I’m very much a fan of the 1985 HP Lovecraft-inspired film, also directed by Gordon, and starring the inimitable Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West. In the movie, West has discovered the key to bringing the dead back to life — a green-glowing serum he calls his “reagent.” Trouble is, the test subjects West uses aren’t fresh enough, so they come back a little screwy. The film’s a hilarious splatterfest and easily one of the best gore flicks of the 1980s.

The musical version is as faithful an adaptation of the film as a fan could hope for. Beat-for-beat, it follows the plot of the movie. Graham Skipper’s Herbert West is a fitting tribute to Combs’ take on the character, and he sings my favorite of the musical’s songs, “I’ll Create Life.” Chris L. McKenna plays West’s roommate, Dan Cain, who’s drawn into West’s macabre experiments. Dan’s disapproving girlfriend, Megan, is played by the lovely Rachel Avery. Jesse Merlin is West’s nemesis, an equally mad scientist and plagiarist, Dr. Hill. George Wendt brings his comedic chops to the role of Megan’s father, Dean Halsey. Everyone’s a gamer, and everyone’s clearly having great fun with the material.

What I should also mention is how blood-drenched the stage version of the play is. The first two rows of the auditorium were designated the “soak zone.” The seats were wrapped in plastic and ponchos were handed out to anyone who wanted one. Apart from a gag at the very top of the show where a doctor’s head explodes, the first act is fairly dry. But having seen the film, I knew all the major gore effects were going to come after the intermission. I wasn’t wrong. The second act goes heavy on the red stuff. I was seated off to the side, so I didn’t get the worst of it. But Graham Skipper makes sure during his final song that the people in the soak zone got what they paid for as he becomes tangled in someone’s entrails.

“Re-Animator: The Musical” is the best show I’ve seen in a long time. I hope it’s held over for additional performances and goes on the road. This is a real treat for fans of the film. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

-Brad Lohan

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Last night, Tom Green did stand-up at Flappers in Burbank. I’d seen him there before, trying out new material in the Yoo-Hoo Room on the day after Christmas. This time he was on the main stage. And he was great. Green strikes a unique balance between being the craziest person in the room and the most deadpan. The pendulum swings from one extreme to the other, and it’s endlessly entertaining to see how he brings his nervous energy to the stage.

Green addressed a variety of topics, both personal and observational. His opening bit about the KFC Museum in Kentucky absolutely killed me. Then he went on the discuss his short-lived stint on “Celebrity Apprentice,” how social networking has ruined human interaction, finding an issue of “Penthouse” in the woods at 15, the rogue wave that nearly killed him in Costa Rica, and getting older. He left out a couple bits from his earlier performance, but everything was gold.

When Green exited the stage, he high-fived a number of people in the audience, including me. What a profound moment that was. I finally got to touch the hand that had once waved a horse’s penis at the camera in “Freddy Got Fingered.” I am now complete.

-Brad Lohan

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It was kind of like how things actually happened during the first audience preview.

I’m pretty nuts about Spider-Man and have long contemplated making the trip out to Manhattan just to see the stage spectacular…and to have my genitals touched by a TSA junk inspector. It seems that the production could eclipse “Carrie: The Musical” in terms of being the biggest disaster in Broadway history. I’d kind of like to see what a $65 million failure looks like. Given that 42nd Street is all cleaned up now, what else is there to do in NYC? Get mugged?

Also, there is the slight possibility that it could be kind of great. It has a staggering amount of super-villains (Green Goblin, Kraven, Carnage, Swiss Miss, theatre critics) and some aerial acrobatics that might put the dodgy CGI in the films to shame. What I’ve heard of U2’s musical contributions leaves something to be desired; I guess you could say I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. But, once all the kinks are worked out, who knows? It might be worth shelling out almost $200 for a ticket.

-Brad Lohan

That said, here’s a list of my top 10 favorite haunts in the L.A. area:

The Nuart

This is easily my favorite movie house in L.A. I’ve been to more midnight movies here than I can count. The most recent one I saw was “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” They also show very obscure art films in extremely limited release. I can’t wait to see “Anvil” next month.

Amoeba Music

Looking for hard-to-find CDs or DVDs? I’d recommend Amoeba. Short on cash? Sell them your used DVDs and CDs for store credit or some greenbacks. Unfortunately, they used to have a more generous buyback policy than they do now. A few years ago, I walked away with almost $200 for a stack of ill-informed blind buys they gladly took off my hands. More recently, I left with about $18. Still, their selection of rare and used DVDs is significantly better than the bargain bin at your local Blockbuster.

House of Secrets

This is where Paul Dini and Joss Whedon buy their comics. I know because I’ve seen them there. If you’ve never heard of them, well, you probably don’t read comics, watch cartoons or like cult TV shows. At any rate, HOS also knocks at least 10% off your purchases, and you don’t even need to have a pull file. Someone even spraypainted “Who Watches the WATCHMF” on the outside of their building. I don’t advocate vandalism, nor poor spelling, but that’s still kind of cool.

Cinefile

Right next door to the Nuart is the best video store in all of Los Angeles. Where else will you find a place that has a “Charles Bronson” section? Cinefile categorizes their movies by filmmaker, subgenre and even “Holy F***ing S***!” titles. This is where real cineastes rent or buy films. Brett Ratner goes here, too.

The ArcLight Hollywood

I’ll drive all the way from the Westside to Hollywood to catch a movie at the Dome every now and then. The last one was, of course, “Watchmen.” Here’s a theater that has some great filmmaker Q&As and screening series. I also found a book called “Playboy: Redheads” in their gift shop once. I couldn’t put it down!

Dark Delicacies

I don’t like shopping in big box bookstores. I find their horror and film selections to be lacking. Oh, Barnes & Noble has a lot of books, but none that are rare or used. Dark Delicacies carries all manner of out-of-print titles, and the staff is immensely helpful. They also line up some great author and filmmaker signings. I got Lloyd Kaufman to autograph my copy of “Toxic Avenger: The Novel,” a book that’s quite a fetching read!

Cafe ’50s

I don’t understand my fascination with the 1950s. Maybe it’s because my parents were born back then. I have no idea. Whatever the reason, I have nostalgia for a period in which I never lived. Fortunately, there’s a Cafe ’50s just a short walk from my apartment, and in my opinion, it’s the best in L.A.; there’s one in Venice and another in Sherman Oaks. I almost always get a hamburger and an Oreo cookie milkshake — with frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, of course. You can even play board games like Connect Four while waiting for your food. Fun fact: I really suck at Connect Four!

The Groundlings

The sketch comedy shows at the Groundlings are always funnier than any Judd Apatow bromance picture now playing in theaters. There are some incredibly hysterical unknown actors — and a few known ones — performing either improv or scripted material every night. I personally prefer the scripted shows; improv can be a mixed bag.

Blast From the Past

Buying back your childhood? Well, if you’re constantly being outbid on eBay, try Blast From the Past. Here you’ll find all manner of collectibles from your childhood that you broke or wantonly discarded. The toys on the pegs here are way cooler than all the “Ben 10″ bullshit I see at Toys ‘R Us now.

The Puzzle Zoo

The Third Street Promenade isn’t just a homeless talent show. Yes, there you’ll probably see the fat guy who paints himself silver and wears silver clothes and wants you to give him money because he can stand really still. But you’ll also find the Puzzle Zoo, another great place to pick up hard-to-find action figures from your childhood. It’s definitely a better way to spend your money than giving it to some d-bag with a guitar who sings U2 songs that I don’t even like when Bono sings them.

So those are the places that I spent most of my free time and my discretionary income. Check ‘em out.

-Brad Lohan

I’ve always been a bit of a homebody. Staycations sort of make sense to me. Some people travel to all sorts of exotic locales for Christmas or Spring Break or Talk Like a Pirate Day. I, however, like sleeping in my own bed, playing with the cat and maybe hitting a theme park that’s just a stone’s throw away. I mean, it’s not like I’m a million miles from vacation hot spots; this city’s lousy with them. That said, Staycations in L.A. are far and away more exciting than the ones I went on in Spokane.

My co-people at work have been asking me what I’ve got planned. So I’ve created an action item list:

10/3 – “The Shining” at the Nuart
10/4 – Halloween Horror Nights
10/5 – “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sunday” at the Groundlings
10/6 – Disney’s California Adventure
10/7 – “Evilspeak” at the Silent Movie Theater
10/8 – Knott’s Halloween Haunt
10/9 – TBA
10/10 – “Clue” at the Nuart

Most of those activities are in the evening, leaving my days open for me to do a whole lot of nothin’. Apart from “The Shining,” “Evilspeak” and “Clue,” there are a half-dozen or so other movies I’d like to check out, too (“Religulous,” “Blindness,” “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” “Rachel Getting Married,” “Choke,” “Quarantine” and “Body of Lies”). I’ll have to fit those in somewhere. I’m also about 15 pages into a script I started writing earlier this week; I’d like to keep knocking out a couple pages a day on that leviathan. And I should read at least one book, something angry and political.

I’ll try to keep up on my blog as well. Expect reviews of some of the abovementioned activities and films. Special editions of “Psycho” and “Sleeping Beauty” hit DVD next Tuesday, and yes, I’m going to buy them both because I’m just that weird. I’ll see if I can’t review those.

I seem to have a lot on my plate for my staycation. If I’m not careful, it’s going to start feeling like work.

-Brad Lohan

I guess my fandom for “The Fly” has its limits. And as Dirty Harry said, “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” But what about Spider-Man? Well… I might just pay $250 to see Spidey croon. As luck would have it, IESB.net reports that “Spider-Man: The Musical” might be opening on Broadway as early as next year. Eat it, “Rent!”

Based on the character breakdowns, it appears that Spidey will be romancing Mary Jane and doing battle against the Green Goblin. There’s also a character named Arachne, loosely based on Spider-Woman (the Julia Carpenter one, not the Jessica Drew one). She sounds like she’ll bring sort of a New Agey vibe to the material. Apparently, there are spider-gods or something.

Bono has taken some time off from activism to co-write the score with his U2 bandmate, The Edge. I like U2. I don’t have any of their albums, but you really don’t need them, not if you’ve ever owned on a radio in the past twenty years. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with Spidey, even if it costs a couple hundred bucks for a ticket.

-Brad Lohan

For the uninitiated, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a movie adaptation of “The Rocky Horror Show” stage musical. It’s a sexy send-up of 1950s B-pictures that stars Tim Curry — as Dr. Frankenfurter, a self-described “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania” — and a very young, very “aoogah” Susan Sarandon. The film was a bunker-busting bomb when it opened in 1975, but it ultimately became the longest-running theatrical release in cinema history once it caught on with the midnight movie crowd. Nowadays, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a major city that doesn’t have some art house that screens the movie for devotees at least once a month, if not once a week.

The experience of going to see “Rocky” is unlike your average night out at the movies. Sitting there in stone silence isn’t encouraged. You’re actually supposed to talk back to the screen. In fact, there are all sorts of pre-scripted “callbacks” one shouts at certain moments throughout the film. These callbacks have evolved over the film’s 30+ years of playing to obsessed fans. Each time I go, I’m amazed at how current events will make their way into the fold.

At the Nuart, not only do audience members hurl insults at the screen, but a “shadow cast” — a troupe called Sins O’ The Flesh — acts out the movie as it plays behind them. They have character-specific costumes, props and visual gags that collectively add another layer of obsessive fandom to the experience. You don’t actually go to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” to watch “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” I’ve been four times now, and I still have no friggin’ idea what’s going on in the movie; it’s something about a newly engaged couple that winds up at a castle populated by cross-dressers. No, you go to see “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” to have a movie-going experience that’s unlike any other.

And MTV wants to suck all the fun out of that by remaking “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” as a TV movie, according to Bloody Disgusting. Did I not just explain in detail how the film is 100% more enjoyable when seen with a large crowd of weirdos dressed in drag? I own “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on DVD and have yet to watch it. That’s partly because I’m waiting for Halloween to roll around. I’m also convinced that watching it at home won’t be nearly as much fun as being in a theater and seated next to women in corsets and fishnet stockings.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is an interactive movie. When they do “The Time Warp” musical number in the movie, the people in the audience get out of their seats and “do a jump to the left, then step to the right,” etc. I would imagine there’s something wholly unsatisfying about “a pelvic thrust” when performed at home by yourself.

I think MTV’s completely lost their minds. What, are they going to have the cast of “Real World: Transsexual Transylvania” star in this piece of trash? Do they honestly think the hardcore fans of “Rocky” are going to want to see this? I’m not even a diehard, and I couldn’t be less interested. This is the most obvious example of lack-brained building on a brand I’ve seen to date. You can bet that whenever this monstrosity airs, I’ll instead be catching the Late Night Double Feature Picture Show at the Nuart.

-Brad Lohan

In the film, physicist Seth Brudle (Jeff Goldblum) invents a means of teleportation. When he attempts to teleport himself, a common housefly becomes an unwitting participant in the experiment. Brundle and the fly are fused together at the genetic level. At first he believes teleportation has somehow improved him physically. His strength, agility and fondness for candy bars have all been increased. But then he begins to transform into “Brundlefly,” a gruesome hybrid of man and insect. And his girlfriend Ronnie (Geena Davis) soon finds out she’s pregnant.

The sci-fi elements of the film don’t overshadow the human story. This film is about dying of cancer or of AIDS, a fairly unknown and misunderstood illness when the film was released in 1986. It’s not a movie about a guy who turns into a giant bug and kills people. Brudlefly remains sympathetic to the end, even when he’s regurgitating acid onto the limbs of Ronnie’s creep of an ex-boyfriend, Stathis Borans (John Getz). You genuinely care about Brudlefly. Goldblum’s that brilliant in the role, buried beneath piles of malformed foam latex. He still exudes the agony, the fear and the macabre humor of a man who’s dying of an incurable disease.

Now it’s an opera. I’ve never seen an opera before, but I would absolutely see “The Fly: The Opera.” After all, it’s not “The Fly 2: The Opera.” Ain’t It Cool News has a mixed-positive review from the Paris premiere last week. It doesn’t open in Los Angeles until September. Cronenberg and Howard Shore, who composed the music for the film, are involved. If this is a cynical cash-in, at least the right cynics are involved. Unfortunately, Goldblum isn’t reprising his role as Brudle. I’m not sure if he has the pipes for it. But how does a fly sing anyway?

-Brad Lohan

Evidently, this film is based on a stage musical of the same name. When writing a musical now, you don’t even need to write original music, rather a bunch of loosely-connected scenes you can shoehorn insipid ABBA songs into. Then, some producer will come along and make your uninspired monstrosity of a stage show into an equally uninspired monstrosity of a movie.

This horrorshow is opening the same day as “The Dark Knight” in a sneaky little bit of counter-programming on the part of Universal Pictures. Now you might say that the new Batman movie is just another cynical product of franchising, not unlike “Mamma Mia.” I would have to disagree. Early reviews I’m reading of “The Dark Knight” are calling it a “masterpiece” that elevates the comic book genre in the same way that “Godfather II” elevated gangster pictures and “Empire Strikes Back” elevated sci-fi. In short, it takes the source material to another level. I’m not seeing any indication that “Mamma Mia” is such a game-changer.

Some people might say that I’m being unfair, that “Mamma Mia” is just harmless entertainment. Those people are weenises. “Mamma Mia” is piffle and doesn’t even want to be original. It’s an adaptation of an adaptation. It’s not nearly as ill-conceived as that useless “Producers” movie that came out a couple years ago — a film that’s based on a stage musical that’s based on another film. But that still doesn’t justify its existence.

Studios are run by yellow-bellied bean counters, too timid to greenlight anything new or different. They like brand names, things that are familiar to the mainstream audience. Even non-adaptations stink of sameness, like tomorrow’s “Hancock.” What’s key to successfully cashing in on a brand name and maintaining some modicum of artistic integrity is bringing something fresh to the proceedings, an original approach. Now if Pierce Brosnan were blowing away criminal masterminds with a Walther PPK, bedding that bug-eyed blonde girl on all the “Mamma Mia” posters, and singing “Dancing Queen,” that’d be something different. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of that business in the trailers. So I’m absolutely not going to take a chance on “Mia.”

-Brad Lohan

It looks as though the bar was completely destroyed, another reason to blame al-Qaeda; Islamo-Fascists don’t drink! Shows have been postponed until July 7th, but classes will remain on-schedule. I hadn’t signed up for Level 2 classes before the events of 6/26 (never forget!), having put my improv comedy studies on hold so I can spend the summer in Europe. I’m not physically going to Europe, but there are some foreign films at the top of my Netflix queue. “The Dirty Dozen” counts, right?

Seriously, folks, out of all the places in Hollywood that could’ve been hit, I am saddened that it had to be iO. There’s a Popeye’s Chicken a block over from iO on Cahuenga that looks like a truck already drove through it. But that’s why they’re called “terrorists.” They don’t enjoy improv comedy like you or I. And they drive gas-guzzling SUVs — all the more reason to hate them.

The only way we can fight these monsters is to keep buying stuff, like tickets to upcoming iO shows once their doors reopen. You should also vote for John McCain or we’ll just get hit again. Maybe next time it’ll be the Groundlings or Second City. I’m willing to make the “ultimate sacrifice” by driving to Hollywood on a weeknight(!!!) to check out an iO show. But I won’t have to worry about parking now that they have a drive-thru.

-Brad Lohan