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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: January 31st, 2023.
Director: Stuart Gordon
Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel
Year: 1986
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From Beyond – Movie Review:
In 1986 Stuart Gordon followed up Re-Animator with another loose adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story, From Beyond, again starring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. While not quite as impressive as Re-Animator, From Beyond is pretty close and it certainly stands as one of the late, lamented Gordon's best films. The humor works and never overshadows the story, and while the scientific elements of the film are totally hokey, they still manage to fit into the bizarre world that Gordon has created out of Lovecraft's original story.
The film tells the story of two scientists, Dr. Pretorius (Ted Sorel) and his henchman Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs), who create a machine called the Resonator. This machine has the ability to create a sort of sixth sense in people when by stimulating their pineal gland. Unfortunately, the initial test experiment goes horribly wrong and Pretorius gets his head bitten off by a creature from another dimension and Tillinghast ends up locked away in a mental institution.
Enter a sexy psychiatrist named Dr. Katherine McMicheals (Barbara Crampton), a sympathetic party interested in uncovering the details of Crawford's case. After getting to know one another, the two of them team up with a cop named Leroy (Ken Foree) and head back to the lab to figure out what is really going on with the machine, and what it is really capable of. Telling you anymore would be spoiling it for those who haven't seen the movie, but let it suffice to say that the Resonator has an interesting effect on McMichaels and before you know it, people are able to see into another dimension and monsters are popping up like daisies in the springtime.
Great performances and creature effects combine with an enjoyably quirky story and solid direction to make From Beyond stand above the crowd of 80s B-movie efforts. Equal parts hilarious and disgusting, the movie keeps you interested right from the start and has no problem whatsoever holding your attention throughout thanks to its roster of recognizable horror movie regulars and its penchant to go for the gross out. The film contains a few memorable set pieces (Barbara Crampton in a BDSM outfit, anyone?) and a genuinely thick atmosphere, touching on the connections between sex and death and the fragile human condition that keeps both factions in check.
Gordon has assembled a great cast of horror movie regulars (Crampton and Combs are instantly recognizable from Re-Animator and Foree is best known from Dawn of the Dead) and it’s lots of fun to see them interact together here, spouting off great one-liners back and forth. Never short on weirdness, From Beyond is a must see for horror movie fans and remains to this day, a horribly underrated gem of a movie. Thankfully this UHD/Blu-ray combo edition from Vinegar Syndrome presents the film in its full strength version. When the film was submitted to the MPAA in hopes of obtaining an R-rating, a few scenes were excised. While the restored bits don't add much to the running time, attentive fans will notice a bit more spray when the gland is chewed, a wee bit more booby grabbing in one scene involving Pretorious and McMichaels, longer and nastier takes on the eyeball and brain eating scenes and a little bit more added when the head hits the curb. And really, doesn’t stuff like that always make for a better movie?
From Beyond – UHD Review:
From Beyond debuts on UHD from Vinegar Syndrome in an HVEC encoded 2160p transfer taken from a new 4k scan of the original 35mm negative. Framed in its proper theatrical aspect ratio at 1.85.1 widescreen with HDR10 enhancement, the picture quality here is excellent. You might notice some very minor print damage now and then, small white specks and the like, but the vast majority of the movie is very clean. Detail is strong throughout the duration of the film, not just in close-up shots but even in longer shots – for example, in the shot where we see the exterior of the house in the day light for the first time you can make out a lot of the texture in the wood siding. Skin tones look nice and natural throughout and the colors really pop here, especially in the last half hour or so where those otherworldly hues are used so prominently. Black levels are nice and deep but the image avoids crush and retains good shadow detail. There are no noticeable problems with any noise reduction, edge enhancement or compression problem. From Beyond looks fantastic on UHD.
Note that while the bulk of the movie is transferred from the negative, a 35mm work print had to be used for some of the reinstated footage needed to present the film completely uncut.
English language audio tracks are provided in 24-bit DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo and 24-bit DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio tracks, and they come with optional English subtitles. Audio quality is really strong. The 5.1 mix does a nice job of using the rear channels to throw some of the sound effects and the score at you and it’s quite effective at filling up the room, while the 2.0 mix, likely the film’s original theatrical mix, also sounds very good. Both tracks are clean, clear and nicely balanced with good depth and range.
Extras start off with an archival audio commentary track from the MGM DVD release by director Stuart Gordon who is joined by producer Brian Yuzna and performers Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. Just like the group commentary that's on the Re-Animator DVD, this is a great mix of anecdotes, trivia, stories and good-natured joking around. Gordon and Yuzna cover the origins of the product and discuss certain scenes that were tossed and then lost to the ravages of time, while Combs and Crampton talk about working under the makeup and with the various effects pieces that were created for the film. This obvious camaraderie results in a commentary track that is not only a lot of fun, but also one that is quite interesting and quite informative.
A second commentary track with screenwriter Dennis Paoli does a great job of going over what went into adapting H.P. Lovecraft’s original story into the modern day story we see told in the feature. He talks about what was changed and what was kept, working with Gordon, thoughts on specific scenes and how they turned out, and lots more. It’s a very interesting talk, especially if you’re a Lovecraft fan.
These two commentary tracks are the only extras included on the UHD, but the set also comes with two Blu-ray discs. The first Blu-ray disc has the same two commentary tracks on it as well as Re-Resonator: Looking Back At From Beyond, an all-new, ninety-seven minutes documentary comprised of interviews with actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree, screenwriter Dennis Paoli, producer Brian Yuzna, editor Lee Percy, composer Richard Band, foley artist Vanessa Ament, special effects supervisors Michael Deak and Anthony Doublin, and special effects artists William Butler, Gabriel Bartalos, John Naulin and Robert Kurtzman. Topics include how Yuzna came to meet and then work with the late Stuart Gordon and his thoughts on Lovecraft, how the concept of germs and Lovecraft's dislike of fish played a big part in the story, the importance of the pre-credits sequence, Lovecraft's ability to explore the fear and dread of the unknown, what it was like for the different cast members getting into character and how this was a very different project than Re-Animator for Combs and Crampton, putting together some of the more complicated effects set pieces, how it was very much a family environment on set with everyone getting along and looking out for each other, working on the score and what Band tried to bring to the movie in that regard, shooting the film in Italy, running into problems on set shooting with live sound, needing to keep a lot of slime on hand during much of the movie, the makeup that Combs had to undergo in the second part of the movie, working with Mac Ahlberg, Gordon's belief that acting is the best special effect, the post production and editing process, the film's release history, thoughts on how the finished film turned out and lots of memories of the late Stuart Gordon. This is pretty much about as definitive a documentary about the making of From Beyond that could be made at this point in history and it's absolutely worth taking the time to watch it.
The rest of the extras are included on the second Blu-ray in the set, primarily some archival featurettes starting with the nine minute Reflections With Stuart Gordon: A Director's Perspective, taken from the MGM DVD release, which does a fine job of detailing the film's censorship issues and which also makes some interesting comparisons between trends in horror movie cinema to current political trends in the real world. Gordon talks about how the success of Re-Animator lead to From Beyond being made after his initial plans to do Dagon fell through. From there Gordon talks about the difficulty of turning a seven page story into a feature length film.
Stuart Gordon On From Beyond is a second interview with the director that runs for twenty-one minutes. In this piece, Gordon discusses
Stuart Gordon On From Beyond is a second interview with the director that runs for twenty-one minutes. In this piece, the first part of which was shot after a screening of the movie, Gordon discusses his wife's involvement in the movie, some of the themes that the movie explores, the sci-fi elements of Lovecraft's writing, shooting Re-Animator and how its success led to working with Yuzna on From Beyond, casting the movie, reusing some of the same sets that he used in Dolls for From Beyond, shooting in Italy and more.
Jeffrey Combs speaks in the eighteen minute A Tortured Soul featurette about his thoughts on the movie, the makeup work that he had to undergo for the film, some of the themes that the movie explores and getting along with the cast and crew.
The Doctor Is In is a fourteen minute interview with actress Barbara Crampton where she covers her background, how she got into acting, growing up as a carney kid, getting into acting and doing TV and film work, her love of horror movies, getting her big break with Re-Animator, trying to bring something different to her character in From Beyond, what it was like on set, memories of shooting specific scenes, Gordon's directing style and more. Paging Dr. McMichaels runs twenty minutes and is a second interview with Crampton where she talks about how much she enjoyed working on the film, her affection for Gordon, thoughts on her character and what it was like on set.
An Empire Production is a seven minute interview with executive producer Charles Band who speaks about wanting to follow up on the success of Re-Animator with more Lovecraft, why From Beyond was chosen as that follow up, why the movie was made in Italy, thoughts on the cast and the crew, the effects work, working with Gordon and his thoughts on the movie overall.
Multiple Dimensions: The Creatures & Effects of From Beyond runs twenty-three minutes and it goes over the details on the effects work featured in the movie. There's talk here about the freedom that the effects team had in coming up with ideas and concepts for the movie, working within the confines of a modest budget, working with the cast and with Gordon, having to work on eighty-six separate effects shots, working with animatronics at times and plenty of other details about their work on the movie. John Carl Buechler, John Naulin, Anthony Doublin and Mark Shostrom are all interviewed here and look back on the project fondly despite detailing the challenges on the shoot.
Monsters & Slime: The FX of From Beyond runs twenty-one minutes and interviews John Naulin, Anthony Doublin and Gabe Bartalos. They talk about working on Re-Animator and then on From Beyond, Charles Band's involvement in both productions, how much they loved working with Gordon and his enthusiasm for the project, creating the different makeup effects needed for the movie, who did what in regards to the different major set pieces featured in the movie, needing a whole lot of slime for the project and how they feel about the movie overall and as a Lovecraft adaptation.
Gothic Adaptation is a sixteen minute interview screenwriter Dennis Paoli who talks about his thoughts on Lovecraft and what appeals to him about the author's work, how he met and came to work with Stuart Gordon and some of the live theater work they did together and becoming good friends over the years, how they came to collaborate on Re-Animator together and how that led to making From Beyond, having to expand on Lovecraft's original short story and why changes were made, expanding on the idea of the pineal gland that Lovecraft was intrigued by and the specifics of writing certain characters for the movie.
Richard Band shows up for the five minute Interview With The Composer featurette where he covers the intricacies of his compositions for this film. He discusses how one of the fun parts about doing horror movies is that it's the sort of genre where anything can go. He then talks about how he wanted his score for the film to take the viewer to the different realm that the film was going to explore.
Rounding out the supplements are a Photo Gallery that contains a few effects and behinds the scenes shots, and a nine minute Storyboard To Film Comparison bit where Stuart Gordon introduces four scenes (The Appearance Of Dr. Pretorius, Death Of Bubba, Hospital Escape and Katherine Frees Herself) and then contrasts them to the storyboards which he personally illustrated. We also get a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter selection options.
This release also comes packaged with some nice reversible cover art. The first 7,000 copies ordered directly from Vinegar Syndrome’s website will also include a very slick, embossed, limited edition slipcover designed by Tom Hodge that is very cool.
From Beyond - The Final Word:
From Beyond may, to a certain extent, live in Re-Animator’s shadow but it’s a great movie and in many ways, just as good as that better known film. The cast all do great work, Gordon’s direction is tight, the script is literate, unique and at times darkly humorous and the effects work still holds up really well. The UHD/Blu-ray edition from Vinegar Syndrome offers up this classic in a beautiful presentation in a set loaded with extras. Highly recommended!
Click on the images below, or right click and open in a new window, for full sized From Beyond Blu-ray screen caps!
