Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) is a scientist and the assistant to Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel).  Pretorius, with Crawford’s help, has designed and built a machine he calls the Resonator.  The purpose of the Resonator is to access a parallel universe and expand the human mind and pleasure zones by stimulating the pineal gland.  When Crawford first activates the device, he sees creatures swimming around from the alternate universe.  When one of the creatures recognizes the existence of Crawford, it attacks him. 

Excited that the Resonator actually works, Crawford tells Pretorius.  Pretorius activates the machine and turns the power level up to full.  Pretorius becomes enamored with the pleasure he experiences from the Resonator.  Along with the pleasure come deadly creatures from the alternate universe.  One of the creatures attacks and kills Pretorius by biting off his head.

Crawford is accused of murdering his mentor.  His story of what happened lands him in an asylum under the supervision of Dr. Block (Carolyn Purdy-Gordon).  Dr. Block is approached by Jordan Fields (Bruce McGuire) from the DA’s office.  With him is psychiatrist Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton).  Katherine believes that Crawford did experience something unusual and wants to take him back to the Pretorius house and turn the Resonator back on in order to figure out what happened to Dr. Pretorius.  Crawford is released to Katherine’s custody. 

Assigned to watch Crawford and aid in the investigation is Detective Bubba Brownlee (Ken Foree).  When the machine is repaired and reactivated, Pretorius returns from the other dimension, but he has changed physically and mentally.  Crawford turns the machine off, but the machine is now affecting both Crawford and Katherine.  Katherine, seduced by the Resonator, turns it back on.  Bubba and Crawford manage to turn it off again but by now Pretorius has gained enough power to overcome the device and control it.  Pretorius can now turn on the Resonator from the alternate dimension.           

“From Beyond” was released in 1986 and was directed by Stuart Gordon.  It is an American science fiction horror movie and of the subgenre body horror.  The film was loosely based on the short story by H. P. Lovecraft.

If you liked “Re-Animator” 1985, you might like this.  Released the year before, “Re-Animator” was also a Lovecraft story that starred Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton as well as being directed by Stuart Gordon.  The look and feel of both films are similar except that “From Beyond” has more slime and less blood.  It is sophisticated camp with some memorable lines and lots of splatter.

The pineal gland is a tiny gland in your brain.  It is located beneath the back middle of the brain.  It’s a part of the endocrine system and secretes the hormone melatonin.  Its main job is the secretion of melatonin to help control the circadian cycle of sleep.

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