FROM BEYOND (1986)
Looking Back At A Sci-Fi/Horror Gem
During Charles Band’s epic, but tragically short-lived, Empire Pictures tenure, we film fans were given everything from a boy battling a magical troll in an apartment complex, to monsters crawling out of toilets, to even a half man/half machine action extravaganza. In the five years of Empire’s reign, Band and Co. brought us classics such as TRANCERS, TERRORVISION, and dozens of other genre staples. Renny Harlin got his start helming the ridiculously great PRISON, David Schmoeller almost killed Klaus Kinski while filming CRAWLSPACE, and every film released seemed to have a wild-as-hell story behind it (for proof, read both Band’s book, Confessions Of A Puppet Master, and William Butler’s Tawdry Tales And Confessions From Horror’s Boy Next Door).
One of the many great things to have been born from the Empire Pictures days, is the partnership between producer Band and director Stuart Gordon, for a series of films both based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft and a small handful of original tales as well. Beginning with 1985’s RE-ANIMATOR, the Empire and Gordon collaborations (which also included frequent Gordon collaborators Brian Yuzna and screenwriter Dennis Paoli) were imaginative and very sexually charged takes on Lovecraft’s tales of monsters and the unknown, corpses being reanimated and—in the case of 1986’s FROM BEYOND—a machine that brought out the kinks and pleasures beyond our basic understanding (plus ravenous slime creatures).
Bringing back RE-ANIMATOR’s Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton for a different take on Lovecraft’s work, this time with a BDSM-heavy approach, Gordon and Co. gave viewers yet another fresh perspective on the dangers of playing god with FROM BEYOND. After the mysterious and brutal death of his mentor, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Combs) is arrested and hospitalized, while declaring that his late teacher, Dr. Edward Pretorious had really been killed by creatures from another dimension, brought into ours by a machine Pretorious and Tillinghast had created, The Resonator. Seemingly out of his mind, Tillinghast is set to stand trial and is soon assigned evaluation by Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Crampton), who finds herself to be a bit more sympathetic than the other doctors assigned to Crawford.
Enthralled by the ravings of Tillinghast (and seeing that his pineal gland is growing), McMichaels begins to believe his innocence, leading to the hospital releasing the troubled man into her care to bring him back to the house where the murder transpired. Partnered with Bubba Brownlee (DAWN OF THE DEAD’s Ken Foree), McMichaels and Tillinghast begin to rebuild The Resonator and, when up and running again, accidentally open the dimension between worlds, conjuring bizarre creatures, a monstrous mutated version of the late Pretorious—and the trios own secret carnal desires, as well.
What makes FROM BEYOND so special is how it not only utilizes the heyday of practical effects for a K/Y-Jelly heavy amount of gooey fun, but the film’s tone feels dangerous and sexy at the very same time. Gordon had a knack for telling horror with an edge, one that never ventured into depressing territory, instead giving viewers a wild ride that you find yourself being entertained and enthralled. As the trio begins to feel the pull of The Resonator, McMichaels begins to feel the BDSM temptation that The Resonator brought out of Pretorious.
The chemistry between Combs and Crampton is always a blast to watch, the way both actors play off each other seems natural yet, in the case of Combs, somewhat over the top—albeit in the best of ways. A scene in which McMichaels finds S&M clothing and begins to attempt to seduce Crawford is a standout in the film, as it shows the influence of The Resonator, something that flows through each person, while trying to break its hold in order to save themselves.
As the film goes on, the F/X work is raised to eleven, bringing out creatures and a monstrous version of Pretorious that could also fit within Yuzna’s SOCIETY. People are consumed and somewhat reborn, arms and legs are melted down to blood and bone all while some serious sexual tension runs through the film with fervor. As a viewer, you find yourself revisiting the movie time and time again.
The imagination of Gordon, Paoli, and Yuzna are on full display in the film, we’re given so many sequences that not only make you squirm in squishy delight, but also grin from ear to ear, including a scene that involves Gordon’s wife and frequent collaborator, Caroline Purdy-Gordon, and an unfortunate bout of eyeball sucking. There’s horror, wonder, and sexual tension in FROM BEYOND and while it’s not as sleazy as it may seem, the film feels both dangerous and silly at times, making for some impressive genre fare. The practical effects are brilliant (Foree’s death scene in particular is a blast to watch) that fuels one weird as all hell second half that is bizarre as it is bemusing.
Filmed at the legendary Dinocitta Studios in Rome (formerly owned by Dino DeLaurentiis before being purchased by Band during Empire’s reign), the film showcases that soundstage greatness in a lot of Empire’s best films. At its peak, Empire’s roster included brilliant cinematographer Mac Ahlberg, special effects artists John Carl Buechler and John Naulin (with help from William Butler and others), and composer Richard Band. The teamwork of everyone involved with FROM BEYOND shows how much Band and Co. cared about giving viewers quality filmmaking, never feeling disposably exploitative like so any other titles from its time.
It’s almost difficult to explain the magic created by Gordon and his team of demented artists. But that’s what made the filmmaker’s work so brilliant: he never candy-coated or spoon-fed his viewers what to think, instead opting for intelligent and alluring filmmaking that allows audiences to fill in the blanks, but never at the expense of being able to grin with horror-filled giddy delight. That pervasive and perverse glee still resonates years later when watch what is one of the best films in Empire’s short but epic run.
