From Beyond - Aliens des Grauens

Its been a while since I saw this, but I fondly remember it as being one of the wildest and most entertaining horror films of the 80s. I liked it even more than Re-Animator, partly because there is something more intriguing about parallel dimensions and the connection to schizophrenia, than Re-Animators simple (though still entertaining ) "dead come back to life"-scenario. Some of the outlandish effects seem to be influenced by Dali, bodies in a constant state transformation and re-evaluation. It is mind-boggling that it is still so hard to get a hold of on DVD, I only watched a British VHS copy years ago which had some cuts and I still long to see the original unrated version. The score, by Richard Band, is also impressively aggressive and atmospheric. Would somebody please just release it on DVD! They just don't make them like this anymore.

There's Jeffrey Combs doing his bit! "The Resonator, it's working! We know that, 'cos weird worms pop out of the air and try to eat your face! Love a doctor called Pretorius complete with mad laugh! Acting dialled up to 11 - "I want to see more than any man has ever seen!" Lovely makeup and gore effects - only Gordon does Lovecraft like this and has so much fun doing it - but it just gets silly as they totally lose it at the end!

Scientists create a resonator to stimulate the pineal gland (sixth sense), and open up a door to a parallel (and hostile) universe. Based on a story by H. P. Lovecraft.

I first saw this film a few years ago (maybe 2009) at a film festival in Chicago, but it apparently did not stick with me well. I neither wrote a review at the time (which is a rarity) nor did I remember much beyond the very skeleton of a plot when I revisited it again (2013). Perhaps because, sadly, it is not among the better films out there.

This is the sort of movie a horror fan wants to love: based on Lovecraft, directed by Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree. Even the producers are noteworthy -- Brian Yuzna and the Band family when they were till in their prime. The opening credits are a veritable horror hall of fame. And seeing Combs interact with Foree is timeless fun and entertainment.

John Carl Buechler's effects need to be praised. They have been compared to Rob Bottin's "The Thing", which I think is fair. But Buechler often gets the short shrift, perhaps considered inferior to Bottin, Robert Hall, John Vulich, KNB and others... look at these effects and tell me he is not among the greatest effects artists out there. Ted Sorel, not typically associated with horror, did extremely well, too, and should be recognized -- horror fans can also check him out in "Basket Case 2".

But the film leaves something to be desired. While the concept of opening another dimension is very cool (and classic Lovecraft), and the focus on the pineal gland is a good way to address that (as one character remarks, the gland has been a metaphysical mystery at least since the days of Descartes), it seems like screenwriter Dennis Paoli did not adequately find the right way to adapt a seven-page story into an 85-minute film.

The film remains strong for the first half, but after that the audience (or at least me) grows weary, wondering how many times the group can return to the attic, or how many times a machine can be destroyed and still work. And then the story spirals off in a very strange direction, as if it suddenly picked up another script to get directions from. If this could have been condensed to 60 minutes, it probably would be a masterpiece, but instead it sort of lingers as Stuart Gordon's red-headed stepchild.

So, in short, die-hard horror fans are going to love (or at least enjoy) this film, seeing their favorite stars on screen (sort of a sequel to "Re-Animator" -- with three cast members, a director, producers, writers and even Miskatonic University returning). For the rest of the viewing public, this is not going to be a top pick...

Based on a Lovecraft story, this shows the danger of seeing and knowing too much. Campy horror director Stuart Gordon has Jeff Combs working on a machine (the Resonator !) that can help us to "see" other dimensions. When they turn on the machine, it brings monsters into this dimension. when the Doctor Pretorious is killed by his own experiment, Crawfod is locked up as a nut job. Barbara Crampton is Dr. McMichaels, trying to get to the bottom of his case. and of course Gordon puts his own wife Carolyn in here as another doctor. So they take Crawford back to the scene, and for some unknown reason, they think turning it back on is a good idea. Keep the kids away. Language, violence and nudity. S&M. a little something for everyone. and the weird thing is, they keep talking about the pineal gland, which really does control our sleep rhythms by controlling our melatonin level. and on some web pages, there are the discussions of flouride in our water supply. This "results" in the blocking of our ability to see the alternate planes. which is what this whole film is about! actually slightly based on "shakey science". who knew? it's all silly and campy and cheap and cheesy. but you'll have a fun time watching. not for the weak of heart.

The cast and crew of the horror hit RE-ANIMATOR team up again for this stomach-churning ride through (literally) the human mind. Once again using Lovecraft as source material, Gordon and friends take the original story and add their own gruesome elements to the stew. Much overlooked alongside its more popular and altogether more famous brother RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND, while lacking some of the frenetic pace and macabre gags which made that film so good, still stands alone as a deliriously gory horror film, full of slime, blood, and body bits.

The film works best when it sticks close to Lovecraft's original tale, and the opening scenes in which Jeffrey Combs sees the mysterious eel-like things floating around in the air invoke thrills and fear at the same time. Unfortunately, as the plot progresses it rapidly unfolds and moves to a hospital, which is where the film is at a low point. However the climax - a predictably slimy and visceral conclusion - is well worth waiting for, if only to watch the special effects.

The acting is definitely tongue-in-cheek and in this respect is effective all round. Jeffrey Combs can do no wrong, even in the worst of bad films, and he's once again on hand to deliver the chuckles and chills with his particular brand of over-acting. Combs' transformation into a monster is rightly disturbing to watch. Barbara Crampton makes for a good heroine and looks very fetching in a black leather outfit, something you probably won't see anywhere else. As well as the two leads, DAWN OF THE DEAD's very own Ken Foree has a comic relief role as a policeman caught up in the horrific events. Watching Foree prance around in underpants made me think just how much I like this great actor, it's a shame he hasn't been in more films since Romero's classic gave him a certain cult status.

The special effects are the real stars of FROM BEYOND, and they range from the typical (brain eating, eyeball gouging) to the superb (big slimy monster things). The effects are used a lot and all are totally brilliant in conception, being wonderfully weird and odd, especially the slime creature and the monster in the basement. With a spine-tingling soundtrack and collaboration from three notable names in horror - Charles Band (a cheapie producer who now owns Full Moon Entertainment), Brian Yuzna (a delightfully sick individual) and finally Stuart Gordon, there is no way this film could miss the mark really. Overall, FROM BEYOND is a delightfully entertaining film which thankfully never takes itself too seriously and can be watched over and over again.