Rating: ***
Review Date: 8/1/26
Director: Stuart Gordon
Music: Richard Band
Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel
"Humans are such easy prey."
Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) and Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) create a resonator machine that stimulates the pineal gland and opens up another dimension. Crawford is attacked by a flying creature and Pretorius is decapitated before Crawford can turn the machine off. The experience leaves Crawford in a highly unstable state and he's locked up in a mental institution. Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) wants to cure Crawford of his madness and convinces the police to leave him in her care so that they can attempt to recreate the experiment. Naturally, this is a very bad idea, and Katherine becomes seduced by the resonator and obsessed with its possibilities. More creatures materialize in the human dimension that are hungry for blood, and Crawford is determined to destroy the machine before he mutates into one of them himself.
Based on a 7-page novella by H.P. Lovecraft, the film obviously takes a lot of liberties with the material. It's a fantastic piece of 80's B-movie horror with a delightful music score by Richard Band. The makeup and physical effects are quite impressive and the film is a wonderful blend of sex, horror, and madness. Jeffrey Combs gives an outstanding performance as the unhinged and traumatized Dr. Tillinghast, while the beautiful Barbara Crampton delivers a confident, exhilarating, and surprisingly multilayered performance as a brilliant psychiatrist who slips into perversion and insanity (reminiscent of and predating Harley Quinn). Ken Foree adds a nice touch as the police officer assigned to accompany Dr. McMichaels and Ted Sorel excels at being a depraved villain. While a lot of it is hokey (Katherine just happens to have a time bomb handy), it's a solid and well-crafted piece of visceral horror entertainment that reflects the times.