The Lucio Fulci Collection Volume 1 (The House By the Cemetery/The Beyond)

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but lets be realistic
Review: "The Beyond" is worth seeing for the sake of enjoying a fulci film but "dawn of the dead" or "reanimator" `ish` it ain't. I found myself reaching for the FF button after sitting though gratuitous spider biting fu (yes, that is like joe bob would call it). Other scenes warrented similar actions. People need to know that the "feel" of these movies is very late seventies night at the movies made for tv. Many people know this already, but I was one that did not and no review spoke of this fact. Beware fans of reanimator/dawn of the dead/make them die
slowly/necromantic/buried alive/dead alive/bad taste/ to name a few of the must buys.

Cemetery was much better, immediate nudity, great gore, annoying kid getting exposed to great gore, no FF button needed. The whole movie flowed better. check this one out first.

Rating:
Summary: 2 Fulci Classics For The Price Of 1!
Review: 1981 was a terrific year for Lucio Fulci. In that year, between the releases of Argento's INFERNO in 1980 (the same year Fulci made CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD/THE GATES OF HELL) and TENEBRE in 1982 (the same year Fulci made THE NEW YORK RIPPER and MANHATTAN BABY), Fulci ruled Italian horror with back-to-back masterpieces. Of course, I'm talking about THE BEYOND and THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, two of Fulci's most popular horror films that only get better with age!
THE BEYOND, in my humble opinion, is an extremely close second to SUSPIRIA as the greatest Italian horror movie of all time! In it, Catriona/Katherine MacColl renovates a Louisiana hotel she inherited only to discover that it rests on one of the seven gateways to Hell! Throughout the ensuing hour-and-a-half, pun intended, all Hell breaks loose, with the most gruesome imagery Fulci has ever committed to celluloid (e.g., crucifixion, acid bath, tarantulas, a head explosion, and Fulci's trademark eyeball violence), and it all looks totally realistic and awesome, right up there with any of Tom Savini's work! I really loved MacColl's prescence in THE BEYOND, as she's just so lovely to look at; John Saxon-lookalike David Warbeck is also really cool here as well (he was in Fulci's previous Edgar Allen Poe offshoot THE BLACK CAT, also in 1981), especially when dropping bullets through the barrel of his gun. I got the totally awesome soundtrack at my first horror convention a few months ago.
THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY also has MacColl, this time as a mother who, along with her doctor husband and son, move into the titular residence in Boston. The doctor is continuing the research conducted by a colleague who offed himself; the research is on one Dr. Freudstein, whose unorthodox methods involved killing people to keep himself alive. More Fulci mayhem such as a knife through the head (with the blade sticking out of the mouth), decapitation, and a neck-ripping. I got a HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY t-shirt featuring the 1984 poster artwork (on the Diamond release) at my first horror convention a few months ago, the safest representation of Fulci that you can get!
You must get this 2-pack if you want definitive Fulci. THE BEYOND has a terrific audio commentary by MacColl and Warbeck (a few weeks before Warbeck died) which is amusing and informative, among a slew of awesome extras. THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY has a photo and still gallery set to one of the creepy compositions in the score. This is a double-dose of Fulci mayhem at its greatest, most Argento-like; a definite must-watch!

Rating:
Summary: Fulci Lives
Review: Any fan of the italian horror/gore genre MUST pick up this package. Both films are arguably two of Fulci's finest works and even as a hardened and synical gore film buff myself, I was startled at the ingenuity of several sequences in both films (which were originally cut from the first american video R rated releases).
The collection is an amazing buy considering they were selling for upwards of ... bucks a piece previously.
If you love such splatter classics as Dawn of the Dead, Dead Alive, or Re-Animator, you owe it to yourself to see the incredible effects work done on these films. Not only does Fulci create some of the most amazing horror atmospheres and gore, but his camera work is just as impressive.

Rating:
Summary: Great movies but beware defective disc
Review: At least some of the discs containing The Beyond are defective. I have returned one set and recieved another and it also has its problems. It doesnt like to load or read once loaded. If you monkey with it enough it will play. As for the movies themselves i cannot seem to get enough of them. The music as well as visual is very captivating. Hopefully Anchor Bay will do a recall on the defective product. Perhaps buying the movies seperatly would be a better option.

Rating:
Summary: above average offerings
Review: Farming the zombie genre is a daunting task. There are just too many bad films out there made by folks who think zombies equate to reddish liquid splashed liberally on bodies and the surfaces of walls. Not so! Suspense and atmosphere are the very foundation of eerie, something only the true auteur can accomplish.

Lucio Fulci manages to squeak through with these well above average offerings. The Beyond truly deserves a spot as one of the best zombie movies of all time spot, falling closely behind the Living Dead trilogy. Its bold attempt at portraying hell and the realization of an apocalyptic zombie holocaust is this movie's real worth. While Fulci is popular for his gore, one seeking to find realism ought to look elsewhere. Evil Dead (pt. 1) is often more realistic. Lastly, The Beyond, like most horror movies, suffers from little (not no) plot. My advice is to go with it. There's enough visual appeal to make the unexplained forgiveable. Grade: B+

The House By The Cemetery suffers from an obnoxious little boy and a secret plot. I say secret because either something was lost in the translation (was this dubbed?), or Fulci just didn't want to share. The basic message I got was that children were evil. Granted. As for the zombie himself (yes, only one) the question of "why" is never answered. Again I say, accept it all or don't bother with the film. As for the obnoxious little boy (spoiler alert), his voice is so grating you actually wish he was the only character that died. We, the viewer, are not so lucky. I had to fast forward a lot of this film because it failed to keep me interested. Regardless, a hardcore fan would still like this one. Grade: C+

If you're only interested in getting good zombie films, go with the Beyond. If you're interested in getting a complete zombie collection, save some cash and buy this set.

Rating:
Summary: above average offerings
Review: Farming the zombie genre is a daunting task. There are just too many bad films out there made by folks who think zombies equate to reddish liquid splashed liberally on bodies and the surfaces of walls. Not so! Suspense and atmosphere are the very foundation of eerie, something only the true auteur can accomplish.

Lucio Fulci manages to squeak through with these well above average offerings. The Beyond truly deserves a spot as one of the best zombie movies of all time spot, falling closely behind the Living Dead trilogy. Its bold attempt at portraying hell and the realization of an apocalyptic zombie holocaust is this movie's real worth. While Fulci is popular for his gore, one seeking to find realism ought to look elsewhere. Evil Dead (pt. 1) is often more realistic. Lastly, The Beyond, like most horror movies, suffers from little (not no) plot. My advice is to go with it. There's enough visual appeal to make the unexplained forgiveable. Grade: B+

The House By The Cemetery suffers from an obnoxious little boy and a secret plot. I say secret because either something was lost in the translation (was this dubbed?), or Fulci just didn't want to share. The basic message I got was that children were evil. Granted. As for the zombie himself (yes, only one) the question of "why" is never answered. Again I say, accept it all or don't bother with the film. As for the obnoxious little boy (spoiler alert), his voice is so grating you actually wish he was the only character that died. We, the viewer, are not so lucky. I had to fast forward a lot of this film because it failed to keep me interested. Regardless, a hardcore fan would still like this one. Grade: C+

If you're only interested in getting good zombie films, go with the Beyond. If you're interested in getting a complete zombie collection, save some cash and buy this set.

Rating:
Summary: Two Things you Don't Want From Your Newly Acquired Cellar
Review: Normally I don't review things early, but the features on this release and the features on the newest releases of The Beyond and House By the Cemetery are identical. I was pleasantly surprised by both of these, because both the picture quality and the widescreen is to my liking, plus I like having the interviews and the video for And You Will Live In Terror. Considering I bought them separately because they were both uncut + widescreened, I would have to call this packaging a really good deal. To the movies:
The Beyond -
Debatably Lucio's finest film, this story focuses around a New Orleans hotel where an atrocity is committed and an ensuing curse helps it become one of the accursed seven doors to hell. After a long stint of inactivity, an inheritance is passed and the hotel once again plans to reopen, gate to hell and all.
While I wouldn't say that The Beyond is a frightener, I do have to give it credit for its ability to mood set. The entire movie has a very Fulci feel, keeping you waiting for what horrible trouble will plague the characters next. In its uncut version, the plot is a bit more fluid and loses some of its former Seven Gates inconsistency, plus many of the effects are now restored to their awe-inspiring graphicness. As far these gore effects go, this movie has a bit of everything. There are scenes ranging from tarantulas having their way with someone's face and someone being lovingly pummeled with chains to the walking dead and the headwounds that they often succumb to. Combine this with a superbly bleak ending and you have something very enjoyable.
House By The Cemetery -
This is one of the films I use to introduce people to Italian Horror because its a good film, the plot is convoluted enough to be amusing and still viable at the same time, and there's parts ranging from silly (an attack by what looks to be a rubber bat) to more gruesome aspects (unnamed for fear of spoiling) effects. The story revolves around a family from New York that moves to New England because of a recently "vacated" job post. As with any good horror film, though, nothing goes according to plans. From the beginning signs point to "dismal" as we see their new house, one literally located by the Cemetery, then hear strange noises in the night, and learn more and more about one of the previous owners, Dr. Freudstein. As the bodies begin to fall, the real mystery for the family has to be what exactly is that noise coming from the cellar.

If you've yet to pick up these movies, you really should give them a test drive. All the once seemingly innocent things going bump in the night will love you for it.

Rating:
Summary: Two Different films directed by Lucio Fulci.
Review: The House by the Cemetery:An unsuspecting family (Katherine Mac Coll, Paolo Malco & Giovanni Frezza), who move into a new house but something lurks under thier house from the basement holds a horrifoc secert that could destroy team.

The Beyond:In the early 1920's, a man-who is a Warlock (Antoine-Saint-John) has been tortued and murder by the Clan from the Townspeople of New Orleans. Then 60 years later-a woman (Katherine Mac Coll) recieve a Hotel from her deceased Uncle and then strange things starts to happen to the very depths of Hell Itself.

T.H.B.T.C.-Directed by Lucio Fulci (The Black Cat, Gates of Hell, Zombie) made a clever but uneven bizarre horror film, which is well directed. The Screenplay by Fulci, Giorgio Mariuzzo & Dardano Sacchetti, from a Story by Elisa Briganti. The film has some genuine suspense and thrills but it's hurted by a far-fecthed ending that makes the film a unsatisfying factory. DVD's has an clean anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD Etxras are:Theatrical Trailers, T.V. Spot, Still Gallery & Talent Bios. It's definitely worth seeing (Lulci's fans will love this). Techniscope. Grade:B+.

T.B.-Directed by Lucio Fulci (Manhatten Baby, The Psychic, Lizard in a Woman's skin) made a clever, horrific, supernatural horror story with a Knockout Ending. Many Critics & Fans considered to be Fulci's Masterpiece. There's good performances by Mac Coll, David Warbeck and Cinzia Monreale. Excellent Make-Up Effects by Gianetto De Rossi, Creppy Score by Fabio Frizzi and Terrific Cinematography by Sergio Salvati highlights this flick. From a Screenplay by Fulci, Dardano Sacchetti & Giorgio Mariuzzo, from a Story by Sacchetti. DVD's has an good anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer & an strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD's extras are:An good entertaining and funny commentary track by Actors:Warbeck & Mac Coll, Trailers, Music Video and More. Do not miss this one. Not for the Squeamish. Techniscope. Grade:A-.

Rating:
Summary: Two top-notch horror movie masterpieces!
Review: When it comes to Fulci, it's very very hard to find a movie that's not 100% brutal horror mayhem. With this very excellent package, we get two of these very gnarly films. Both of which are a gorehound's best dream, or nightmare in this case.

The Beyond - This is probably one of the greatest examples of the horror genre. It embodies so many different elements of horror in one very twisted way. It's got loads of gore, eye gouges, exploding heads, zombies, hell, evil house, and a beautiful female hero. There's nothing to not like about this movie (double negative). This movie is probably one of the goriest movies ever made. From the first 3 minutes it grabs you and doesn't let go until the rather ambiguous ending. It's a great piece of splatter cinema that every self-respecting horror fan should see.

House By The Cemetery - Classic haunted house movie with a lot of gore. I wouldn't say it had as much gore as Zombi 2 or The Beyond, but it had more than the average haunted house story. I saw some similarities with Amityville Horror, but there aren't many. It's very original and the whole plot kind of confused me. I'm probably gonna try to watch it again soon. It's a very good movie, though.

Rating:
Summary: Strange endings
Review: While watching the Lucio Fulci Collection on DVD, there are no happy endings in either "House by the Cemetery" or "The Beyond". In fact I found the end of HBTC to be quite baffling. Why was the film not prolonged, as to see what actually happened to Freudstein? Bob "the little boy" escapes Freudstein's clutches, while both his parents are killed. He's then met by the evil Dr Freudstien's spirit wife and child, whom both are kind. They then walk off, hand in hand into the sunset. The end.

As much as I expected some justice to be done towards Freudstein, it never did happen. It just makes you wonder why? And, there was no House by the Cemetery 2 to my knowledge? The ends justify the means certainly don't pertain to the ending of this film. Very strange.