"It... ate... him!"
From Beyond (1986) is a science-fiction, horror film based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name. This is Stuart Gordon's follow up to Re-Animator (1985), this film also stars Jeffery Combs and Barbara Crampton as Gordon wanted to do something similar to Roger Corman's Poe cycle with a series of films based on one author's work with a re-occurring cast.
From Beyond is about a couple of scientists who build a machine to stimulate the pineal gland in humans in order to interact with and see creatures from another dimension. What could go wrong?
Stuart Gordon is a great director. His direction in Re-Animator wasn't bad at all, but the direction in From Beyond is a lot better (and in only a year too!). Unlike Re-Animator, every camera move in From Beyond has a purpose and it's just a lot tighter camera work all around.
It's great to see Jeffery Combs and Barbara Crampton again, and thankfully they're playing significantly different roles than in the previous film. The addition of horror veteran Ken Foree is an excellent treat also, I just wish they had some better material to work off of!
The dialogue in this film is pretty god-awful. It wasn't much better in Re-Animator but this film doesn't have as much of the comedic element (or at least it's not as purposefully present here) which is what helps with a lot of Re-Animator's shortcomings.
The effects in From Beyond are pretty bad. It's really a hard line to walk because much of the actual horror in this film stems from the physical (and gross) transformations you see right before your eyes. But unfortunately a lot of the practical effects and slimy rubber suits don't look great when you focus the camera on them for too long in a well lit room!
The story in From Beyond isn't inherently bad, in fact the premise is actually very interesting and unique. But to me it's very obvious that this was adapted from a short story because the actual core of the film is really smart and interesting but then the film has long stretches where nothing is happening on an intellectual level and instead we get lots of gory monsters and weird things that don't really make sense at all.
Unlike Re-Animator, the soundtrack of this film is completely fresh and original! Richard Band's soundtrack to this film is really quite great there was a lot of times where I found myself realizing the soundtrack was doing more for me than what was on the screen!
From Beyond (1986) is definitely the ugly, less-loved sibling of Re-Animator (1985) but you can learn a lot about what works in a horror film and what doesn't by watching them back to back!
2.5/5 Stars.
Happy watching!
The H.P. Lovecraft films continue tomorrow on The 31 Nights of Macabre Movies as we finally get into the 90s' with John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (1994).
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