“West. Herbert West.” In the mid-’80s, that line from Re-Animator was practically a mantra for a generation of cult-film fans. Re-Animator was that rare, winning blend of horror, comedy and grisly splatter effects. West, a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, perfects a method of re-animating dead tissue—including a severed head that develops particularly nasty ideas of its own. The whole thing is over-the-top, infectious fun, and many a filmmaker has unsuccessfully attempted to duplicate it. So it seems fitting that the man who did it right, Stuart Gordon, is also directing a stage version of his classic, Re-Animator the Musical, this month at the Smith Center’s Troesh Studio Theater. As an added incentive, it stars George Wendt—that’s right, Norm himself—as Dean Halsey, and for those who like their effects splattery, there’s a “Splash Zone” up close. Be very afraid ... and entertained.

Re-Animator the Musical January 8-11 & 13-18, 8 p.m.; January 10-11, 17-18, 2:30 p.m.; $44. Smith Center, 702-749-2000.