From Beyond (1986)

From Beyond is a suitably OTT H.P. Lovecraft adaptation from Re-animator director Stuart Gordon and produced by Society director Brian Yuzna. If you aware of these names and their respective films then you have some idea what to expect of From Beyond. If not then be warned this may not be for you!

The story, although not hugely relevant to the film’s appeal, goes something like this… Through some kind of strange experimentation Dr. Pretorious unwittingly opens a gateway to another dimension and dies in an accident. However upon further investigation into his death the portal is reopened by one of his former colleagues and all hell breaks loose. Brains are sucked out through eyeballs, third eye stalks erupt from people’s foreheads and all manner of bizarre monsters appear.  To say any more would spoil a few of the film’s nastier surprises, so check it out for yourselves.

The levels of gore on display are ridiculously OTT and it’s a pleasure to say that this is all delivered by the use of some absolutely fantastic practical effects.  Most of the work is genuinely on par with The Thing and the above mentioned Society. When work of this calibre is on display it’s further evidence of the greater heights that can be achieved with practical work over and above CG effects.

Acting-wise everyone is clearly having a lot fun, the performances are all larger than life and this, coupled with some very knowingly cheesy dialogue, means the film is frequently hilarious. The highlight for this reviewer was seeing Ken Foree on screen again essentially playing exactly the same character as he portrayed in Dawn of the Dead (1978).

The warning that this is an acquired taste should be reiterated at this point. If any of the names above aren’t familiar to you then is fairly good chance this won’t be your thing. However if you haven’t heard of the people responsible for From Beyond and have encountered Evil Dead 2 or any of Peter Jackson’s early work then From Beyond is an absolute treat.