urious xylophone notes, neon pink and purple lights, and a wild-eyed scientist being attacked by a slimy snakelike creature introduce “From Beyond,” a delightfully weird feature from the team behind “Re-Animator” and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” Based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, director Stuart Gordon and screenwriter Brian Yuzna have manufactured a Cronenberg-esque masterpiece of bloodthirsty violence, sexual perversion, and freakishly muculent mutants in line with John Carpenter’s “The Thing” or, to a lesser degree, James Cameron’s “Aliens” from the same year. It’s a bizarre yet highly amusing science-fiction frightener.

Assistant Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) tries a new program, suggested by fellow doctor Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel), in their experimentations with breaching the realm of human existence. “It’s running itself!” screams Crawford as their Frankenstein-like machine, governed by metal switches, levers, and an electromagnetic field, goes haywire, allowing otherworldly monstrosities to decapitate Pretorius. Assumed to be a paranoid schizophrenic, Tillinghast is charged with his death. Psychiatrist Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) visits him in a ward, where he explains that his work with Edward concerned utilizing the pineal gland, which many scientists and philosophers believe accesses a sixth sense or serves as a third eye, unlocking a visual doorway to another dimension.

A CT scan reveals that Crawford’s pineal gland is elongated and tumor-like, suggesting to his captors that his research was legitimate. But McMichaels is the only one who wishes to dig deeper into Crawford’s analyses; having him released into her custody grants them an opportunity to return to the Pretorius Foundation to recreate his apparatus, dubbed the “Resonator.” They’re joined by ex-football player Buford “Bubba” Brownlee (Ken Foree), now a detective, assigned to accompany the activities as a security guard. Once in the basement, with the resonator reinstated, the trio becomes drawn to the world from beyond, a parallel universe where they are not only sexually stimulated by ethereal pleasures outside the grasp of the normal human mind, but also under the spell of Pretorius, who has transformed into a master of unearthly, erotic gluttony and transmogrification.

The special effects are sensational, creating fascinating grotesqueries and mutilative, fleshly horrors with makeup, prosthetics, and gooey puppeteering. Realizing that Charles Band operated as an executive producer might seem discouraging, but Gordon and Yuzna have crafted a truly unique, terrifyingly visceral fright flick. Blood and bodily carnage continually test the audience’s intestinal fortitude. It’s also not without a hefty dose of humor, demonstrated through McMichael’s lack of control, hasty push for exploring the scientific values of a clearly murderous device, and her powerful curiosity to proceed with further trials even after nearly being raped and devoured by an oversized lamprey monster. After witnessing the excessive catastrophes of Pretorius’ sickening metamorphosis, she also insists upon cooking up some eggs, which hilariously drip like thick saliva into the frying pan.

– Mike Massie