Watched March 31, 2023
1986
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel
Director: Stuart Gordon
In the attic of a large house, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) is using a giant room computer, in the center is the "resonator". He manages to turn it all on and he sees swimming worms in the air, but one bites his cheek. Crwaford gets the other scientist, Dr. Pretorious (Ted Sorel) to check out the experiment and he loves it! Crawford wants to turn it off, but it attacks Dr. Pretorious. A neighbor calls the cops about the noise, but then her mini-poodles runs in the house. The dog goes to the attic, the lady finds him but Crawford uses an ax to break the door down. Crawford passes the lady on the stairs. Outside the cops arrest Crawford.
Dr. McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) arrives at the psyschiatric hospital. Dr. Bloch, the lead doctor in charge doesn't Dr. McMichaels approach to treating schizophrenia. Dr. McMichaels likes running experiments instead of locking people up in a cell. They do a CT scan on Crawford, he's in a padded room. Dr. McMichaels asks Crawford what happened with Dr. Pretorious. They think Crawford is crazy because he said the resonator creature ate Dr. P's head- but they couldn't find his head. Dr. McMichaels wants to recreate the experiment right away. (Give Crawford a break, he really doesn't want to go, I get it). Crawford is released from the hospital, he thinks he can just leave, but McMichaels informs him he is in her custody. They get Bubba (Ken Foree), a police officer/private security to assist them.
All three head back to the house/lab, a crime scene, but no big deal for them to go back there. Crawford really doesn't want to go back and recreate the experiment but McMichaels is insistent. They get into the house, Bubba trips over a huge power cable. Crawford rewired the house to power the resonator. There is a switch in the basement. Bubba and Crawford find Dr. Pretorious's S&M room and play a tape that Dr. Pretorious made of him beating a woman. Crawford shows Bubba and Dr. McMichaels the resonator. When Crawford tried to stop it earlier, he axed one of the rods so they have to fix it. They get the resonator working again.
Round 1, it works. They see Dr. Pretorious appear in a human form but Crawford touches him and his skin is squishy dough. They turn it off. Dr. McMichaels immediately wants to do the experiment again but it's late and they all spend the night at the house. Crawford has to sleep in the S&M room. They have weird dreams. Dr. McMichaels wakes up and turns the resonator on but it brings Dr. Pretorious as a monster that attacks her and rips her nightgown. Bubba and Crawford wake up. Thye can't get to the attic so they head to shut the power off in basement. But there's a wet basement worm there! Both McMichaels and Crawford are being worm kissed. Bubba rips out the power cable. Crawford is covered in worm burns and now hairless. Dr. McMichaels escapes Dr. Pretorious and Crawford rests. Bubba tells McMichaels to get dressed, they're leaving. In the S&M room, Dr. McMichaels is still horny hypnotized, so she puts some leather gear and grinds on a sleeping Crawford. Bubba shows up, Dr. McMichaels comes onto him but he shakes her out of it for a minute.
Dr. Pretorius manages to use his brain power to make the resonator machine work again. They try to turn it off again but it zaps them. Crawford is too weak. A bunch of bugs attack Crawford and Dr. McMichaels but Bubba gets them to go towards the light. Then the bugs attach and eat Bubba, he's a skeleton. Dr. McMichaels is almost dragged into the Pretorious monster. She grabs a fire extinguisher and that briefly turns off the machine. Crawford's head worm has emerged. Crime scene #2.
Crawford is back at the psychiatric hospital being examined by angry Dr. Bloch. Dr. McMichaels has a crazy story now. Dr. Bloch is pissed and recommends electroshock therapy by force. Crawford awakens and his pineal vision leads him to brains- he finds the pathology lab. Dr. Bloch gets him but he eats her brain. Dr. McMichaels escapes electroshock therapy because Crawford is loose. She gets the can and goes back to the house. Crawford eats an EMT's brain then goes back to the hosue too.
Dr. McMichaels sets up a bomb on the resonator but is attacked by Crawford. She bites his pineal gland stalk. Crawford is eaten by Pretorious but then tries to destroy him from the inside. They rip each other apart. Dr. McMichaels jumps out the window and rips her knee but survives the fall. She's now where Crawford was at the beginning " IT ate his head!" but no one believes her. The neighbors show up.
Shot in Italy and Austria? Barbara Crampton is geat. Some weird timing, they take Crawford back to the attic too soon after he watched his mentor get his head eaten. Great gross practical effects. I have a hard time seeing Crawford as a sympathetic character. A little more explanation of the experiment would have helped as well as showing how entranced Dr. McMichaels gets. Good not great.
