THE STORY When two scientists, Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) and Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs), invent a device that can expand the powers of the mind, they unwittingly open a door to a parallel universe inhabited by grotesque beings with an insatiable appetite for depraved sensorial experiences.
THE LOWDOWN Having drawn on the warped imaginings of HP Lovecraft for their cult hit Re-Animator in 1985, director Stuart Gordon (Stuck) and producer Brian Yuzna supped from Lovecraft’s universe the following year, and ended up turning his 1934 short story From Beyond into a Day-Glo monster melange oozing with slimy hybrid creatures (part-puppet, part-animatronics) that could be suitable companions to David Cronenberg’s Brundlefly (The Fly also came out in 1986). While Gordon and Yuzna’s body horror doesn’t reach the giddy tongue-in-cheek heights of Re-Animator; From Beyond is a gross-out sensual delight that's worth revisiting, and becomes something altogether new if viewed as a really bad acid trip.
THE DISC Aside from a pristine Blu-ray print, this Second Sight release hosts a delicious array of bonus features, including interviews with director Stuart Gordon, writer Dennis Paoli and actress Barbara Crampton, featurettes on the film’s editing, music and (my favourite) special effects; plus an illuminating commentary from Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna and actor Jeffrey Combs.
Released 25 February on Blu-ray and DVD, from Second Sight http://youtube.com/v/5kENuvJ2MIA
