From Beyond: 02 of 31 Horror Movies I've Never Seen!

Last year I watched The Reanimator for the first time.  Blasphemy, I know, especially because I'm 29 and it was one of those films that I used to stare at the VHS Box Art on the shelf of the local video rental for years and years as a child.  I don't know why I took so long to watch it, but when I finally did I realized that regardless of how terrible the dialogue or how flimsy the plot could get, there was a strange quality to it that just grabbed at my visceral side.  I tend to attribute this to the H.P. Lovecraft source material, but I have to also hand it to director Stuart Gordon for his incredibly disgusting interpretation of Lovecraft.  Therefore, it seemed fitting that I should watch his follow up to The Reanimator, the special fx orgasm that is: From Beyond.

The story is about two scientists creating a device that stimulates the Pineal Gland and ultimately opens a gateway to an invisible world full of creatures harking to Rob Bottin's make up fx in John Carpenter's remake of The Thing.  This film is pretty damn gruesome, but that's also part of it's charm.  It was made in an era before computer generated effects had overrun the film making process as they do now and the make up and prosthetic effects are so lovingly crafted that it's easy to ignore the silly dialogue and blatant sexist/racist stereotyping.  Well... almost.

Here's the thing, Gordon obviously loves Lovecraft, pun intended, and the era that From Beyond was rife with neo-exploitation film making.  I can't really say whether or not Gordon is a sexist pig, or even a racist, because I don't quite believe that such issues mattered to him in making the film.  I think the only thing that mattered to him was to make something that both terrified and titilated his audience.  It is an exploitation film in every sense of the word.  You have the blatant stereotypes, sexual tropes, an unfortunately white friendly Ken Foree character (I half expected him to start talking like a minstrel show character at one point because of the way he was playing it), and oodles of violence and gore.

The gore almost outweighs most of the other aspects of the film, but not quite.  Critics and Historians seem to be split about Lovecraft's politics on the subject of race.  In his early to mid works he referred rather disparagingly to non-Anglo characters, but appeared to have softened these views and refocused on greater class issues.  In that sense, if Gordon is merely translating the work, it is possible that he simply ignored the implications in favor of being a true adapter.  However, if he was at all sensitive to these issues, I think he could have done a better job to show that sensitivity.

The formal aspects of the film are pitch perfect.  Excellent camera work, thematic lighting, make up effects, and editing keep the pace going strong and helped to keep my attention. It was just impossible for me not to see Peter being reduced from a strong lead to a shucking and jiving support.  That's what I get for falling in love with horror through the lens of George Romero.

3 skulls out of 5.