This time the play was described as "an astonishingly prescient, blackly comic modern classic". Derek Elley of "Variety" called the film "a gripping psychodrama, marbled with blackly ironic humor". I thought there is something blackly humorous in it. "dominates the film with his lip-smacking, blackly comic and terrifying portrayal of psychopathic self-righteousness". The blackly comedic "Re-Animator" (1985), was based on Lovecraft's novella "Herbert West-Reanimator". The movie and its blackly comic tone were also widely imitated abroad. Each story is rich with blackly comic potential. He appeared as newspaper editor Mr. Blackly in the movie "The Help".