From Beyond (1986) Review

"Humans are such easy prey."
-Dr. Edward Pretorius



Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) invents a machine that allows people to see far beyond their normal reality.  A being in the beyond seemingly kills Pretorius and his assistant, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs), is arrested for his murder.  To prove his innocence, Crawford leads a team back to the house to reactivate the machine, but something hungry is waiting for them.


What Works:

From Beyond has an absolutely stellar cast of horror legends.  Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton reunite after being in Re-Animator together (which was also directed by Stuart Gordon).  They are also joined by Ken Foree.  All of them are icons of horror and I love seeing them on screen together.  They all do a great job and are a lot of fun.

As with any Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna film, this movie is gross and gooey.  The practical effects are awesome and extremely disgusting.  I love the creature designs and the insane amounts of gore.  The movie has great kills and a lot of memorable moments thanks to the effects.

I really like the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, even if he was a pretty racist guy.  They are tough stories to adapt as his concepts of horror beyond human comprehension are tricky to put on screen.  From Beyond does a good job of capturing the themes of Lovecraft's work and is a solid adaptation and expansion of the original short story.


What Sucks:

There were times where I found Barbara Crampton's character, Dr. Katherine McMichaels, very frustrating.  For someone so smart, she is very stupid.  Her continuing desire to activate the Resonator didn't quite work for me and I wish this part of the film had stronger writing.  Also, during the 3rd act, she is pretty helpless in the final fight and has to rely on Crawford to save her.  She could have helped a bit more.

Finally, I wish Bubba's (Ken Foree) death scene had been better handled.  Yes, the gore is fantastic, some of the best in the movie.  Bubba gets devoured by bee-like creatures, but his death happens pretty much by accident when a light is shined on him.  I wish his death had been more intentional or sacrificial, especially because both Crawford and Katherine had the bees attacking them and ended up being fine.  It was just a little inconsistent.


Verdict:

From Beyond is a sold body horror film with great effects, an amazing cast, and does a good job of adapting the source material.  There are some minor things that could have been improved, but this movie has still got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good        

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more