5. BROKEN BONES: Snap, crackle, “stop… is it sticking out?”

Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) has created the Resonator, which allows him to see beyond reality. You know, like the title. When Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) activates it, he sees all sorts of monsters floating around him, including one that bites him. Pretorious, instead of never turning it on again, goes wild and turns it up to 11. Crawford runs, Pretorious loses his head and Crawford is arrested for his murder by Detective Bubba Brownless (Ken Foree).

Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) treats him in a mental ward and discovers that his pineal gland has become enlarged. Interested by the machine, she, Crawford and Bubba go back to the lab and attempt to rebuild the machine. When they get it turned on, a nude and floating Pretorius appears, surrounded by monsters and slimy tentacles. Almost everyone barely makes it out alive.

Even after that, Katherine thinks the machine can help people who have schizophrenia and brain damage, so she turns it back on and Pretorius tries to drag her back into his new realm. Gigantic bees eat Bubba and Crawford has his pineal gland emerge from his forehead. Now, everyone thinks Katherine is insane and she’s saved from shock treatment by a brain and eye hungry Crawford, as the two escape and take a bomb back to the house.

The end of this movie upset me so much, as she launches herself out of a window to escape the blast and  her leg breaks into pieces before yelling, “They ate him!”

Shot in Italy at the Dinocitta Studios that were bought by Empire, this was made at the same time as Dolls, another movie by director Stuart Gordon. Between four effects teams and a nearly all Italian crew, they got a lot out of this movie’s low budget. I watched this so many times on cable, always covering my eyes, and even today it still has enough gross moments to make me question watching it.

I love that Barbara Crampton sold her leather BDSM outfit from this movie at a yard sale.