That's creepy.

From Beyond is another film from the golden decade of horror, but instead of trying to make a quick buck off of a preexisting trend, Stuart Gordon and frequent collaborator of Brian Yuzna (co-writer and producer) tapped into the works of influential and ground breaking author H.P. Lovecraft for some challenging material to bring to the silver screen.  Having faithfully brought a slightly revamped and modernized version of Lovecraft’s Re-Animator to celluloid glory the previous year, Gordon reached for a more experimental and psychologically geared piece, which From Beyond surely is.  Exploring the very real and quantifiable mystery that is the Pineal Gland, and all the wonderment that could ensue should science find a way to unlock it’s power, From Beyond is as much a horror story as it is a work of hypothetical science fiction heavily based on fact.

From Beyond is the tale of Dr. Crawford Tillenghast and his superior, Dr. Edward Pretorious, two brilliant scientists and physicists who have actually succeeded (when do you ever see a science experiment in a movie actually succeed?) in constructing a resonator that opens a door in the mind many before them have referred to as the mystical and spiritual “Third Eye.”  Unfortunately, this release of awareness and new found Sense has severely debilitating effects on whomever it is subjected too, often causing death and subsequent spectral rebirth, along with insanity for anyone lucky enough to not die.  When the experiments costs Pretorious his earthly existence, Tillenghast is left to try to plead his case to whomever will listen, and gets an opportunity to prove his innocence by recreating the events that took place on the night Pretorious was shook loose the mortal coil.

The universe might collapse under the weight of this much awesome on screen at once.

In order to tell such an intriguing tale Gordon needed some actors of considerable acting ability, as well as genre credit.  Cue Jeffrey Combs and Ken Foree, who are both horror hall of famers for their roles in Re-Animator and the original Dawn of the Dead respectively.  Combs plays Tillenghast, a character not too far removed from Herbert West.  While on the surface it may seem like a simple retreat of old ground for Combs, as the movie progresses, so does his character in new and unimaginable ways, both physically and psychologically, and Combs is the perfect man for this job.  Foree plays the ex-football star turned cop Bubba Brownlee assigned to babysit the second experiment, and brings some down to earth language and logic, as well as some much needed humor to the film.  He also gets a chance to stretch his acting ability, and this may be the best role I have seen him in save for his work in Dawn of the Dead.  Barbara Crampton plays Dr. McMichaels who believes that Tillenghast may not be insane, due to his scientific brilliance as well as his abnormally large Pineal gland which suggest the resonator has indeed worked the way it was designed too.  This trio consumes much of the screen time as they rebuild and tinker with the resonator, and they are all very likable and capable of shouldering that responsibility.  Combs does a bulk of the show stealing, but there are scenes catered to showing all three in the best light possible, and thus we get a balanced amount of exposure for each of them.  The other performance of note is that of Carolyn Purdy-Gordon who plays the insufferable Dr. Bloch, a hard line medical doctor who doesn’t have much, if any sympathy, for the mentally unbalanced.  From Beyond is in very capable hands on the acting front.

House that exists seemingly on the edge of the space and time? Check.

With the acting locked up tight, Gordon was free to craft what I can best describe as a driven, but very experimental type of horror flick.  Gordon again taps in one main color, much like he did in Re-Animator with the neon green that was so prevalent.  In From Beyond, he uses a light, neon-ish purple to signal the opening of the inter-dimensional gate by the resonator device.  It’s a wonderful hue that adds a lot to an already wonderfully photographed, framed, and lit movie.  Gordon is never shy about fully lighting a scene, which is an extension of his confidence in his special effects team and set designers.  The results is a movie that’s very striking and sharp, full of rich colors and detail during a time when dimly and poorly lit backwoods and houses were the norm.  The level of detail is eye popping, and the crispness to the image adds a lot of texture to a film that is, visually and aurally, superior to many of it’s predecessors, peers, AND successors.  Gordon also has a good sense of pacing, and while From Beyond isn’t as brisk and fun a yarn as Re-Animator, it is also a movie that isn’t trying to be.  From Beyond is just as much about the gore and creatures as it is about the discussion and reaction to the gore and creatures who are not of this planet or plane of existence.  Stuart also manages to slip in some tastefully done sexual tension and analysis, which existed in some of the works of Lovecraft as well.  The amount of enjoyment you get out of From Beyond will be directly related to how much you submit to its unique characteristics and subject matter.  But regardless of your personal leanings, Gordon surely has crafted himself a looker.

Did you do something with your hair?

But if you aren’t impressed with the philosophical and psychological meandering of From Beyond, you will probably be blown away by the special effects and make up.  Sitting somewhere right in between hideously grotesque and artistically gorgeous, the special effects in From Beyond are some of the most well conceived and constructed I’ve personally seen outside of a more major production.  As with the directing, the level of detail in them is astounding and really helps to bring to life these wild and slightly wacky creature designs.  Constantly pulsating and full of slime and general ickyness, the monsters and hybrids are truly the stuff nightmares are made of…very disturbing and mobile nightmares.  The score that accompanies these atrocities is subtle and, at times, hardly noticeable, but it does a nice job pf punctuating certain scenes and adding emphasis when required.  As mentioned before, the lighting and sets are all great, if not a little basic.  Hardly a concern when you have such immaculately vile things running amok however.  If you see From Beyond for any reason, make sure it is to appreciate the handwork of Mark Shostrom and Bruce Barlow who aimed to gross out even hardened horror fans out and, by my count, truly accomplished that goal.

I'm guessing that wouldn't make a very good pet.

Gordon and Co. certainly did a one-two number oon Lovecraft in ’85 and ’86, adapting two of his best stories for cinema while retaining much of what made him such an influence on what we define as “scary” today.  From Beyond still holds up today , save for a couple of ancient “floating creature” effects, and the picture quality still shimmers and shines with the best of them.  While I would still probably take Re-Animator over From Beyond if I had to choose, From Beyond tries to incorporate some very different, experimental, and heady ideas and concepts into a genre that is often maligned for being devoid of any cultural relevance, intellect, or intelligence.  While I’m not suggesting From Beyond is some vast, deep ocean of knowledge and learning, it is an entertaining piece of cult fiction that makes genuine stabs at ascending to the next level of the genre, testing the waters of what may have become the thinking mans horror picture.  Despite my insignificant analysis, From Beyond delivers the goods; a tight plot without an over-abundance of holes, and some horrific monsters and gore that are sure to please anyone hound who feasts their eyes on it.  Just don’t slip into an alternate dimension and get decapitated in the process please, I can’t afford the legal fees.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Beware the call of the Resonator.

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Now playing: Astra – The Weirding
via FoxyTunes

Awful box art. I never dug the split face thing, and this makes it seem as if Hamill is the Guyver, which he is not.

The Guyver was one of my first introductions to B grade sci-fi when I was a little tyke.  Back in the days of HBO and its kind, weird and out of the way movies were often played either late at night or early in the morning, and it was there where I first laid eyes upon this manga derived creature feature.

For those unfamiliar with the basics of The Guyver universe, the story is primarily centered around a bio-mechanical suit of armor, The Guyver, that has the ability to fuse with and be stored inside it’s heroic host when not in use.  The cyborg like suit gives its user all the standard bonuses we sci-fi fans are used to, including increased speed, strength, and jumping ability as well as some nifty blades that protrude from the elbow of the suit and are retractable.  The suits origin is alien, as is the entire human race.  We were put here by aliens in order to create the ultimate organic weapon, Mankind.  There are also some Zoanoids, which are the bad aliens who are after The Guyver unit in order to use its power to do evil stuff.  That is about as deep as I’m willing to go as there really isn’t much more to the plot than that.

Probably the most credible actor in this flick.

The acting in the Guyver is on the level of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon episode.  Michael Berryman, of the original The Hills Have Eyes fame, does his best to bring all his natural spookiness to his character, and right behind him is David Gale, whose claim to fame within the horror genre would be his mostly bodiless work in Re-Animator.  Speaking of the Re-Animator connection, Jeffrey Combs also gets a bit part towards the finale of The Guyver, playing Dr. East, undoubtedly a inside joke and reference to his breakthrough role as Dr. Herbert West.  Brian Yuzna is producer here, as he was on Re-Animator, so it’s no surprise he got his old pals to come along for the ride.  Mark Hamill is also in this, although his role is much smaller than the box art indicates.  He is the cop/investigator guy who gets wrapped up in this whole space armor deal, and seems confused as to what kind of film he is actually in.  At certain points he seem relatively playful in his approach, suiting the mood of the movie, and at other times he is visibilty trying too hard to act the shit out of his role.  His uneven performance can’t match the pure suffering and terror that is Vivian Wu however.  She is so annoying and useless that I had to fast forward through some of the scenes where she got more than 2 full sentences to say in succession.  Jack Armstrong as The Guyver/Sean Barker is tolerable, but ultimately insignificant considering the second half of the movie it’s just his voice we hear while a stuntman kicks ass in the armor.  Linnea Quigley also shows up for about 2 seconds, she screams and looks good in tight clothing, which is actually a great way to sum up her career as a Scream Queen.

Linnea Quigley also has a cameo, and true to her moniker of Scream Queen, she pretty much only screams and looks good.

So the acting really doesn’t do the film any favors, as it is more fun to see who pops up in this film, than it is to actually watch any of them act.  Sadly, the directing doesn’t quite make up for it.  Screaming Mad George is behind the lens for this one, someone who is best known for being the mastermind behind some of the effects for the sci-fi mega hit Predator.  But while every monster and special effect I have seen from him I have absolutely loved (he is big into robotics, stop-motion animation, practical and prosthetic effects, and even some clay work) his directing leaves much to be desired.  George doesn’t try to do anything special or fancy, with the exception being the comic book like screen slices where the next scene cuts the previous seen in half diagonally like a sword for a transition.  Instead, his direction feels very pedestrian, going beyond simply observing what is going on, to the point where the camera just feels kind of boring.  Usually, I favor this approach to the shaky cam of today, or the overuse of filters and screen effects that can all to often destroy a scene, but The Guyver, and its history of stylized, edgey mangas, seemed to beg for a more interesting visual take.  Maybe the budget had something to do with it, or maybe Yuzna got his hands in there  too much, but for wahetver reason, The Guyver falls flat a few times too many to be constantly and thoroughly exciting.  And just for arguments sake, if this ever gets remade or rebooted, I place my vote for either Takeshi Miike or Ryûhei Kitamura to get the job as director.

"Why yes, I am the completely creepy big bad guy. What gave me away? Was it my pedophile smile?"

By now, you may be wondering why you should waste any of your precious time watching this flick.  And I gotta say, if it were not for the special effects, this may have been a complete wash.  Screaming Mad George makes up for his directing sins by putting together some of the best rubber suits and robotics I have seen.  The Guyver armor itself is emaculate, full of moving parts while still being form fitting to whomever was in it at the time.  It has that “you can almost feel it and you could reach out and touch it” quality to it that modern movies just can’t muster as long as they hobble along with the crutch that is computer graphics.  Besides the amazing job on our hero, the bad guys get it just as good, with each Zoanoid getting a personalized and very distinct look in their monster form.  There are even furry monster boobs.  Ever creature design also feels original, and personal to each character, meaning their monster form matches, to an extent, what they look like in human form, along with their personality.  The afforementioned directing gets it right on this one aspect, showing the monsters in full view and allowing them to be very active when fighting, showing the suits are not just for show but actually made to be flexible enough to fight in and move around in fluidly.  The creature design is so good, it validates the whole picture.

I couldn't talk about how good the costumes are and not show you one!

The Guyver is certainly a case of personal nostalgia shining down its radiant glow on a movie memory of mine and making it seem brighter.  The Guyver isn’t a worthless film, it just isn’t a terrifically good one.  There is an incredible amount of depth to be explored in its universe, and this film barely scratches the surface of  the psycholigcal and biological relationships that a regular human would have with such unprecedented alien equipment.  Not to mention, the untapped potential of the human race finding out it was created by aliens in an attempt to create the ultimate organic warmachine.  I don’t expect some deep thinking mans sci-fi tale, but The Guyver I remembered from when I was young was better than this.  For cheesy sci-fi completists and Yuzna and company fans, this is a must just to see the special effects and cult actors as work.  Outside of those camps, it is a tough sell.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

He needs a catchphrase.

Remember when poster were fantastical hand-drawn pieces of art? I wish they would start doing that again.

Master of the Universe (MOTU for short) is a movie I remember fondly from my childhood.  It was the kind of film you would see played on TBS and WB channels on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, usually buried in a marathon of similarly-themed sci-fi epics.  So you can imagine the delight I found as a pre-teen when movies like Fortress and Highlander would bookend a testosterone-laden thrill ride such as MOTU.  Much to my chagrin though, it has been well over 15 years since I last laid eyes on this toy-line inspired beauty, and I am happy to report it holds up incredibly well, despite showing signs of its now eclipsed special effects and cliched plot devices.

MOTU tells the story of an eternal battle between He-Man, the sort of Savior of the Eterians (good guys) and Skeletor, a tyrannical skull-faced villain who has amassed a gigantic force of black-clad soldiers with laser guns in an attempt to fuse his own existence with the all mighty the power of the universe to become a God to which all will bow and be subservient.  There are some other minor details, such as a sacred sword (who would have seen that coming) and a Cosmic Key that can tap into to musical nature of the entire universe to teleport anyone to any time and/or place, but they are all secondary to the over arching theme of Good vs. Evil that gives MOTU all the setup it needs to get on with the futuristic-fantasy style combat and whimsical, feel good storytelling.

Frank Langella doesn't just play Skeletor, the guy BECOMES Skeletor. Impressive since most of his acting was done solely through his shifty and piercing eyes.

One of the major challenges any comic/cartoon/toy-line turned movie faces is finding talent capable of bringing the larger than life characters that have been summoned from imagination to screen in an even remotely credible way.  Some may argue with what I am about to say, but Dolph Lundgren and company to a terrific job manifesting the starry-eyed childhood wonder that He-man and his cohorts exude to the medium of film.  Frank Langella as Skeletor may be one of the most perfect, glove-tight fights in cinematic history.  Dolph Lundgren IS He-man, right down to his Godly physique and “get it done” no bullshit attitude, as well as being a man of few wasted words.  Courtney Cox plays the perfect “Earth teenager accidentally sucked into interstellar warfare” and Meg Foster brings a deliciously sexy and sinister style to Skeletors mistress of doom, Evil-Lyn.  Bill Barty as the vertically challenged and infinitely adorable Gwildor does a good enough job to land him a role in any Jim Henson film, and James Tolkan plays the frustrating, non-believer cop role to perfection.  The best part is, you can just tell how everyone on set knew exactly what they were making, and instead of trying to prove what a great actor they are in the hopes of landing future roles in “better” movies, they revel in the ludicrous nature of the whole thing, and emit an aura of carefree fun with a touch of either pure righteousness for the good guys, or over the top menace and for the baddies.

Evil-Lyn rocking some awesome contacts and a fancy hat, giving her best "I am evil as all get out" face.

Gary Goddard, directing his only film of any relevance, echoes the playful vibe that MOTU is known for by keeping his camera relatively calm, but flooding sets and locations with a myriad of different bright, shiny, and often neon colors.  He does at times use come cool focusing tricks and “action in the background” techniques like when Skeletors wicked floating throne creeps up on our unsuspecting heroes on a building top, but for the most part he keeps it within the comfortable standards, which is by no means saying he does the viewer a disservice.  The colors and filters work to make the live action seem all the more fantastic and comic-bookish, with heavy hues of red breaking through strands of smoke and fog often when our villains are on screen.  Our heroes get far less of this Pink Floyd concert laser show treatment then the opposition, but they too are treated like gold by Goddards camera, being seen in many heroic poses, and never being filmed to look weak, or even beatable for that matter.  Goddard knew exactly how to make people playing action figures look every bit as fun and gigantic as we all imagined in our young minds when we were playing with the toys and watching the cartoons.

I would not fuck with this guy. Hes got a cape and a speedo on. That's serious.

While laser beams and zoom-ins on paintings are now dinosaurs of the art of film, for me they hold more than just nostalgia.  I liked the way yesteryears’ special effects looked.  Paintings made to replace expensive and impossible sets, sparks flying out of bodies instead of blood, costumes that were complex, bulky, and not aided by computer graphics touch ups, and Ghostbusters style lightning of all different colors, shapes ans sizes warm my heart to no end.  If some one made this film today (and I have no doubt someone in Hollywood is eyeing this for a remake) it would look more like a video game than a movie.  But thankfully, the memory we have before us is one which took full advantage of the available technology as well as traditional customs, presenting gorgeous and elaborate set design (the interior of Castle Greyskull is fucking BEAUTIFULLY done) and pyrotechnics galore.  It sits firmly in between cheese and art, never for an instant trying to pretend, visually or sonically, to be something it’s not.  The music and sound effects are full of tributes to Star Wars and the hordes of other popular space epics, while sprinkling in some Conan the Barbarian for good measure.  It’s all well beyond adequate, and detracts nothing from the overall experience.  If anything, it just adds to the charm and warmth.

What can you say, they just don't make 'em like they used to.

MOTU is one of the finest examples of a movie often referred to as a punchline in a joke, actually being sinfully entertaining and solid after 20 plus years.  Its indulgent, flashy, loud, and has limited mainstream appeal, but it’s also wholesome, pure, easy to understand, and never, ever boring.  It doesn’t bog you down with hours of back story, political allegory, or social commentary.  It’s just a fun, tightly wrapped interpretation of a, at one point, incredibly popular comic, cartoon, and toy line, instead of being a movie which only exists in an attempt to popularise and announce a forthcoming comic, cartoon, and line of pose able figurines.  The acting is well-suited to fit the mood, technical aspects are tailor made to increase that mood, and the story and pace are as on point as one could expect from a 1 hour and 45 minute flick destined to be one of the ultimate popcorn experiences of all-time.  So crack open a beer, pack your bowl, or whatever it is you flunkies do, and revisit a classic that deserves a much better legacy than the one history has bestowed upon it.  After all, YOU HAVE THE POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I HAVE THE POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF20B8p4F08

AND JUST FOR LAUGHS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeFH-QoAPCk