The Beyond (Limited Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Brutal Horror from this legendary director.
Review: Horrific film set in Lousisiana with a Satanic cult. I love movies where you actually get to see the gross effects and not were they are implied. A Horror movie should show all the gore and this does. Great eyeball gouging scene as well as a womens held being melted in a vat of acid. A+ for that.

Rating:
Summary: too weird to ignore
Review: I hated the beyond when i first watched it.i put it at the back of my collection,forgot i had it,watched it again and to my surprise i liked it. if you expect a straight horror flick,your gonna be dissapointed.the movie plays like a bizzare nightmare,it doesnt make a hell of lotta sense,but if you give it a shot it will freak you out with its dream like quality.

Rating:
Summary: A fan.
Review:
A brutal film. A beautiful transfer. The booklet is awesome and the card reprints are cool. Get this when it's cheap, trust me! And you may not know it, but this DVD release is actually done under the banner of Rolling Thunder Pictures (Quentin's company).
I thought that was cool.

Rating:
Summary: Night of Hell
Review: Fulci's so called "masterpiece" is a trying piece of moviemaking that is utterly predictable and slow. The boring cycle starts out with a lady inherting some old hotel and attempting to fix it up but along the way some workers accidentally open a "gate of hell" and everyone winds up dead. The only good thing about this film is the ending which features a strange 70's soundtrack, matte backdrop of hell and a bizarre expression on the characters faces, reminscient of Dario Argento's films, other than that, this is a waste of time.


Rating:
Summary: Bought on a whim, glad it was cheap
Review: My buddy & I got this movie after we found a cheap copy at a CD store... It was pretty enjoyable, but more for laughs than anything. The acting was corny and the plot was horribly incoherent. Great special effects for the time, though... not to mention the creative gore scenerios. I particularly enjoyed the scene with the little girl's head exploding.

Rating:
Summary: Lucio Fulci's at his best
Review: Bon voila surement le meilleurs film de Fulci jamais fait mon préféré . Encore une fois les trames sonores de Fabio Frizzi sont toujours d'un pure bonheurs à entendre. le meme aspect apesant et glauque que c'est prédécesseur et prise de vue qui sort de l'ordinaire , les zooms de cam sur les yeux et les scenes gore filmé de tres pres. Ce film est particulierement accée sur la mort , plusieurs scenes culte digne de Fulci sont inégalable .peut-etre la scene des araignés (En plastic) est mal fait(ca viellit quand meme) mais donne réellement la frousse . Le héros n'a toujours pas l'air a comprendre qu'un zombie ce tue d'une seul facon (en lui brisant le cerveau) et les acteur n'ont pas l'air d'avoir peur bref comme pour l'enfer des zombie j'ai trouver les acteurs un peu lourdeau...les seuls déffaut du film a mes yeux. Bref un film a voir absolument pour tout fan du Maire .

Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars. First-rate Italian Horror
Review: I've only seen 2 Fulci movies other than this (Zombie and City of the Living Dead), and this is by far the best of them. (Though they're all worth seeing) Yeah, it's pretty derivative, taking notes from Suspiria, Inferno and The Sentinel in particular, but most movies are so who gives a damn. The acting isn't so hot, though perhaps not particularly bad for the genre, the plot often incoherent and the dialogue is either stilited or laughable most of the time. (Though I believe the "You have carte blanche but not a blank check" line was actually meant as a joke, but you never can tell) And, once again, I say, who gives a damn. If you make your Italian horror movie right all of the aforementioned portions of the film will be given an absolute minimum amount of screen time possible to make way for more zombies, spewing blood, creepy locales, cool synth music and all those other things that make this sorta film great. If that's what your looking for there's no reason not to pick this up. If you don't like this sorta film in general this isn't at all likely to convert you.

This film is a quasi-sequel to City of the Living Dead, in that it involves the opening of a gate to hell, this time located underneath a hotel in Louisiana, resulting in supernatural goings ons and the presence of phantasmic zombie-ghosts and conventional zombies. This fulfills all the absolute necessities of a horror film plot: It allows plenty of opportunities for death and horror. (And it gets bonus points for including zombies) And yeah, there are some particularly stupid things related to the plot, such as why the doctor insisted on attaching a EEG machine(maybe that's the wrong name, I forget) to a corpse which is essentially fossilized, and why some people with the icky cataracts are evil for no apparent reason while other are good, and why the stupid doctor never seems to figure out that he needs to shoot the zombies in the head, and why there is a sign that says "Do Not Entry". But none of that really ought to matter, if your interested in the rest of the film. Other than a few things this is all actually fairly slick and professional, far more so than many Fulci critics would have you believe.

There is essentially no character development, but I think the main protagonists are kinda likable. Also, Veronica Lazar is quite creepy, though it's hard to say why, either from a practical or plot standpoint. (And Catriona MacColl is kinda hot. Wooo! And she gives one of the better performances, I suppose.) Still, to call the acting good is a stretch, but is more than sufficiently competent for the material.

I would dare say that the biggest flaw in this movie is that there is a bit too much gore. I'm not opposed to the gore in and of itself, but I think it is so prominent that it really throws the pace off some of the time and detracts from the excellent atmosphere. That, and drawing out a gore-scene too long makes it less effective, not more, as it becomes easier to pick out the problems, and you just kinda get used to it after a few seconds.(Gore Spoilers ahead) This is most problematic during the spider scene, which I think is slightly disturbing at a few moments, but goes on forever and is mostly just either silly or boring as hell. The head-melting with acid is also quite weak and boring. These two scenes should've been cut, in my opinion Most of the rest of the gore is at least pretty good, if not exactly convincing. The chain-whipping/crucifixon/quick-lime melting at the beginning is pretty effective, and quite painful to watch much of the time.(Though the sliding zooms into the chain-wounds are quite annoying, and it is a lil bit to drawn out). The, eye-poked with the nail is perhaps the best effect, and it wisely shown only very briefly. The throat-ripping is comically over the top by the end, but is effective in it's way. And there's the famed magnum-head-explosion, which is quite nice.

Still, I think the atmosphere and style are the better part of the film. The "sepia-tinged"(brownified) opening is quite intense, despite some overacting, and sets the mood very well. Fulci's love of shooting closeups of people's eyes is pretty effective too, I think, so long as he doesn't over do it, and the misty green cataracts that are in some character's are creepty and gross. The score is quite cool as well, and not as massively Goblin-derived as some of Frizzi's other stuff.(though it is still influenced by them, for sure) It's fairly low-key most of the time, with some particularly effective use of synth-choirs.(Perhaps influenced by Emeron's score for Inferno.) The zombie-filled ending is really cool too, with some very nice-looking and particularly lethargic zombies.(Though some of them are a little bitt too lumpy, I think) There's a particularly great shot of a pack of zombies standing at the end of a hallway, with a mysterious blue light behind them. It's oddly majestic, I think.(You may think I'm joking: I'm not) The best scene would have to be when seeing-eye dog lady is surrounded by ghost-zombies in the hotel lobby. It's perfectly lit and shot, goes on just long enough.

The Anchor Bay DVD looks absolutely great, as usual, and the commentary is pretty amusing.This movie pretty much rules, if you like this sorta thing. I suspect that the extremely informal nature of this review may make it look like I think this is a good-bad or so-bad-it's-good movie. This isn't the case. This movement has a number of flaws, for sure, but the positives far outweigh them, and this is definitely a good film by horror film standards.

Rating:
Summary: The Beyond and back again
Review: Im just gonna be short on this one. Italian zombie gore fests do not come any better than this. If your a fan of Fulchi movies then you already know how good this film is, if your a fan of horror movies and need an introduction to this master of gore then this is the film you need to see. Along with Zombie 2 this is his masterpiece, and finally we have a dvd release that does the film the justice it deserves, if your english like me and live in England we have to make do with sub-standard discs with no extras, so Amazon is where we shop to get top quality merchandise. The Beyond is back and looks better than ever.. Enjoy

Rating:
Summary: The Beyond.
Review: Ok. We've got gore up the wazoo. We've got a confusing, awkward plot filled with disjointed scenes. We've got meager acting. This could be about any random gore film. We've got three cases of ocular destruction. Oh, must be a Fulci flick.

Most people probably won't like this movie. They'll complain about the story, the acting, the gore.

I dunno. There's just something about this movie. I like it, and not in a "IT'S SO BAD IT'S GOOD!" way. I like the style. And, of course the gore.

The infamous spider scene wasn't exactly what I was hoping it would be. The spiders were extremely fake. But other than that, I really liked the gore. Best part for me is the woman getting smashed against the wall with the nail poking out and having her eye jammed out by it.

Classic.

If you like Italian horror, you'll definitely like this. If not...you'll probably whine about it.



Rating:
Summary: Waiter! Some extra Red Sauce with my Eyeball!
Review: Like chianti, ouzo, and foie gras and monkey brains, Lucio Fulci is an acquired taste, certainly not for everyone. Like the other Italian Grand Masters of Giallo and Splatter horror, Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento, Fulci is a consummate stylist, an artiste of atrocity, a master of mutilation, capable of seeing the beauty in the cinematic popped eyeball or the fake freshet of arterial spray---and as such, not everyone gets him. Judge from the reviews here alone: people either love Italian giallo horror or they despise it---and those with really weak stomachs rarely stay around to be sure.

That said, if you're willing to drop your pre-conceived notions about what a horror film should be---and if you accept that for Fulci's splatter masterpiece you're just going to have to disconnect some of your critical faculties (just as Fulci holds plot, character development, dialogue and editing in abeyance)---then you're going to be treated to a sumptuous, brutal, occasionally shocking and highly Gothic treat. "The Beyond" is an ensanguined festival of blood, bile, brains, gore, and New Orleans swamp horror, all beautifully filmed and served with a heaping, steaming platter of full-bore horror and genuinely creepy atmosphere. Did I mention Chef Fulci lays on slathers of the red sauce with his steak tar-tar?

Again, the plot here isn't important. In 1927, an accused sorcerer is brutally tortured and slaughtered in the basement of a New Orleans hotel. Nearly six decades later, a woman (who bears a striking resemblance to the proprietress of the old hotel) buys the place, and begins to renovate it.

Unfortunately for her, the property sits atop one of the Seven Gates to Hell, and what a time for her to dispatch a plumber to help her with the flooded basement! Naturally, the liche-sorcerer's zombie gets loose, pokes the plumber's eyes out (a Fulci specialty!), and things get out of hand. What more could a horror-hound want, you ask? Plenty, and Lucio Fulci delivers, offering up double-servings of:

*Nasty, sneaky, goopy mutilated zombies, all appearing at the worst possible moment and specializing in popping their victim's eyeballs out---slowly!

*A creepy blind woman whose 'blindness'(which looks like a bad case of cataracts) could be a trap for our heroine---and that's not even counting her bone chomping seeing-eye dog! Fetch, Fido!

*Lip eating, eyelid-biting giant tarantulas in the public library!

*Brains, blood, bile, and goop, goop, and more goop!

*A mysterious painting that lures its victims into a hellish netherworld!

*the nastiest, creepy-crawly morgue scene ever filmed, guaranteed to make you say "Ick!"!

*Best of all, eye gouging galore by the Master of Movie Eye Gouging!

Full disclosure: You might have to give "The Beyond" more than one look to really appreciate it---and it's best to have high quality equipment to view it on, as this is a lushly produced DVD with a gorgeous transfer and 5.1 sound (it's also got some jolly extras on it, including a music video by Necrophagia called "And You will Live in Fear"). Some bourbon on the rocks doesn't hurt, either. I had heard so much about Fulci and 'The Beyond', and I must confess that I was initially mystified at all the hype: the director has awful pacing, sequences occur seemingly without any relation to the rest of the movie, the acting is atrocious, and Fulci lets the camera linger on his splatter scenes far too long, undermining their shock.

But I gave "The Beyond" a second chance, and I'm glad I did. The movie is genuinely unsettling, beautiful to behold, and the gore scenes are almost sensual in their bloody beauty. And for my money, the zombies in the climactic morgue scene are some of the nastiest and most terrifying ever put to celluloid.

If you love splatter cinema and want to get a look at an Italian maestro at the top of his game---and you're willing to shut off a few critical blinders---then you'll find "The Beyond" a fine witches' brew, indeed. Bon appetit!