Review for From Beyond

From Beyond
Director: Stuart Gordon

“ Humans are such easy prey… ”

Film

When I was but a young ‘un, I was hugely fascinated by Brian Yuzna, and the films that emerged under his guidance be it as Director, or Producer.

I’m fairly certain this obsession began with The Dark Side Magazine, around issue #64, or #65. One of the features was one half of a two-part look at the carer of Yuzna to that point, and what I believe was his most recent release at the time, The Dentist (1996). His stuff looked amazing to this teenager. Be it the alluring and deadly image of Melinda Clarke in Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993), the tapping into a common fear associated with dentistry, or the wild, uneven madness of Necronomicon (1993). Slowly but surely as my youth trickled way, I managed to track down the majority of these features, which in turn, also opened my eyes to the work of his co-conspirator, Stuart Gordon. I was hooked.

Alongside my horror-loving cohort (they were tough to come by, this one even had the same moniker), I stumbled into Re-Animator (1985), a searingly funny thrill-ride of a splatter-fest. Dolls (1987) impressed me more than most too, and when I saw Bride of Re-Animator (1990), I realized why. While Yuzna was, and is, a splendid guy, and a hugely resourceful Producer, he was perhaps a little less nuanced as a director (although in fairness; Return of the Living Dead 3 stands as my favourite piece by either, and neither man has ever matched the fabulous one-punch knockout that is the ending of 1989's Society). The workmanlike Daughter of Darkness (1990) was a cut above standard television movie fare, and benefited from an off-kilter Euro-sleaze ambiance, Fortress (1992) was an impressively compact action-thriller, and Castle Freak (1995) made the most of limited running time and flimsy concept. Head and shoulders above all of those films that we uncovered on many a dank Belfast night though, was From Beyond.

Nowadays, Stuart Gordon has graduated into the fringes of the mainstream, making fearlessly independent, gritty pictures such as Stuck (2007), King of the Ants (2003), and Edmond (2005). For me though, he’s still the guy that got Ken Foree to strip into tiny briefs and roll around in a horrific slime bath, instigated a generation of kinky fetishes with Barbara Crampton’s descent into bondage, and forced Jeffrey Combs’ pineal gland to poke horrifically from his forehead like a curious penis.

Made in 1986, From Beyond is another in the cannon of Gordon’s HP Lovecraft adaptations alongside writer (and childhood friend), Dennis Paoli. The film expands upon the short story’s premise of loony scientist Crawford Tillinghast exposing the narrator to another dimension, via a machine which stimulates the pineal gland. In Gordon’s film, that piece of wizardry is known as “The Resonator”, the creation of Dr. Edward Pretorius (memorably played by the late Ted Sorel).

The prologue details how his concerned assistant, Crawford Tillinghast (Combs) attempts to stop the machine, but it results in his mentor’s apparent death. An axe-wielding Crawford is arrested and committed. Placed under the care of Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Crampton), Crawford taken advantage of by his ambitious psychiatrist, who believes his story, and arranges an unlikely return to Pretorius’ home to recreate their experiments. Accompanying them is Bubba (the iconic Ken Foree) a beefy but skeptical detective. It becomes clear that Pretorius is not just alive, but inhabiting another space as an ever-evolving beast. The resonator is even more dangerous than first believed, and begins to operate of its own accord, affecting each of our characters in different ways. Will McMichaels see the danger of the machine before it’s too late, and who will believe her?

An outrageous scenario, full of holes for sure, but it hardly matters over the course of the snappy 85 minute running time. This is a frenetic dose of body-horror coming together with the inspiration of Lovecraft. Much has been written about the loose treatment of Lovecraft’s tale, and focus on the more gloopy aspects of the concept. But despite this, it carries enough Lovecraftian spirit in its portrayal of the unknown, and expands upon the core in a manner that makes it acceptable as a horror film. It’s certainly for the better. Lovecraft was more about the suggestion than the excess, avoided using female characters, and besides, the original story was only about eight pages long.

The real strength of the film, is the glorious pacing, which compliments the bizarre, kaleidoscopic visuals and often feels like a real assault of the senses. Things are kept grounded by the leads too, who are uniformly great. Crampton is perhaps the standout, extracting increasing sympathy as the plot unfolds, which belies her initial, heartless image. She also had to overcome looking about ten years younger than most hotshot young doctors. Combs is as good as ever, balancing the need to appear somewhat nuts in order to convince he‘d be locked up, with being just about sensible enough to not make a mockery of his co-star by making her believe his story. As Pretorius, Sorel enjoys little more than a series of memorable cameos, but he is magnificent underneath all of the prosthetics, hamming it up to the maximum. Foree also looks quite the sight, battling flying fish creatures whilst clad in his pants, he’s both an oaf, and the everyman.

From Beyond is very much a product of it’s time. Between a cast of genre favorites, a delightful Richard Band score, and a string of special FX, it’s a slice of horror from my youth, that remains as much fun as it ever was. It doesn’t have the ability to disturb, or genuinely frighten, but much like Re-Animator, what is does, is provide great entertainment.

Extras

Much like Second Sight’s Return of the Living Dead release, this is a fabulous package.
They’ve seen fit to include all of the goodies from MGM’s 2007 DVD special edition, which in itself, is perfectly acceptable. Most of these are of the short, concise variety. An interview with Stuart Gordon is a cracking look back at the making of the film, that packs ridiculous amounts of information into under ten minutes.

Similarly, a five-minute short “The Editing Room-Lost and Found”, examines the footage originally snipped from the feature, which was restored for the MGM special edition.
“Interview with the composer” is a short talk with Richard Band, while the other inclusions are a really quick “Storyboard to Film Comparison”, and a Photo Montage.

The real wealth however, lies in the smorgasbord of new extras.
“Stuart Gordon on From Beyond” is a twenty minute feature, encompassing part of a public Q & A session, with a sit-down interview. As always, Gordon’s a hugely like-able, informative chap.

“The Doctor Is In: An Interview with Barbara Crampton” runs fifteen or so minutes, and is a pretty absorbing, if brief look at the actor’s career prior to, and during From Beyond. She is a fantastic subject, open and enthusiastic, and I could easily listen to her waffle about the rest of her work for hours.

“Gothic Adaptation: An Interview with Dennis Paoli“ is a little more dry, but remains insightful, as Paoli fills in the background about his school experiences alongside the director.
Balancing the set out, is a cracking piece called “Monsters & Slime; The FX of From Beyond. “ Running twenty minutes, this a look back alongside three of the special effects artists. It comes complete with a brilliant story about a very real on-set accident, along with some really informative revelations about how the various puppets and visual effects were achieved.

Best of the bunch though, is a top notch the Commentary track, featuring Combs, Crampton, Yuzna, and Gordon, and it’s bursting with wonderful anecdotes and memories from the collective.

Overall

From Beyond follows the same rambunctious pattern that benefits all of the Yuzna/Gordon collaborations. It’s a bonkers, sexed-up amalgamation of Argento-esque lighting, gloopy body horror, and the thoughtful psychological horror underpinnings of Lovecraft's allusions to cosmic unreality.

Perhaps surprisingly, the film looks splendid on Blu-Ray in a smart 1.85:1 aspect ratio, showing previously unheralded depth. The details look sharp and striking, without containing an artificial gloss. Yes, some of the effects have aged significantly, particularly the aquarium shot creatures, but it rarely dilutes the impact, and never spoils the fun. Even Combs’ magnificently terrible bald head-piece, which is exposed in HD as an over-sized abomination, can’t derail the momentum or his own sympathetic performance.

Richard Bands’ soundtrack has never sounded better either, and if like me, you’re restricted by a nondescript sound system, you can choose between the booming DTS-HD track, or the more balanced, sleek Stereo track. In either case, the film sounds fabulous.

It’s both utterly mental and marvelous, and as a Blu-Ray package, this could not come more highly recommended. From Beyond is one of the absolute peaks of 1980's horror, and has been restored in an edition that truly matches its wretched, slime-infested greatness.