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H.P. LOVECRAFT'S FROM BEYOND
Written and Directed by Bob Fugger
Edited by Bob Fugger and Lynne Sypula
Director of Photography - Lynne SypulaNarrator - Jordan Pratt
Crawford Tillinghast - Mike O'DonnellThe thing that really surprises me about fan-based efforts is how faithful they are to the original work. In reviews for THE GREEN GOBLIN'S LAST STAND and JAMES O'BARR'S THE CROW, I've gone on and on about how much love goes into fan-films. The goals of the filmmakers being to faithfully bring the creator's vision to the screen with as much accuracy as possible. With that said, H.P. LOVECRAFT'S FROM BEYOND is without a doubt the most faithful adaption of an author's written work I have seen, even going so far as to surpass the source material.
As the movie played, it sounded as if entire passages were lifted straight from the short story. After my first viewing I went online and pulled up Lovecraft's FROM BEYOND to read for myself; at the bottom of this review you should find that very same link. Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed. I guess, in the end, I was just too lazy to actually do the reading myself. I pushed play on VCR and let the narrator do the work for me.
If you've only seen the Stuart Gordon adaption, you'll be in for a let down. Lovecraft's work has little to do with Barbara Crampton's sexuality. Instead, it has everything to do with those "old God's who are just to nasty for description." Crawford Tillinghast has found a way to tap into their dimension and view them first hand. Consequently, he's losing his mind.
It's that whole "beyond description" nonsense that has kept me from reading all of Lovecraft's work. The Gods couldn't be described and the protagonists always passed out from fright. Every time I read that it always felt like a cop-out. About the third or fourth time I read this I gave up and never cracked another Lovecraft collection (granted, I still buy them used when I see them - can't pass up a bargain). FROM BEYOND is a prime example of "typical" Lovecraft and the aforementioned issues all come into play.
Let me clarify, those are issues I have with the short story, not the film. While we never see the Gods, we do get some wonderful CGI of their underlings. Next to Lieutenant Dan's legs in FOREST GUMP, this is some of the best CGI work I've seen. Perfectly animated and integrated, the creatures only distract for a moment, just long enough for viewers to marvel at before being sucked back into the drama at hand. Other production companies should take note, especially those with national distribution, there's really no excuse for lackluster effects anymore.
But this isn't an effects movie. Director Bob Fugger knows that in order to fully realize any adaptation of any author's work you have to find the core elements that fuel the relationships. Fear. Loyalty. Companionship. Paranoia. In FROM BEYOND, they all drive our narrator to Trillinghast's to see if there's anything left worth saving in his years-long friendship, even if it means putting the final nail in the coffin of what was once warm and nurturing. You never know what's out there until you face it head on.
Maybe Lovecraft didn't have enough faith in his audience to allow us to face his creations head on, I don't know. Thankfully, Bob Fugger does. His version of FROM BEYOND gave me more pleasure than anything I've read from H.P. Lovecraft, even though it's almost verbatim what the author wrote. Go figure, I guess some writers simply translate well to the screen. Then again, filmmakers like Bugger shouldn't be sold sort either.
Read the short story
Titan Entertainment