From Beyond

A full year after his unforgettable directorial debut (“Re-Animator” – 1985), Stuart Gordon remains firmly planted in the Lovecraft zone, bringing to the screen a loose adaptation of “From Beyond” (1920), an intriguing story centering on the insane mutterings of a young student convinced that the pineal gland is, for all practical purposes, the third eye that René Descartes often spoke of.

As usual, the director ditches the gloomy, unsettling ambience typically embraced by the lonely Providence writer, opting instead for garish, neon tones (positively psychedelic at times), while devoting ample space to the erotic component (again, unlike Lovecraft). The result is an adrenaline-pumped horror film that puts carnality front and center. Never before has Gordon filmed such an orgy of repulsive transmutations, revolting creatures, gelatinous polymorphic bodies always ready to phagocytize their neighbor (in that regard, it really feels like screenwriter Brian Yuzna is hammering out a rough draft for his upcoming “Society” – 1989).

The cast is one that fans of the genre can get excited about: the tried-and-true Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton are joined by the legendary Ken Foree (“Dawn of the Dead” – 1978, “The Lords of Salem” – 2012).

An extraordinarily entertaining film, this minor masterpiece of body horror should have “resonated” even more with audiences around the world.