The Beyond

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Summary: Beyond, The... (1981) d: Fulci, Lucio
Review: A great selling Laser Disc, and one of the most anticipated films in the Anchor Bay catalogue, Lucio Fulci's The Beyond is finally here. Despite being pieced together with ideas from other film sources - such as The Sentinel (1977), Suspiria (1976), and Inferno (1980) this picture is possibly Lucio Fulci's finest movie. A contemporary horror film about a Louisiana hotel haunted by the living dead, and it is found to be built over top one of the seven gateways to Hell. ...Regular Lucio Fulci heroine Catriona MacColl inherits the haunted hotel along with her helpmate, David Warbeck [both on the commentary track], and she has to endure a number of frightening supernatural manifestations before the climax. The plot could be a little thicker, but the film has many controversial gory moments that make it worth while. A plumber has his eyes gouged out, a maid gets an acid to her melting face, a dog rips a woman's throat out, and venomous spiders strip a man's flesh from his bones. Extras on this disc include the color German version of the Roger Corman inspired [Haunted Palace (1963)] pre credit sequence, instead of the more familiar sepia-tinted US and UK versions. The DVD also contains a blood splattered video by Ohio based Death Metal band Necrophagia directed by Jim [Deadbeat At Dawn / My Sweet Satan] Van Bebber.

Rating:
Summary: "The critics don't get it, and the critics never will."
Review: (Note: the subject line is taken from the DVD booklet, and is all too true.)

The Beyond (Lucio Fulci, 1981)

Many hardcore fans of Italian horror cinema consider The Beyond to be Lucio Fulci's best film; more than one will likely opine, if you ask, that The Beyond is the finest Italian horror film ever made. While that's probably stretching the case more than a little (I still prefer Fulci's raw, almost unbearably campy Zombie), there's a whole lot to be said for The Beyond as loads of fun. Without doubt, it is one of Fulci's brightest moments. (Note that all description below is from the uncut version on the Anchor Bay limited edition DVD, and as I've never seen the cut version released to theaters, some of what is described below may not sound familiar to those who have already seen the movie, which had a theatrical re-releases in 1998 as Seven Doors of Death.)

The Beyond takes place in the Louisiana bayou country. It opens with a scene in 1927 detailing the brutal lynching of Sweik, an eastern European of some sort who the natives believe has placed a curse on the town. During his lynching, Sweik protests that, in fact, he's the only person keeping the town from falling under the curse. Needless to say, they mob doesn't listen to him, or a very short film we'd have. We then skip to 1981, as our heroine, Liza (Fulci regular Catriona MacColl, seen most recently in the well-received 1998 film A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries), inherits the hotel where Sweik was staying at the time of his unfortunate demise. The place is haunted, especially Room 36, Sweik's room. As well, the basement is constantly flooded, and no one can figure out why. A plumber is dispatched to find the source of the water, and in his attempt he instead finds the source of the hauntings. Complications, as they say, ensue.

The Beyond works in no small part for the same reason that John Carpenter's contemporary film The Fog works--the events are presented with absolutely no context. The filmmaker hands up a plate of hot, steaming horror and raises no questions as to why any of this is happening. This is an important distinction; whether the film itself raises unanswered questions is often the difference between the success and the failure of a venture like this one. Fulci doesn't raise the questions, and The Beyond works. Argento doesn't raise the questions, and Suspiria works. (Argento tried to raise the questions in Inferno, and boy, did it ever not work.) Fulci throws us an extra bone, however, in
allowing one character to raise one question that no one in the film is capable of answering. Very nice touch, that.

Beyond (no pun intended) the film itself, the DVD release falls apart a bit, which is somewhat surprising in any Anchor Bay release, and is especially troubling in such an expensive, limited disc. Most of the extras that come with the release are either soundless (which is quite annoying when the extra is, for example, an interview!) or have a harsh soundtrack overlaid onto them. Might have been nice to use Fabio Frizzi's score for the film, which is up to the usual Frizzi standard and even surpasses it in places.

The film itself is definitely worth watching, both for fans of Italian horror specifically and the more general horror-fan population alike. However, you may want to wait for a non- limited release from Anchor Bay or Elite before picking it up on DVD. **** for the film, ** ½ for this particular release of it, so we'll compromise and say ***.

Rating:
Summary: Epic low budget film
Review: The story is about some girl that inherits a motel that is near one of the portals of hell. The story doesn't keep you interested. Very incoherent, leaving you not kowing what the hell these people are talking. What will keep you interested in the film is the many ways people get killed in freak accidents. There's some guy that gets whipped and gets acid thrown at him; apainter that falls off a ladder; a plumber that gets his eye popped out by a mysterious hand from nowhere; a dog that bites a blind lady (she was a ghost or something) in the neck, creating a waterfall of blood; a guy that gets his face eaten by fake looking yet cool spiders; acid pooring on some guy's face and changing colors. Then there's the final zombie takeover where a couple heads get blown off. This is Fulci's most epic accomplishment because of the creepy atmosphere and graphic violence. Any true horror fan probably has seen this or atleast knows about this film.Don't try to hard to understand the story because there really is no substance to the film. You might get bored if you try and sit through the whoel story, paying attention to every muttered word. Just mindless creative violence that makes good eye candy is what you get. Really makes you appeciate low budget films on a new level.

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Summary: The most see for gore fans!
Review: The Beyond is sure the best of Fulci.This is a gory movie.If you like gory movies this is probably in the "must see" category.In the 50's 60's Fulci directed(or writed)a lot of Comedies,but in the 70's he took to us 'The Lizard in The Woman's Skin",and "Dont Turture the Duckling" that are thrillers if i know right.The people of Italy liked the style of Fulci and they liked Dawn of the dead too,so Fulci made a sequel titled as Zombie(AKA Zombie 2 in Italy),thats a big success again.Fulci made other horror movies like:Manhattan Baby and The Gates of Hell(City of the living dead),and Beyond.
In Beyond,Fulci made new heights on the "apocalypse feeling".
The Beyond's Story:
A painter in the hotel opens one of the 7 doors of HELL(not death!),but the basement(where it is)is walled up.60 years later,Lisa a young girl inherit the hotel,and the gate opens again!
This film has very graphic,and gory effects(spider scene)but if your a fan of this type of a movie,YOU MUST SEE THE BEYOND!

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Summary: Fulci's exploration of, well . . . the beyond
Review: The Beyond is the bar by which most of Fulci's movies are measured. Close to this level you will find City of the Dead, Don't Torture a Duckling and Zombie--all of which have their merits, and as many of the one-star reviewers point out, their shortcomings. If you have never seen a Fulci movie, understand this: he's not trying to reach your brain (if you want a thinking man's horror film, go see the Exorcist or the Omen), he's looking to savage your nerves. Forget the story, consider the concept: a gateway to hell (one of the seven in existence)exists in an old, rundown New Orleans hotel; zombies are crawling out of hell and into our world, and they are doing nasty things to people. Yes, Fulci is very sadistic sometimes: in many of his movies, good people are killed for no logical reason and at a shocking moment of the film; the Beyond is no exception. Consider the man-eating spider scene, and Dicky the dog; there are even two scenes alone where a character gets acid thrown into their face, and Fulci's camera traces every moment of the acidic breakdown! As always, there is a parable of sorts to his films. In the Beyond, the hotel and the heroine are a good example of curiosity run amok; there is a great scene where one of the books that has information on the original building scheme of the hotel rewrites itself--almost as an attempt to ward the overly curious main characters away from the fate that awaits them. I didn't find the acting to be wooden. Maybe some of the character's actions can be described as implausible, but the actors give it a good go. Don't be put off because this is an Italian production, believe it, this is one of the greatest modern horror movies ever made from one of the greatest horror directors of his time. They don't call him the Maestro for nothing!

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Summary: Mondo Beyondo Condo...
Review: Liza (Catriona MacColl) has just moved into her new hotel in Louisiana. She has no idea that it was built on one of the seven gates to hell. If that weren't bad enough, a guy named Sweik was crucified there (in room 36) back in 1927, and buried in the basement. Liza hires Joe the plumber to fix a leak in the basement that is now more like a small lake. Joe finds the source of the leak, tears down a wall, and gets his eyes popped out by an extremely gross-looking Sweik zombie! One day, Liza almost runs over a beautiful blind woman and her dog. It's immediately clear that this woman is privy to things about the hotel that Liza knows nothing about. Is she a blessing or a curse to Liza? It's hard to tell. Many strange, ultra-gruesome deaths begin happening. Anyone / everyone associated with the hotel is murdered in some grizzly, supernatural way. Liza slowly sinks into the horror she's inherited. A growing army of zombies are on the march! Liza is helped by a doctor (David Warbeck). Together, they face the shambling, rotting minions. As in all Fulci dead-fests, no one is safe and anyone could perish at any time. The gore-factor is high, but the story held my interest throughout. A real skin-crawler! Grab it and let it grab you...

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Summary: One of the Best Horror DVD Releases Ever!
Review: The Beyond flat-out rules! God Bless Lucio Fulci for making this over-the-top zombie gore fest. Never have I seen such an excellent DVD for a horror film before. The story about one of the seven gates to hell being opened, and its contents unleashed in our world is Lucio Fulci's masterpiece. This Limited Edition tin-case set is amazing! The case itself contains a HUGE 48 page booklet with rare photos and a biography of Lucio Fulci. Also included in the case are 6 international poster replicas(which are awesome). The tin is also serialy numbered out of 20,000. Then there is the DVD itself. The picture is pretty good and is presented in anamorphic widescreen, the sound is also good with Dolby 2.0 and 5.1. The disc is loaded with features, including: a rare on-set interview with Fulci, international trailer, German trailer, US re-release trailer, a music video, audio commentary from David Warbeck and Catriona MacCall, a lost German pre-credit sequence and main titles, still galleries, and much much more. If you like horror, and like Lucio Fulci, stop reading this review and go buy it now!

Rating:
Summary: Uncut? yeah right
Review: This is not uncut, at least the version I received was not. The only place you'll see the uncut footage is in the Necrophagia video in the extras. I am so angry right now that they butchered this great movie. The movie itself I give a 5, I had to rate it as a 2 though for the version I received. Still angry.

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Summary: The best DVD commentary EVER!
Review: No matter what your feelings may be regarding the quality of "The Beyond" as a movie, this DVD is worth the price of purchase for the commentary by the film's hapless stars David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl. If you're sick to death of narcoleptic commentaries by tedious filmmakers describing camera set-ups or Hollywood stars blowing smoke up each other's arses, this is the commentary for you. Fresh from a boozy lunch, Mr Warbeck and Ms MacColl affectionately recall the horrors of working in the Italian film industry, (...) about their co-stars and create an extraordinary portrait of director Lucio Fulci all the while name-dropping furiously and trying to outdo each other in admiring their own performances. Warbeck is especially endearing as he reels off a string of off-colour jokes at the film's expense and MacColl is very entertaining particularly when her ladylike reserve is upset during the gore scenes which she obviously has trouble watching. All of this is delivered by two chums clearly delighted to be sitting down together having a good old chat after all this time. It's DVD commentary as it should be: entertaining. Highly recommended.

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Summary: response to rukusswo
Review: first of all, the director's name is fulci, not 'feluci'.

and you ask:

Zombie: how did the zombies make it to the main land?

well if you knew anything about zombies you could figure out that there could be two explanations.

#1. the zombie that is found on the sailboat at the start of the film is only shot in the torso (not fatal for a zombie) and falls into the ocean. as we learn later in the film, zombies can function underwater. maybe this zombie walked along the bottom of the ocean and up onto land. although this would be a difficult task for a zombie, it is still a possibility.

#2. a police officer was bitten by a one of the zombies on the sailboat. the last we see of him, he is on the autopsy table. he more than likely became re-animated and attacked the two doctors performing the autopsy! duh!