From Beyond (1986 film)

Promotional poster for From Beyond (1986 film)

Summary

Loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story "From Beyond (fiction)". A mad scientist and his unwitting assistant have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds beyond their wildest dreams, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms. Things go from bad to worse when the surviving assistant, his psychiatrist, and a private investigator return to the laboratory to turn the Resonator back on and learn what happened to the scientist....

Details

• Release Date: 1986
• Country/Language: USA, English
• Genres/Technical: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy
• Runtime: 1 hr 26 min
• Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel
• Director: Stuart Gordon
• Writer: H.P. Lovecraft (original story), Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna, et.al.
• Producer/Production Co: Brian Yuzna

Ratings

MPAA Ratings

• Rated: R (Adult Content, Nudity, Violence)

Tentacle Ratings

A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:

• SSs__ (Two and a Half Tentacles: a very loose adaptation of Lovecraft's original story)

With Gordon, Yuzna, and Combs involved, you can expect a loose adaptation of a Lovecraft story, fortified with grotesque and over-the-top special effects and horror, very weird sexual situations and adult content, buckets of fake blood and random tentacles, and a strong dose of slapstick and gallows humor; From Beyond definitely delivers all of the above, and can be considered an easy example of the films made by this team. Lovecraft "purists" will probably object to the liberties taken with the original material, but viewers who are willing to buy into this seldom-dull combination of elements (or at least suspend their objections with their disbelief), these films can potentially be a guilty pleasure.

Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.

Reviews

Review Links:

• Y.Whateley: The film is loosely based on Lovecraft's story; the film adds a great deal of adult content, sex and nudity, and slapstick comedy that might make Lovecraft roll over in his grave. Nevertheless, I still find the film entertaining for the over-the-top cult film it is.

Synopsis

A sadistic mad scientist and his unwitting assistant have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds beyond their wildest dreams, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms. Things go from bad to worse when the surviving assistant, his mutant pineal gland, his repressed psychiatrist, and a hard-boiled private investigator return to the laboratory to turn the Resonator back on and learn what happened to the scientist....

Associated Mythos Elements

• Loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story "From Beyond (fiction)"

External links, See Also

Other films by Brian Yuzna, Stuart Gordon, and Jeffrey Combs are very similar in tone, especially:

• Re-Animator (1985 franchise)
• From Beyond (1986 film)
• "Evil Clergyman (1987 short)"
• Castle Freak (1995 film)
• H.P. Lovecraft's Necronomicon (1993 film)
• Dagon (2001 film)
• Dreams in the Witch House (2005 short)
• The Unnamable (1988 franchise) (similar in tone, but from other creators)