Scientists Dr. Edward Pretorius & Dr. Crawford Tillinghast create a machine that allows people to see beyond into other planes of reality… Where they are attacked by creatures that look like giant eel monsters. Notorious for having his head bitten off, Crawford is admitted into an insane asylum, where young hotshot doctor Dr. Katherine McMichaels teams up with local detective Bubba to bring Crawford back to the scene of the attack to figure out what is to be done with the machine… And then things get very spooky.
The movie is inspired by a short HP Lovecraft story, and this is one of the stronger Lovecraft movie adaptations I’ve seen. The director, Stuart Gordon, understands Lovecraft’s themes of cosmic horror, madness, different dimensions, psychedelic unfathomable horrors, and blink tone while keeping a fun pace, and the tone is quite impressive.
Jeffrey Combs is fantastic as Crawford; he plays paranoia well, and he is very convincing as a smart, authoritative person who struggles with insecurity and self-doubt, which leads to a nice arc for his character.
I love Barbara Crampton’s performance in this movie; the character has some sympathetic motivations that, paired with Crampton’s strong performance, really help the character stand out and make something special.
Ken Foree is solid in everything he’s in, and his character Bubba is funny and charming, definitely a highlight of the whole film.
Very light spoiler, but… Pretorius comes back with a strange shape, shifting powers, and the other dimension, and the actor gives a very creepy performance that rides the line between scenery, chewing, and genuinely disturbing quite well.
Another big highlight is the special effects and cinematography. Everything just feels so real and squishy, and the glow of the resonator and how it gives everything that’s like a hot neon pink glow just gives the movie this wicked cool style, and some other creature effects in the film are all really good for the time and fun to watch in a crazy, almost psychedelic but fun body-type film… It never reaches The Thing (1982) or The Fly (1986) levels of special effects, but the style and creativity definitely give it some extra awesome points.
There’s an infamous scene with Barbara Crampton and a leather S&M outfit, let me just say… 10 out of 10, no notes lol.
The movie has very good pacing, and I like how the filmmakers try and work in some real-world science into the story because when you have this pretty psychedelic out-there horror going on, the two different fields going against each other lead to interesting conflict and an interesting tone.
The movie has a strong climax. I like Crawford’s character, and without swallowing anything, I also love where they leave Katherine’s character; it’s a movie cliché I always enjoy.
From Beyond combines the best of high-concept literary themes and 80s sleazy horror, linking Lovecraftian themes with human behavior and telling a story that both honors the original while feeling original itself with a truly amazing cast and top-notch effects and is really fun to look at. I give it a high five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
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