Scientists create a resonator to stimulate the pineal gland (sixth sense),and open up a door to a parallel (and hostile) universe. Based on a story by H. P. Lovecraft.

I first saw this film a few years ago (maybe 2009) at a film festival in Chicago, but it apparently did not stick with me well. I neither wrote a review at the time (which is a rarity) nor did I remember much beyond the very skeleton of a plot when I revisited it again (2013). Perhaps because, sadly, it is not among the better films out there.

This is the sort of movie a horror fan wants to love: based on Lovecraft, directed by Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree. Even the producers are noteworthy -- Brian Yuzna and the Band family when they were till in their prime. The opening credits are a veritable horror hall of fame. And seeing Combs interact with Foree is timeless fun and entertainment.

John Carl Buechler's effects need to be praised. They have been compared to Rob Bottin's "The Thing", which I think is fair. But Buechler often gets the short shrift, perhaps considered inferior to Bottin, Robert Hall, John Vulich, KNB and others... look at these effects and tell me he is not among the greatest effects artists out there. Ted Sorel, not typically associated with horror, did extremely well, too, and should be recognized -- horror fans can also check him out in "Basket Case 2".

But the film leaves something to be desired. While the concept of opening another dimension is very cool (and classic Lovecraft),and the focus on the pineal gland is a good way to address that (as one character remarks, the gland has been a metaphysical mystery at least since the days of Descartes),it seems like screenwriter Dennis Paoli did not adequately find the right way to adapt a seven-page story into an 85-minute film.

The film remains strong for the first half, but after that the audience (or at least me) grows weary, wondering how many times the group can return to the attic, or how many times a machine can be destroyed and still work. And then the story spirals off in a very strange direction, as if it suddenly picked up another script to get directions from. If this could have been condensed to 60 minutes, it probably would be a masterpiece, but instead it sort of lingers as Stuart Gordon's red-headed stepchild.

So, in short, die-hard horror fans are going to love (or at least enjoy) this film, seeing their favorite stars on screen (sort of a sequel to "Re-Animator" -- with three cast members, a director, producers, writers and even Miskatonic University returning). For the rest of the viewing public, this is not going to be a top pick...

The cast and crew of the horror hit RE-ANIMATOR team up again for this stomach-churning ride through (literally) the human mind. Once again using Lovecraft as source material, Gordon and friends take the original story and add their own gruesome elements to the stew. Much overlooked alongside its more popular and altogether more famous brother RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND, while lacking some of the frenetic pace and macabre gags which made that film so good, still stands alone as a deliriously gory horror film, full of slime, blood, and body bits.

The film works best when it sticks close to Lovecraft's original tale, and the opening scenes in which Jeffrey Combs sees the mysterious eel-like things floating around in the air invoke thrills and fear at the same time. Unfortunately, as the plot progresses it rapidly unfolds and moves to a hospital, which is where the film is at a low point. However the climax - a predictably slimy and visceral conclusion - is well worth waiting for, if only to watch the special effects.

The acting is definitely tongue-in-cheek and in this respect is effective all round. Jeffrey Combs can do no wrong, even in the worst of bad films, and he's once again on hand to deliver the chuckles and chills with his particular brand of over-acting. Combs' transformation into a monster is rightly disturbing to watch. Barbara Crampton makes for a good heroine and looks very fetching in a black leather outfit, something you probably won't see anywhere else. As well as the two leads, DAWN OF THE DEAD's very own Ken Foree has a comic relief role as a policeman caught up in the horrific events. Watching Foree prance around in underpants made me think just how much I like this great actor, it's a shame he hasn't been in more films since Romero's classic gave him a certain cult status.

The special effects are the real stars of FROM BEYOND, and they range from the typical (brain eating, eyeball gouging) to the superb (big slimy monster things). The effects are used a lot and all are totally brilliant in conception, being wonderfully weird and odd, especially the slime creature and the monster in the basement. With a spine-tingling soundtrack and collaboration from three notable names in horror - Charles Band (a cheapie producer who now owns Full Moon Entertainment),Brian Yuzna (a delightfully sick individual) and finally Stuart Gordon, there is no way this film could miss the mark really. Overall, FROM BEYOND is a delightfully entertaining film which thankfully never takes itself too seriously and can be watched over and over again.

Dr. Edward Pretorius created the Resonator with his assistant Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs). They activate the machine to access the sixth sense and find monstrous creatures. Pretorius is found decapitated and Tillinghast is arrested. He is sent to the mental ward under the care of Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton). She wants to recreate the experiment with police investigator Bubba Brownlee as a part of his treatment.

Director Stuart Gordon made a few notable horror indies. This is an interesting one based on a Lovecraft short story. The creature effects are solid 80's fare but it could be better. I like the machine although I wish it didn't turn off so many times. The fact that they keep turning it off decreases the intensity of the movie. I wish the machine turns itself back on after the arrest and it becomes Tillinghast's mission to shut it off once and for all. That way, it doesn't have to rely on Katherine's wish to recreate the experiment nor other subsequent turning on of the machine. Quite frankly, Bubba would stop Katherine before all that. On the plus side, the machine does turn her into a zlut. Maybe that's the point. I like the last act a lot less. Bloch is too much and there are some B-movie moves. Where did she get the bomb? It has some good weirdness like the third eye. It does turn into a snake eating its own tail.