acceptable for films. This doesn't make either style bad, to be clear: each serves its purpose.

Bruce Abbott (to name the most obvious example) is doing movie-acting. He's got some Protagonist Accent going for him, but he has a clear variety of tone and a great deal of subtlety with his facial expressions and delivery. The same goes for the rest of the cast, although David Gale kind of straddles the line between these two styles.

Herbert's delivery is pure theater-acting. When he and Dan invade the morgue, Dan is whispering--but Herbert is stage whispering, which is why he hisses so much. I've made jokes on here before about how Herbert was born on Skid Row in Little Shop of Horrors-verse, and he thinks he's supposed to be in a musical... and, you know, LSOH is a film based on a play, only in that movie, EVERYBODY is theater-acting.

Anyhow, lotta words to find a different way to compliment Combs and the rest of the REANI cast on their acting, because I live for sorcery enjoying these damn movies.

Made this for @o-bromio, my beloved friend and biggest creature of them all. Happy belated birthday <3

PSA for Combs fans!

I’d be a bad horror diehard if I didn’t let all the Tumblr folks know that Jeffrey Combs is in a movie currently playing at Sundance, and there are CONSTANT re-animator references. Barbara Crampton makes a few brief cameo appearances as well - but if you’re a combs fan (like I am) that’s been starving for quality content, the movie is called Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, and Jeff is in it a TON. I don’t wanna spoil it but there are SO MANY re-ani references (the writer/director is clearly a diehard) and the practical effects are super fun. If you can stomach the cringe humor of Onyx himself, this is a great entry in the combs canon (and may or may not at one point feature Jeff in his underwear). 

I made some Reanimator stickers because Herbert West is a whole mood

hehe reanimator cosplay/costume sillies

Jeffrey Combs was born and every casting director said "we need that guy in business attire"

b movie dr strange my beloved

IM MEETING JEFF IN DECEMBER

Going insane GOING ABSOLUTELY INSANE

reanimator this, reanimator that. what do you guys even know about Motivational Growth, the hit 2013 film in which jeffrey combs of herbert west fame plays a nonbinary, evil, and incredibly sassy pile of mold, pictured here.

hm? what do you guys even know about The Mold.

world's worst medical student

More from THAT AU! The weird girl Herbie one! Featuring another page from the Zine I participated in

A little Weyoun gif as a treat

UPDATE ON THE REANIMATOR HAND PUPPY PROP!!!!!

his dumb ass is free standing now. thoigh he is held together with an unfortunate lump of clay, he is standing! just waiting for the clay to harden a little, then I may paint it.

I also added some reagent goop on him and megs heart prop. His eye is rubbing off a bit to reveal some purple which is odd but hey it's just gotta last one night so it's okay!

my partner and I will def post pics or our costumes (they will be dressed as dan)