Over the last couple of years I've gotten rather into the writing of H.P. Lovecraft - I've got a big, fancy collection of his most well known tales from the Library of America, and am working through it story by story for the second time. I think he's very readable, consistently disturbing, and I find his archaistic writing style rather charming. However, movies made from his stories tend to be lacking. I think a big draw of his stories is the way he invites you to use your own experience and imagination to think of "things so horrible the mind cannot possibly comprehend them." Which is obviously an issue for the visual medium of film.
I have not read his story "From Beyond," although from what I've heard it is an earlier story of his that was not particularly well received. It's pretty short too (about 7 pages), so obviously not easy to adapt into a movie. So the filmmakers here used the basic gist of the story (a scientist creates a device that stimulates the pineal gland, which in turns let you see/interact with beings from an alternate dimensions), and basically adapted Lovecraft's tale as a prologue.
I would argue that it's not really in line with the spirit of Lovecraft either - I think it's hard to take any of his tales and put them in a more modern setting. So much of the success of his stories rely on them being a product of their times - i.e. the early 20th century, where there really were a lot more unknowns in the scientific world. It just doesn't work for me to see a modern computer in one of his stories, you know? Also, From Beyond the movie is pretty sexually charged (our mad scientist also happens to be into S&M), which has never been a big part of Lovecraft's stories.
So while it's not a very good adaption after the first five minutes, it's still a really fun monster movie that is a must see for anyone that is a fan of big, gross, practical effects. It actually might be a little too gross for anyone else, actually. But I had a great time with it.
As I said, the story revolves around a (mad-genius) scientist named Edward Pretorious (Ted Sorel) who has created a device called The Resonator, which uses magnetic fields to stimulate the pineal gland. Apparently, the pineal gland is the organ that allows you to see other dimensions, because when it's turned on, you can do just that. Alternate dimensions have always overlapped ours, I guess - it's just that The Resonator allows for interactions between the two. Unfortunately, some of these inter-dimensional creatures are murderous, which Pretorious finds out first hand. His assistant Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) is arrested and blamed for the murder, and sent to a mental institution for evaluation (because who would believe that Resonator stuff?)
While he's there, he meets Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton), an expert on schizophrenia. She doesn't believe Crawford per se, but thinks she may be able to use the research on pineal glands to further her own studies. So she goes back to the scene of the crime with Crawford, as well Bubba Brownlee (Ken Foree) - an ex-football player/cop who is there to protect Dr. McMichaels and make sure Crawford doesn't escape. As they start to experiment they find the Resonator does indeed work. They encounter, From Beyond (ahem), a horrifically deformed Dr. Pretorious and several other nightmarish creatures. Will they escape with their sanity in tact? Or will they escape at all? Tune in to find out!
The big star of the show is the creature effects. This movie is just filled to the brim with ickiness. Our mutated Dr. Pretorious slowly morphs into a big, lumbering, slimy blob of flesh. We see a giant man eating worm and more than one head get eaten. But the grossest effect is the pineal gland that sticks out of people's heads like some weird sort of forehead worm. I actually had to turn my head more than once. But really, the effects here are amazing, and From Beyond will probably be my new "used to" when I'm watching some CGI crap-monster and thinking "they just don't make 'em like the used to."
The color scheme is really quite memorable too. The scenes with the Resonator are always awash in pinks and blues, and it just looks really cool. I watched this on an older DVD release, but apparently Shout Factory just but out a new BluRay edition - I'd bet it looks AWESOME in that format. In fact, you get so used to the pink/blue of Pretorious's house that when they get away from the house for most of the third act, it's a bit jarring.
It's this leaving the house that caused the biggest issue to me. After another violent episode in the house, both Crawford and Dr. McMichaels are sent/committed to the institution. McMichaels encounters a doctor who has it out for her - this doctor can't WAIT to use electroshock therapy on her. So for a good chunk of the third act, our crazy monster movie turns into a sort of rescue film, as we wait to see if McMichaels and Crawford will be able to escape. We get back to monster goodness for the finale, but this part of the film just seemed a little out of place.
And speaking of the finale, it's got one of the most obvious timer/real-time issues I've ever seen in a movie. You know, when there is a timer counting down to zero, but it is moving *so* slowly compared to the real-life time that has passed. It's so bad here that it becomes pretty laughable. When you see the timer at 0:30, then a full 34 seconds go by, and then you see the timer at 0:24, you can't help but laugh. I would think you would just shoot a bunch of timer footage, and edit things accordingly after the fact, but whatever. A small gripe, and it actually makes things a little more charming.
From Beyond either sinks or swims based on the special effects. I don't mean that in a bad way - it's successful on a lot of fronts - it's scary, it's funny, and there is some legit tension too. But it's the effects that will either make you love it or hate it. It just depends on how you feel about that sort of thing. Count me in.
I would highly recommend this film.
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