From Beyond (1986) ****
With the sad news today that Stuart Gordon had passed away it felt like a good time to revisit his sophomore film From Beyond (1986), which I hadn't watched since 2013. Unlike his debut Re-Animator (1985) (review), which I saw on VHS at a tender young age (12 or 13, maybe?), I don't believe that I saw From Beyond until I was 27 (on DVD). Regardless, I fell in love with it immediately (and now we have both films available in excellent Blu-ray editions from Arrow Video and Scream Factory).
While not the all-time camp classic that Re-Animator is, From Beyond is still a blast and the second best H.P. Lovecraft adaptation from Gordon (of five), who also adapted that other most famous horror fiction writer, Edgar Allan Poe, twice. Like Re-Animator, From Beyond plays fast and loose with Lovecraft's 1934 short story, trading faithfulness to expand the story and really, let's face it, for the opportunity to deliver a gleeful mix of melodrama, comedy, sex, and gooey f/x, which Gordon was so good at.
You can find my Stuart Gordon Films Ranked list here.
While not the all-time camp classic that Re-Animator is, From Beyond is still a blast and the second best H.P. Lovecraft adaptation from Gordon (of five), who also adapted that other most famous horror fiction writer, Edgar Allan Poe, twice. Like Re-Animator, From Beyond plays fast and loose with Lovecraft's 1934 short story, trading faithfulness to expand the story and really, let's face it, for the opportunity to deliver a gleeful mix of melodrama, comedy, sex, and gooey f/x, which Gordon was so good at.
You can find my Stuart Gordon Films Ranked list here.
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