I am back, From Beyond...

I'm back! After a long hiatus, the tentacles have pulled me into their horrific grasp again. I can no longer escape their slimy grasp...

My return takes a slightly different path for now although I am sure I'll return to writing RPG related nonsense in the near future.

Be aware that this is replete with spoilers.

It started with a post from a friend suggesting I should watch some Lovecraft related films. Knowing that their quality isn't always great and idea struck me, what if I watch the films, then read the stories the films are based on and write a kind of "review" from that.

First up is From Beyond, released in 1986 and ostensibly based on HP Lovecrafts tale with the same name, published in 1934.

From the Film

The film follows three protagonists as they return to a house on Benevolent Street to investigate the claims of one Crawford Tillinghast regarding the work of his boss and mentor Dr Edward Pretorius. They proceed to activate the machine central to his research and the horror begins. Strange flying worms and jellyfish, the horribly transformed body of the Crawford's boss and a large worm in the basement that makes me think more of Tremors or Dune than Lovecraft, all come to haunt us From Beyond.

To the Story

The story, as expected, is rather more subdued. I'll give you a synopsis. The protagonist arrives at the house of his friend Crawford Tillinghast, indeed located in Benevolent Street, to find him changed into a shadow of his former self. They go into the attic where Crawford turns on his mind-expanding machine. The unnamed protagonist starts seeing strange and horrible things. Crawford then reveals that he brought no-name there to exact his revenge. No-name shoots the machine, Crawford suffers a heart attack. The end.

.. and back again

I must say that it's completely understandable that the film extrapolates on the ideas that are in the story, because it's really short. But it goes in weird directions. It focuses on the pineal gland (which is mentioned in the story as well to be fair) as the organ that gets expanded by this machine. And apparently, expanding the pineal gland also increases the sex drive, leading to some rather cringe-worthy scenes in the film. But the strangest addition is that of the worm-like appendix that starts growing from the forehead of Crawford Tillinghast and gives him an insatiable appetite for human brains.

Adapting Lovecraft to the silver screen can't be easy. Especially not when your budget is limited and before CGI (yes there was such a time). The film is actually quite entertaining and bad in a fun way, so watch it for a laugh, but not if you are expecting anything even remotely Lovecraftian.

Now What?

Foreshadowing my next post is that I will write a short scenario, or at least an idea for a scenario, based on the ideas that Lovecraft touches on in his story. There's something there I think, but it's not related to dominatrix outfits or forehead worms.