From Beyond (1986)

Movie Info

The girl is mine…

Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) and his assistant Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) are working on a machine called the Resonator which activates a person’s pineal gland so they can see beyond the perceived reality.  When the Resonator begins working, Pretorius is killed by beings from beyond Earth’s dimension, and Tillinghast is accused of his murder.  With Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) and Detective Bubba Brownlee (Ken Foree) acting as guides to the disturbed Tillinghast, Tillinghast is forced to return to Pretorius’ lab to work on the Resonator which could be the key to saving people with schizophrenia…unfortunately, Pretorius might not be dead and the Resonator must be stopped before Earth is invaded from the beyond.

Damn it…first zombies, now killer bugs?

Directed by Stuart Gordon, From Beyond is a science-fiction horror thriller.  The film was a loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1920 story of the same title originally published in The Fantasy Fan in 1934.  The movie was originally edited down for an R-Rating, but new releases have restored the movie to its original length.  The film was generally well received and has gained a cult following over the years.

I had seen Re-Animator, but I had never seen From Beyond.  Gordon reuses a lot of his actors and here both Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs appeared in this film.  Re-Animator is a better film, but this film also carries on Gordon’s themes.

Let’s suck face!

The story for From Beyond is quite crazy.  I do like the sci-fi psychological aspect to the story with the idea that schizophrenics might actually be seeing beyond reality which could drive a person mad, but the story takes that idea and adds even more craziness to it.  You have the bleed over from the other dimension warping reality, and you have Pretorius’ twisted sexual fantasies further warping the already twisted reality.  The story gets a little messy at the end, but it is fun.

The cast, while B-Movie actors in general, are good at what they do, and it is why they’ve excelled in horror films.  It isn’t easy to scream and act opposite of monsters and weird sci-fi and the film also asks them to just go with it and the weird plot.  Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorel, and Ken Foree all seem to have fun with one of the stranger horror movies you’ve ever seen.

I will probe you with my head penis

A big draw of Gordon’s films are the visuals, and From Beyond is no exception.  With Gordon pulling off wonders at a relatively low price, the movie rises above its budget.  The monsters of the movie are quite crazy, and Gordon’s effects do resonate in other horror films.  All the practical effects look great but some of the more technical special effects have not aged as well.  I love the Pretorius mutant monster (in all his stages) and I can see how this warped into the Ed Rooker creature in Slither among other films.

From Beyond definitely isn’t a perfect movie, but it is a great ’80s horror movie.  The film is dated and uneven, but there is still something fun about it.  It is very gory and graphic so those with a weak stomach might not like the gross-factor of the film.  With a new Blu-Ray release, the film is a little more available, and fans of horror much check it out.