Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Ken Foree star in this bizzare twist on the H.P. Lovecraft tale of the same name. A doctor friend of Crawford Tillinghast (Combs) has invented a machine to wake up the pineal gland. The problem? It allows them to see weird creatures from another dimension, and the unfriendly critters can see them. One of them bites the doc's head off. Tillinghast gets accused of the crime, but because of his ranting, he gets instituzionalized.
A psychiatrist (Crampton) gets interested in the case, and takes Crawford back to the house under the supervision of a policeman (Foree). When Tillinghast turns the machine on, the others find out he's not really insane. They also meet up with the dead(?) doctor, who is in the other dimension and doesn't seem quite himself these days.
Eventually Tillinghast gets turned into something like his friend. His pineal gland grows and pokes out of his forehead now and then. He feels the need to eat human brains, which he generally sucks out through the eye sockets. Things get weirder and weirder for all the parties involved, and the conclusion is... interesting.
Not nearly as good as Reanimator, but entertaining nonetheless. The effects are pretty well done, and there are some very unique things going on with this film. Worth a rental.
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