Movie Review: From Beyond

Directed by Stuart Gordon
Starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Bunny Summers

For horror fans, the ‘80s were a time of sheer wonderment when it came to special effects. With the constant advancement of special makeup effects, it was a time of foam rubber, latex, and slime, with the only boundaries being imagination. One film that represents that more than most is Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond.

When I worked at the theater back in the ‘80s, Re-Animator (1985) played there and it just blew me away, between the gore and just the outrageousness of the whole story. I had already been reading Fangoria by that time, so when From Beyond was coming out, I was already excited about seeing it. And luckily for me, it played at my theater as well, so I spent a lot of time in there watching it over and over. I had recently started reading horror fiction, and thanks to Stephen King, had already started to dive into the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and had read the very short story that From Beyond was based on. In fact, the pre-credit sequence in the film is pretty much the whole story. But I think writer Dennis Paoli, along with producer Brian Yuzna and director Gordon, fleshed out the rest of the plot that, while way gorier and gooier than Lovecraft would have spelled out, I think it still felt it could be in the same universe.

April Ghouls Drive-In Monster Rama

The lineup for this year’s April Ghouls Drive-in Monster Rama has been announced! And if you’re a fan of the ’80s, then you’re going to be in for a real treat. Such a great mixture of titles, from renowned classics to some great titles that you’ll have the chance to see on the big screen.

Tickets are only $10 per person each night, plus there is camping available on both Friday and Saturday. For more information, head over to either www.riversidedrivein.com or dvddrive-in.com.

Super Monster Movie Fest Coming Soon!

In a little less than 2 weeks, the Skyline Drive-In will be hosting their annual Super Monster Movie Fest. This year’s theme is Man Made Monsters and they have posted the final and complete list of titles that are scheduled to play. As always, they have one hell of a great lineup! Here’s is what will be playing:

Super Monster Movie Fest at the Skyline Drive-In

What has seemed like forever, the Skyline Drive-In in Shelbyville, IN has finally announced their lineup (well… most of it) for this year’s Super Monster Movie Fest. Earlier, they had mentioned the theme was going to be Man Made Monsters, which lead to a lot of guessing and speculation. But now, other than one more title on each night that is to be announced, we have our titles. And here they are:

John Carl Buechler – Rest in Peace

At my very first horror convention, back in April of 1988, John Carl Buechler was there. He had brought two of his creations with him, Jason from Friday the 13th Part 7 (1988)and the beast from Cellar Dweller (1986), which you could see from across the room because it was so tall. I still have the black and white still of that creature on it that Buechler graciously signed for me. He was so friendly and approachable. He had worked on so many movies that I devoured in the ’80s, from Ghoulies (1984), Re-Animator (1985), Crawlspace (1986), From Beyond (1986), Dolls (1987), Bride of Re-Animator (1989), to even the more recent Hatchet (2006). I still think the look he created for Jason in the entry, that he even directed, is still the best looking ever created on film.

As everyone probably knows by now, we have lost this incredible talent. About a month ago, his wife had started a GoFundMe page because he was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, to help pay for the increasing medical expenses. It was then announced on that page yesterday, that he had passed away early Monday morning. We are so saddened here at the Krypt of this news because of the hours and hours of entertainment he has given us fans over the years. The one positive thing is that because of all those great films he worked on, the memorable monsters he helped create, him and his work will always be remembered, and never forgotten.

Arrow Re-Animates the Bride

As we all know, it is very hard for a sequel to top the original, or even come close. And when you’re talking about the original Re-Animator, it would seem to be an impossible task even to think about. But producer turned director Brian Yuzna did just that with his 1989 film Bride of Re-Animator. And you know what…it’s actually pretty damn entertaining!

Okay, so we all know that it isn’t as good as the first one. Case closed. But as a sequel, filled with some incredible, crazy, and down right jaw-dropping effects, not to mention some humorous and wonderfully dark performances by Jeffrey Combs and the rest of the cast, this is well worth your time. Even on mutliple viewings, this is still a great film.