How to Make the Perfect Re-animator 4 *Possible Spoilers*
I am a huge fan of this film, but I am also a huge fan of the original Lovecraft story. So how could we maintain both? I think there is a simple solution: PREQUEL.
There are too many discrepancies between the 80s film and the short story for them to be identical. For example, in the story Herbert West has blond hair and blue eyes. However, there are also similarities, such as how the Herbert West in the 80s film behaves a lot like the one in the story.
I think that the most brillant way to resolve this is to have it be revealed that the Herbert West in the 80s film is not the Herbert West of Lovecraft's story, but rather HIS DESCENDANT, a la "Young Frankenstein." In this way, we could still see a faithful adaptation of the original story, while maintaining continuity with this film.
If, for the sake of argument, you consider both stories canonical, then this would be an awesome solution.
Somehow the original Herbert West hid his notes and/or his formula for the reagent, which was discovered by his descendant in the 80s. His behavior in the 80s film is then the carrying on of his ancestor's work, and his character traits are in line with what he inherited from the original Herbert West.
I think Jeffrey Combs played Herbert West perfectly, so he would probably also be the best choice to portray the original Herbert West (if somehow they could fit him with blue contacts and bleach his hair).
So what do you think? "Re-animator 4: Origins" :)