Modern Pulp | Oct 24 2017 |
The film starred Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, two alumni from Gordon's bravura gorefest Re-Animator, released the previous year. From Beyond doesn't push the envelope as far as the earlier film, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It just means Gordon tempered his vision a bit. In other ways the films are quite similar. Both play the naked-woman-as-victim card, which can be uncomfortable to watch, since these days such sequences are not benignly received. As always, times change.
In From Beyond the nudity isn't gratuitous exactly. One of the side effects of the resonator is that it frees the id, which is why you see Crampton go from buttoned up schoolmarm to brazen dominatrix in the promo shots below. Males are similarly affected. We searched for shots of co-star Ken Foree in his banana hammock undies—one of many famous moments from the film—but came up empty, so to speak. Regardless of the cultural shift that has placed movies like From Beyond, with its depiction of sexual assault, on shaky ground in 2017, we recommend it for true horror fans. The viewing may discomfit, but the villain is after all both man and monster, which makes him/it an interesting symbol for our modern age.
Vintage Pulp | Jul 5 2010 |
Amanti d’oltretomba, aka Love from Beyond the Tomb, aka Nightmare Castle proves true what we’ve always said—inheriting an old castle is never the stroke of good luck it seems. Suddenly you’re rich, yes, but with the wealth comes nightmares, disembodied maniacal laughter, and lots of creepy-ass organ music. And an old portrait of your dead relative whose eyes seem so… realistic. Oh, and a tomb. Let’s not forget the tomb. We decided this film should be called Nightmare Dialogue, especially after these lines were delivered with a straight face: “This is a case that makes one think very seriously about the frailty of human life. Only ten minutes ago that man was the picture of health, and now he’s ready for the worm.” Are you ready for Amanti d’oltretomba? It premiered in Italy today in 1965.