From Beyond (1986)

Tagline: Humans are such easy prey.

Curiosity: Scott promised me gore, Jeffrey Combs, and Ken Foree from the original Dawn of the Dead.

Plot: Dr. Tillinghast (Combs) and Dr. Pretorius (Ted Sorel) are working on a machine called the Resonator. It’s meant to stimulate the pineal gland and, in doing so, grant the ability to see beyond our dimension (and, uh, give you scary sex cravings). It works a little too well, though, as it opens a portal to another dimension which, given that is based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, is a bad thing. Dr. Pretorious gets his head bitten off, and it’s up to Dr. McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) and Detective Bubba Brownlee (Foree) to figure out how the heck that happened. Sexual hijinks abounds.

Thoughts: Lovecraft’s work is notorious hard to adapt for movies and television, so I was surprised to find out From Beyond came out 24 years ago. While it was a flop at the time of its release, the movie successfully nails Lovecraft’s tone (sort of) while delivering a digestible story and gore galore. The ’80s were a good time for creature features, and while Beyond isn’t exactly The Thing, the film’s effects and puppetry create a horrifying/awesome alternate reality. If this movie was made today, it would be stuffed with CGI and look terrible. Instead, it’s a technical buffet supplemented by great performances. Foree is slightly wasted, but he still gets in some bits. Combs and Crampton take turns being sexual and psychic freaks, driving the plot along. Sorel’s character comes back in the movie as the antagonist (um, spoiler, I guess?), and he’s got-damn creepy. So, mission accomplished.

From Beyond also works well because it doesn’t delve too deeply into Lovecraftian lore. In short, there’s no Cthulu or Elder Gods. It hints at that stuff, but it doesn’t force it too much. Hardcore fans can nod in appreciation; newbies don’t have to do an obscene amount of homework to catchy up. The film is briskly paced at 85 minutes, so it doesn’t really have much time to explain much anyway. Here’s the Resonator. It totally opens portals and shit. Also it turns you into a sex fiend. Next scene, next scene, repeat, repeat. While the film occasionally jumps forward too quickly – Foree needs more dialogue, dammit! – it’s still a great horror flick overall.

Reflection: DO NOT WATCH THIS WITH YOUR PARENTS.