#Dr Katherine McMichaels

[deaditedvd]

made silly images

[astralbondpro]

From Beyond (1986) // Dir. Stuart Gordon

[horror-aesthete]

From Beyond, 1986, dir. Stuart Gordon

Barbara Crampton as Dr. Katherine McMichaels

[brokehorrorfan]

From Beyond will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on February 28 via Vinegar Syndrome. Based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story, the 1986 sci-fi horror film features new cover art by The Dude Designs.

Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) directs from a script he co-wrote with Dennis Paoli (Re-Animator) and Brian Yuzna (Bride of Re-Animator). Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, and Carolyn Purdy-Gordon star.

From Beyond has been newly restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative with HDR. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio commentary by director Stuart Gordon and the cast

Audio commentary by writer Dennis Paoli

Re-Resonator: Looking Back at From Beyond - 97-minute documentary with actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree, writer Dennis Paoli, producer Brian Yuzna, editor Lee Percy, composer Richard Band, foley artist Vanessa Ament, effects supervisors Michael Deak and Anthony Doublin, and effects artists William Butler, Gabriel Bartalos, John Naulin, and Robert Kurtzman (new)

Interview with director Stuart Gordon (2007)

Interview with director Stuart Gordon (2012)

Interview with actor Jeffrey Combs (2013)

Interview with actress Barbara Crampton (2012)

Interview with actress Barbara Crampton (2013)

Interview with writer Dennis Paoli (2012)

Interview with composer Richard Band (2007)

Interview with executive producer Charles Band (2013)

Multiple Dimensions: The Creatures & Effects of From Beyond (2013)

Monsters & Slime: The FX of From Beyond (2012)

Storyboard-to-film comparisons with director Stuart Gordon

Trailer

Still gallery

Dr. Edward Pretorius, an acclaimed physicist, has perfected his newest invention: the Resonator, a machine which allows those near to it to glimpse life not visible to the naked eye. Imagining the discoveries he could make, Pretorius begins to go mad, much to the concern of his young assistant, Crawford Tillinghast. However, after the machine malfunctions during a highly sensitive experiment and Pretorius is found brutally murdered, Crawford is fingered as the primary suspect. Crawford, now confined to an asylum, becomes the ward of Dr. Katherine McMichaels, who takes a special interest in his tales of the strange creatures able to be seen while the machine is operating and convinces him to help her rebuild the device, woefully unaware of the terrifying, hidden world she is about to enter...

Pre-order From Beyond.

[the-mad-prince-of-denmark]

This is the closest that either the book or the film gets to really diving into Meg’s inner life, and I think that’s both very interesting and a real shame.

Unfortunately, as much as the character is iconic and Barbara Crampton gives an amazing performance, Megan Halsey was conceptualized and very much written to be the girlfriend character. She does not have a massive impact on the plot, and she’s primarily there to provide boobs. Nice boobs, but still.

And there’s something really sad about that, especially combined with the general implications we get from the film of what her life is like. She’s clearly super intelligent and very driven, and she loves her boyfriend a lot. But she’s stuck in this situation where her dad is over-controlling, clearly still views her like a kid, and seems to be enacting some of his latent hurt feelings about the absence of her mother onto her. Which in fairness, it’s very Mary Shelley, so it works. But still!

She lives a privileged but structured and emotionally complicated life. And then this nasty little rat boy bamfs in, fully steals her man, and instigates a chain of events that leads to her father dying and then being resurrected as a brainless zombie. Plus, literally everything with Carl Hill.

I don’t know, I feel like if there’s a lot of potential there for her to be this character who is like, half deconstruction of housewives and/or women who are brought up to be housewives (think Marge Simpson Anime), and half Ash Williams-style horror-action protagonist. But the story just feels so emotionally uninvested in her. 

I am at least glad that how underwritten this character was made Stewart Gordon feel bad enough to write the character of Dr. Katherine McMichaels in From Beyond for Barbara Crampton. She deserves it! 

[starfleetbisexual]

dr katherine mcmichaels is my new blorbo. she's deranged. she's horny. she's a mad scientist. she's the hero of the story

[adamwatchesmovies]

From Beyond (1986)

From Beyond is a backup/substitute movie. In tone, it’s similar to Re-Animator. The nauseating special effects will remind you of The Thing. The mix of bizarre eroticism and horror is akin to that of Hellraiser. There are many others you can compare it to but you get the idea. The thing is, you would never recommend this 1986 film by Stuart Gordon over any of those but if you’ve seen them so many times you’ve memorized all the best parts and you want something like them but not them, this is the movie for you.

Dr. Edward Pretorious (Ted Sorel) has developed the Resonator, a machine that allows humans to see the unseen creatures that live inside our space but outside of our realm. Unfortunately, the machine also allows them to see us. Pretorious is attacked and killed by a creature from this realm and his assistant, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) is accused of his murder. His claims of invisible monsters make everyone think he’s crazy, except for Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) isn’t so sure.

The best thing about “From Beyond” is that it knows exactly what sort of movie it is. Writer/director Stuart Gordon (who wrote the screenplay with Brian Yuzna and Dennis Paoli) has no delusions about who is watching and what they want to see. He knows this isn’t some deep tale about the human condition. This is a sleazy, campy horror comedy. It grosses you out. It loses its mind. It doesn’t quite hold up logistically. None of that matters. There’s a lot of gore, plenty of nudity and kink, tasteless depictions of mental health, outlandish characters, and it’s all the better for it. Science runs amok, Eyeballs get sucked out of people’s heads, brains enlarge until they crack through skulls, and you get all sorts of phallic and uncomfortable-looking beasts sliming all over Barbara Crampton. From Beyond knows that you could probably tell this story with a straight face but that it would be all too easy to try, fail, and become the subject of ridicule. Instead, it beats the audience to the punch by making fun of itself - which is not the same as attempting to make a movie that’s “so bad it’s good” on purpose.

The most memorable aspect of this film are the terrific special effects. The primary monster goes through all sorts of transformations/shapes and it’s made extra discomfiting by this running theme of a quasi-masochistic obsession that develops in anyone exposed to the Resonator. It’s funny, and a bit unsettling too despite never being adequately explored. It feels like there’s a scene with Pretorious missing, the one extra point needed to make this more than a weird addition. There's the beginning of an idea present. What kind of horror might emerge from someone who can only get it up by inflicting pain, or from an overly stimulated part of the brain that draws us to danger even though logic says we should stay away?

The performances aren’t bad, but they’re not great either. It would’ve been nice if they were just the teensiest bit better. The story would’ve benefited either from holding onto its mystery for longer or finding a way to avoid the machine being turned on and off over and over. I don’t know if we necessarily need a remake, however. As-is, From Beyond looks great and you just know a new adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story just wouldn’t be the same in terms of tone or humor. What we need are other movies influenced by this one, or that push some aspects of it a little further. Thankfully, there are plenty.

It’s difficult to imagine someone calling From Beyond their favorite movie. Not because of the uncomfortable horror elements (I’m pretty sure one of the genre’s objectives is to make you uneasy). Because it doesn't do anything better than everybody else. This doesn’t mean it’s bad. It means this is a film that’s comfortable with holding onto its silver medal. There’s nothing wrong with that. One thing’s for sure; it’s memorable and has a certain undiscernable quality that’ll get you coming back to it. (March 4, 2022)

[rhettakins]

From Beyond (1986)

Dir. Stuart Gordon

Obsessive scientist Dr. Pretorius (Ted Sorel) successfully discovers a way to access a parallel universe of pleasure by tapping into the brain's pineal gland. When he is seemingly killed by forces from this other dimension, his assistant, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs), is accused of the murder. After psychiatrist Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) and detective Bubba Brownlee (Ken Foree) take the case, the trio risks a return to the other world in order to solve the mystery.

[miskatonic-memes]

ok y'all i know we all criticize dan a lot,,,,,but aren't we hypocritical to not also criticize to katherine mcmichaels? if she hadn't continued to fuck around with the resonator, bubba and crawford would still be alive. she was the one who brought crawford out of the psych ward (to a place she absolutely knew would be traumatic for him) for her research in the first place. sure, she ended up turning things around towards the end and destroyed the resonator. but does it really make up for all of this other stuff? no

thanks for coming to my ted talk

[miskatonic-memes]

((this is so adorable i'M CRYING)

I drew Crawford and Katherine last night cuz I’ve been meaning to but I kept pushing it off but I finally did it so I feel accomplished

Bonus line art pic:

[marianhalcombes]

Barbara Crampton as Dr. Katherine McMichaels in From Beyond (1986)

[whippedcloudsofcream]

Barbara Crampton as Dr. Katherine McMichaels in From Beyond (1986)

[miskatonique]

KATHERINE MCMICHAELS CHEAT SHEET !

since my muses are not super well known in the contemporary rpc ( and i’m too lazy to do a full about page at this very moment ) i decided to put together little posts for them that give their general backgrounds, vibes, and plot possibilities !

this is a mix of canon and headcanon, and these are subject to change / adapt as i get more used to writing the characters

BACKGROUND:

Film: From Beyond, 1986

Dr. Katherine McMichaels, 28, is an extremely ambitious psychiatrist specializing in radical ways of treating patients with schizophrenia. Katherine has been accused of using her patients as a means of reaching her own acclaim rather than sincerely trying to help them. While she always starts with good intentions, it doesn’t take much for Katherine to focus more on the big picture of how this will look on her CV rather than the actual people she’s supposed to be helping. 

A lot of times she’s not in a position to directly see the hurt that her actions cause to her patients, which just allows her to go on to do more hurt to other people without learning anything from her actions.

That’s literally all of the background we get on Katherine in the movie LMAO. She feels very much like one of those women who was undermined all throughout school and has had to craft one of those “don’t fuck with me I’m smarter than you” personas. 

While the hardass persona is partially true, she definitely has a tendency to get emotionally attached to her patients, or at least the narrative that she’s constructed in her head about her patients. We see this when she meets Crawford for the first time at the psych ward and she’s the only person who believes his story about what happened with the Resonator and Dr. Pretorius’ death.

When she, Crawford, and Bubba go back to the Pretorius Foundation to take another look at the Resonator, Katherine is immediately struck with the same hunger for knowledge of the other world that got Pretorius killed in the first place. 

Multiple times Crawford and Bubba have to keep her from diving too deep into the same obsessive, ambitious madness that took Pretorius, and it’s only when Crawford and Bubba are hurt by the creatures that Katherine finally makes an effort to turn away from the Resonator and the unknown knowledge it promises.

VIBES / PERSONALITY:

Halsey vc: If I can’t have love, I want power!! Katherine definitely thrives off being in positions of power, either in relationships, academia, or in her career. She will do just about anything to further her acclaim and doesn’t care how many people she has to step on or throw under the bus to get there

That being said she’s incredibly overworked. You may not always be able to tell because she holds herself so well ( dressed nice, dark circles covered up, seems to have her shit together always ) but she’s learned to survive by busting her ass, staying up all night, surviving on coffee and spite to make ends meet

She expects a lot from the people in her life! Friends, lovers, co-workers, patients, etc! This can make her overly critical of those she cares about, sometimes, but usually it’s coming from a good place. 

PLOT POSSIBILITIES:

Pre-movie I can see her butting heads with people due to the nature and methods of her work. A work rivals thing would be HOT, not gonna lie.

But also give her friends from undergrad / phd..... give her friends from childhood who have grown apart and are trying to understand each other’s lives again and Katherine has to be like “I occasionally make people’s mental health worse so it looks good on my CV” and the other person is like “hey what the fuck”

Post movie! Katherine trying to atone for her past work / the pain she’s caused! She’s also extremely traumatized now too because of what she’s seen from beyond! She might even develop some kind of higher powers of cognition that were unlocked by the Resonator so maybe she’s psychic now and your muse needs a psychic's help with shit! idk!

I think she’s bi but preference for women, so ladies..... come smooch....

[thedarkenedkeeper]

More characters for the ask thingy XP Either Crawford Tillinghast or Katherine McMichaels from From Beyond

OF COURSE. Alright, I’ll do both of them.

Crawford Tillinghast (aka my poor anxious boy who DID NOT deserve what happened to him ;-;)

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (either one, not sure which one suits him more)best quality: He’s a smart man with some level of bravery, even if he won’t admit it. He went back to the house - a place which severely traumatized him for crying out loud!worst quality: I don’t know, what is his worst quality? I want to say his nerves can get the better of him, but it’s understandable why - he got TRAUMATIZED in that damn house! I’d say his craving for brains after he went through his mutation, but again, that was because of being exposed to the Resonator for too long sooooo....*shrug*ship them with: No one.brotp them with: Bubbaneeds to stay away from: For the love of everything, NEVER let him go back to Dr. Pretorius’ house or the Resonator ever again! The poor guy’s been traumatized enough!misc. thoughts: He was a cute precious bean who didn’t deserve anything that happened to him! He never wanted to go back to the house and LOOK WHAT HAPPENED! He needed to be protected at all costs ;-;

Katherine McMichaels (aka the Herbert West of “From Beyond” and the one responsible for the shit that went down in the damn movie!)

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: Okay, as much as I don’t really like Katherine all too much, I will admit she is quite intelligent (to a degree) and to some extent, she did care about Crawford....to some extent.worst quality: As smart as she can be, she does have her moments of being really dense. For Christ sake, she not only took Crawford back to the house and insisted he turn the Resonator on but she herself also insisted on doing the experiment AGAIN, even though she, Crawford, and Bubba could’ve been killed!ship them with: No one.brotp them with: I’m not really sure I have one for her.needs to stay away from: Same as what I said for Crawford - keep her away from the house and the Resonator!misc. thoughts: That one scene - that ONE scene (you know the one) - my poor bi heart just wasn’t prepared to see that.

[docrotten]

FROM BEYOND (1986) – Episode 199 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“Well, how about the hard-on I got? Is there a statistical correlation for that too?” Will you calculate the standard deviation while you’re at it? Join your faithful Grue-Crew - Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, Crystal Cleveland, and Jeff Mohr, along with special guest Ralph Miller - as they take a goo-filled trip to From Beyond (1986)!

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 199 – From Beyond (1986)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

A group of scientists have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms.

IMDb

  Director: Stuart Gordon

Writers: Dennis Paoli (screenplay); H.P. Lovecraft (short story); (adaptation by) Brian Yuzna, Stuart Gordon, & Dennis Paoli

Music: Richard Band

Cinematography: Mac Ahlberg

Production Design: Giovanni Natalucci

Selected Special Effects personnel: 

Mechanical and Makeup Imageries (MMI, John Carl Buechler), 

Ralph Miller III (animatronics)

Gino Crognale (modeler)

Mitch Devane (modeler)

Mark Shostrom Studio (Mark Shostrom), 

More Than Skin Deep (John Naulin), 

Doublin EFX (Anthony Doublin)

David Zen Mansley (designer and creator: resonator)

Selected Cast

Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Crawford Tillinghast

Barbara Crampton as Dr. Katherine McMichaels

Ted Sorel as Dr. Edward Pretorius

Ken Foree as Bubba Brownlee

Carolyn Purdy-Gordon as Dr. Bloch

Bunny Summers as Neighbor Lady

Bruce McGuire as Jordan Fields

From Beyond is Chad’s pick and the first time he saw it, he was flabbergasted by the special effects, the gore, and the goo! He still loves it today, adding that the pacing delivers one flabbergast right after another and the acting - Barbara Crampton, Jeffrey Combs, and Ken Foree - is great. Bill loves the great cast and the practical effects of From Beyond but laments how the color scheme hid some of the details of the monsters. In case you haven’t realized it by now, Crystal has a definite thing for Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. She also loves From Beyond’s memorable effects and the way the body horror progresses throughout the movie, becoming more and more gruesome. Jeff loves From Beyond too, agreeing with everyone on the excellence of the effects and the cast. Ralph, who worked on the “shrimp monster’s” animatronics for John Buechler’s MMI, loves Barabara Crampton’s impressive performance portraying her character’s arc. Ralph admits he’s a creature person and loves the creature designs as the special effects units do their best to materialize Lovecraft’s imaginings in From Beyond.  

Stuart Gordon, H.P. Lovecraft, Dennis Paoli, Brian Yuzna, Barbara Crampton, Jeffrey Combs, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, and some of the best effects this side of The Thing! So what are you waiting for? As of this writing, From Beyond is available to stream from Tubi and PlutoTV and as PPV on Amazon and Vudu. 

This episode is a “double-tap” for From Beyond. Check out a previous 1980s Grue-Crew discussion on the film at Episode 129 of Decades Of Horror 1980s, 28 January 2018.

You can also check out our partial career overview of Ralph Miller’s special effects work in Episode 155 – Decades Of Horror 1980s, 7 May 2020. 

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. Next up is the podcast's landmark 200th episode. The subject film has been chosen by our listeners and viewers in polls on Patreon, YouTube, and Facebook, and will be Night of the Comet (1984)! You won’t want to miss the Decades of Horror 1980s Grue-Crew’s discussion of the film whose working title was Teenage Mutant Horror Comet Zombies. What else could you ask for from an 80s horror flick?

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans:  leave them a message or leave a comment on the gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the website or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

Check out this episode!

[kvltcatgirl]

From Beyond - 1986

(send everyone to horny jail)

CW: Sexual violence, over the top gore, overall horniness

From Beyond is a movie about the dangers of being horny. That’s it, that’s the review. Give everyone a bonk and wrap it up. Okay not really. From Beyond is another Stuart Gordon adaptation of a story by everyone’s favorite pointy-hooded spooky bed sheet ghost, HP Lovecraft. The film is centered around a machine, the resonator. Designed by Edward Pretorius, (Ted Sorel) and his assistant Crawford Tilinghast, (Jeffery Combs). The resonator uses vibrations to bridge our own dimension and another overlapping dimension that is full of monsters. The machine works by stimulating the pineal gland, giving humans a heightened sense to both see and touch the monsters, but they can see and touch us too. And when they touch us it is usually with claws, teeth and tendrils! It also has a side effect of making people really horny which leads to some...interesting moments. (We’ll talk about that scene later). But while running the resonator, a monster chomps Pretorius and Crawford is arrested as a suspect for his murder. Due to his trauma, he is labeled as a paranoid schizophrenic, and that’s where psychiatrist, Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) comes in. She gives Crawford the choice to either stay locked up in a mental institution, or rerun the experiment to try and prove his innocence. With the help of Detective Bubba Brownlee, (Ken Foree) the trio heads back to Pretorius’s mansion to fire up the resonator. But they soon get more than they bargained for with giant slippery phallic monsters, dissociative donning of kink wear, and bald headed, brain craving mutations. 

Before I talk about anything else, I gotta talk about the monsters. This movie is full of slimy, fleshy, discolored prosthetics and body horror that escalates well past absurdity. And oh boy is it enjoyable. Each powering up of the resonator returns Pretorious to us in a more grotesque form than the last, and his purulent progression is enjoyable to watch. (Except for one part where he gets handsy with Katherine. That was not great.) Some of the animated effects feel a little, well 80s, but it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the film. The characters are all fine. No big arcs here but there is a solid cast of horror hall of famers, all with memorable moments that are indicative of 80s horror. Like when the camera zooms in uncomfortably close to Jeffery Combs as he yells “It bit his head off...like a gingerbread man!” Or when Bubba inquires about a “statistical correlation” for his “hard on” caused by the resonator. The whole movie is unfortunately one big L for Crawford but he persists through to the end, and finally learns to stand up to his boss. It’s a lesson we can all need reminding of sometimes, but hopefully it's less slimy when we do it. Bubba is largely the voice of skepticism and reason. Barbara Crampton skillfully runs a whole gamut as Katherine, having moments of determination, compassion, selfishness, fear, psychosis, and yes, horniness. This movie is very well known for one scene in particular, where Kathrine dons a whole leather kink outfit while still under the resonator’s influence. It’s bizarre. It’s gratuitous. It’s objectifying. It’s the male gaze. Somebody bonk me. 

I do want to take a minute to note that one of my favorite series, Hellraiser, shares some thematic and plot similarities with this film. We learn that Pretorius built the resonator out of an obsession with his unfulfilled desire for sensual pleasure and sensations. The resonator almost acts like a lament configuration for From Beyond, summoning monsters from a different dimension and stimulating the senses. From Beyond hints at some themes of a pleasure/pain dichotomy, but is not interested in exploring it with the depth or nuance of the early films in Clive Barker’s infamous series, not that I think it should. I do want to note that I am aware that From Beyond predates all of the Hellraiser films so maybe one could argue that From Beyond helped pave the way for the Hellraiser series with its brand of kink influenced horror. There are a few more small similarities I noticed, but I suppose it would be unfocused of me to keep talking about Hellraiser in the From Beyond review.

I have some issues with From Beyond thematically. I think it misrepresents kink as just being for the deranged and depraved, like when we learn that Pretorius was a dom and not a very good or safe one. Or when Bubba shakes leather clad Katherine in front of a mirror asking her if this is who she is. She breaks down crying saying she doesn’t know. It feels like the film goes out of its way to be so horny for its audience, but in that moment shames it’s main character for it. I think this is meant to convey the resonator’s effect on people, just by having Katherine doing something she normally wouldn’t, I just think it’s confusing thematically. But I digress, because we need to talk about mental health too. It kind of opens up a conversation about mental health that maybe was progressive for the 80s but still could be better. Katherine is at odds with another doctor who has different approaches to treating schizophrenia. Dr. Bloch believes in using inhumane methods like solitary confinement and electroshock therapy. Katherine believes in having more freedom and compassion for her patients, but we can also see that maybe her heart is not always in the right place, like when she is willing to risk the safety of Crawford, who is her patient, as well as Bubba for her research. The movie's portrayal of people with schizophrenia is very inaccurate; an unfortunately still common problem in the horror genre. 

If I were to recommend From Beyond for one reason, it’s gotta be the monsters, or more broadly, the practical effects. This movie is just dripping in slimy mutilation and mayhem. If you’re into practical effects, body horror, or gory kills, you’ll enjoy it. If you’re sensitive to sexual violence, or don’t enjoy an overly horny vibe to your movies, I’d give this a pass. 

If this movie were food it would be: an old beyond burger. A lot of it hasn’t aged well but if you like slime you’ll like this movie. And I mean come on, like I could call it anything else, it’s literally in the name.

Where you can watch it: On DVD or It’s free with ads on pluto tv