LET’S GET PHYSICAL: FROM BEYOND (1986) ****

FORMAT:  4K UHD

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

(As posted on August 18th, 2007)

A year after making the seminal horror classic, Re-Animator, director Stuart Gordon and much of the same cast and crew returned to the work of H.P. Lovecraft for this batshit insane flick. Although not quite the classic that Re-Animator is, it remains one of the best horror flicks of the 80’s and has a manic charm all its own.

Even after more than twenty years, it’s still the best sex starved S&M scientists turning into slimy mutant rubbery sex monsters movie of all time.

The plot has the inimitable Jeffrey Combs returning to a rundown house with sexy psychologist Barbara Crampton to prove that he really isn’t crazy because he turned on the “Resonator” machine that brings moray eels from another dimension to Earth to eat human heads for dessert. Crampton finally believes him when she turns on the machine too long and is soon running around in bondage gear wanting everyone in sight to give her the high hard one. Luckily Ken Foree, the man who uttered the immortal line “When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth” in Dawn of the Dead is around to keep a cool head and make sure everyone doesn’t sex each other to death. Things start getting weird though when Combs is almost swallowed whole by the sea serpent in the basement and emerges with an enlarged pineal gland that jumps out of his forehead and starts running around sucking people’s brains out of their eye sockets. And I’m not even going to talk about the kinky doctor who returns “from beyond” as a slimy monster (he looks like John Carpenter’s The Thing but with an overactive libido) who’ll stop at nothing to get into Barbara’s pants because it’s just too disgusting to think about.

In short, it’s a classic and you’re gonna love it. It’s a worthy successor to Re-Animator and even though it’s not as great, it comes pretty damn close.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

Since I wrote that review seventeen years ago, my admiration for From Beyond has only grown.  Now, I’m often torn between which is better, Re-Animator or From Beyond.  I guess my copout answer is this:  How do you top Re-Animator?  You make From Beyond.  Then again, this one has Barbara Crampton in a dominatrix outfit for a quarter of the movie.  Whichever one you prefer, one thing is undeniable, it’s one of the greatest one-two punches by a director ever.  It also remains the best S & M KY Jelly monster movie of all time. 

4K UHD NOTES:

The 4K presentation from Vinegar Syndrome is nothing short of amazing.  The purples and blues that permeate the movie really pop.  (Stuart Gordon was doing bisexual lighting before anyone.)  In short, this flick looks like a million bucks.  From the slimy monsters to Crampton’s array of sexy wardrobe changes, From Beyond is a feast for the eyes and definitely worth the upgrade.