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Summary: oh Mr. Fulci, you are quite funny
Review: Quite an overdone idea really. Random dead people come back to life, they kill people, those people come back to life to kill even more, so on until God knows when. I really enjoyed watching this movie, although it took me two viewings to appreciate it. Fulci uses mechanical spiders and a posse of live-corpses to convey a feeling of complete panic, then ends it all off with the movie's two central characters being isolated as they go into the unknown 'beyond.' One of the best party flicks out there.
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Summary: One of the Greatest Italian Horror Films...EVER!!!!
Review: "the beyond" has its bad spots, cheesy effects, and occasionally unbelievably bad dialogue. but there are enough genuinely horrific images that it can't be ignored. the opening sequence is extremely creepy and intense, and the "nail through the back of the skull and out the eyeball" scene is an eye-closer if there ever was one. highly recommended for those who like a good, creepy movie (and a tested ability to accept ridiculous amounts of blood and gore, but trust me, it's worth it). and as for anchor bay's dvd, it ranks as one of my favorite possessions. i snagged myself a copy of the limited edition tin, and the 48-page booklet is the best i've ever seen. it has tributes, essays, and a VERY lengthy & detailed fulci bio. very much worth buying.
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Summary: Not an Italian horror film devotee--big mistake!
Review: Okay, I'm prepared to be dumped on by all of the many people who clearly think highly of this movie. I won't bother to try to add to the details others have provided about the plot, such as it is. I also want to admit up front that I'm not fan of the genre, although I have great respect for Mario Bava and Dario Argento, for example. But frankly, I just don't get the praise of my fellow Amazon critics, who have often guided to me to many wonderful movies that I ordinarily would have overlooked. I admit that Director Fulci is clearly a talented man, with a refined grasp for composition, but who also suffered from low budgets, which limited his ability to spend a lot on sets, costumes, actors, special effects, etc. He has interesting ideas, but this movie is simply .... Badly acted, humorously over the top violence and gore, all built around a largely incoherent story and a pretentious voice over, with a nonsensical ending. The whole thing is rather sad when I reflect on Fulci's obvious talents and I wonder what Fulci could have done with a real budget. (although Sam Raimi didn't seem to get better with bigger budgets.) It isn't scary, it is gross in a sophmoric way, and left me really irritated that I'm one of the luckly people to have one of the 20,000 limited edition copies. I would recommend that those interested in exploring the Italian horror genre start elswhere, and in fact, I would have to recommend they give this one a miss. Anybody want to buy the collector's special edition--it comes in a nice can, with a nice booklet, and the cards remain unopened. I'll admit to defeat in understanding this genre, and agree that it has undoubtedly colored my view of the picture. So take it with a grain of salt, but again, this is simply a bad movie. Sorry. P.S. The dvd does demonstrate a good picture, has a nice number of extra features, but the sound tends to drown out the dialogue at certain points--which ain't necessarily bad. So this is the DVD copy to own, if you like the movie.
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Summary: 4 Stars may be pushing it, but it's Fulci's Masterpiece!"
Review: "The Godfather of Gore"-Lucio Fulci. People either love the guy, or hate him. Some call him a hack, other's consider him a genious. Whatever the case I consider him to be a very fine craftsman who took to the horror genre with a vengeance. Controversial even in his homeland, Fulci was rejected by the press after attacking the Catholic Church in his films BEATRICE CENCI and DON'T TORTURE THE DUCKLING. The latter film in particular is an emotionally shattering masterpiece that seriously needs better exposure. Fulci found his biggest success with his gory zombie tetraology of 1979-1982: ZOMBIE, GATES OF HELL, HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY, and which Brings us to this film, hailed many times as his very best, his outré masterpiece, "The Beyond." A film Made with skill, wit and bracing efficiency, the film evokes Lovecraft in it's moody, decaying ambience and create an environment in which -- as the director observed -- "horror is ubiquitous, in even the most innocuous forms." Fulci conceived what he set out to do, creating a "Living Nightmare", full of looming misty imagery, full of vibrant oranges and reds. Hyponoticaly inticing the eye, while at the same time displaying such nightmaric-dream-like proportions filled with brimming piano death melodies that cultimate in the films dream-like structure. This is a film where the term "Logic" is total-nonexsistent. Where the film's script doesn't have to be "coherent" enough to make sense, it's structured as a dream--So like a dream nothing really makes sense, when one dreams one can not make out what extally they are dreaming of, but a bunch of images and sequences, just like most of Fulci's films. But this time the plot device--is the advantage. It all makes sense even though it really doesn't seem to. The Performances are, like most of Fulci's low-budgeties appear wooden. With the exception of David Warbeck-who by far pulls out the best performance. Fulci's direction is certainly top-notch, as with most of his Zombie films, he seems to be focused more on style & gore than substance. Overall "The Beyond" remains and always will remain(as much as mainstream critics despise and pan it as hack-work) a "Cult-Classic" of the Horror Genre, and one of the most important, trend-setting zombie films of it's decade. As well as an extreamly fun-gore-packed-chiller-zombie flick. It delivers in all respects, but for an required taste, that is. Try and get the DVD version, it's a Fulci-Fan's delight!Rating: 4 out of 5 Grade: B
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Summary: beyond the dubbing
Review: the movie had cinematic values to it but it lacks a good plot,however the ending is pretty good,The Beyond doesnt have a cheese ending, which is a good thing to look for. The audio on the other hand puzzles me. I purchased this movie on DVD and the dubbing, i dont know if it was intended to be dubbed over Italian , or it was English dubbed over english, in any case, it's atrocious. The music on the other hand is great, as in most of Lucio's movies. things to look for: Zombie in polyester suit stepping out of a goop filled bath tub.. eye popping close ups blindness and itchy swelling optics A dog named Dickie
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Summary: THE BEYOND:CLASSIC FULCI ESCAPISM!LITERALLY!
Review: An absolute feast of giallo mayhem,culminating in probably one of the most chilling finales ever offered to celluloid. De Rossi's effects are excellent for their time,and great fun to watch now(OH...THOSE SPIDERS!!).Any REAL horror buff should NOT be without this disc in their collection.
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Summary: The most anticipated horror DVD release ever
Review: Before anyone watches 'The Beyond', I highly recommend viewing 'City of the Living Dead' first because 'The Beyond' plays like a sequel to the latter...why more people haven't picked up on this who have seen both films is oblivious to me. With that aside, 'The Beyond' pretty much plays along with the usual Fulci fare...zombies, heads exploding (which is also featured in 'New York Ripper) melting flesh, and the signature eye gouging. The storyline is lacking as with most of Fulci's films with the exception of 'Cat in the Brain' (which is more autobiographical---Fulci was brought up on animal cruelty charges in the mid-80's). But what makes 'The Beyond' so different is the fact that Fulci had a unique talent to create atmosphere without much of a storyline and his and 'The Beyond' is his magnum opus for such feats.
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Summary: it's real
Review: this is a movie that you must see...it's the visualization and magnification 100x of what procol harum is hinting at in their home lp....an extension, if you will, of keith reid's brush with death....it is a warning and at the same time an enlightenment....of what might be.......because, if man can think it, it's real
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Summary: FINALLY ON DVD!!!
Review: A run down hotel in New Orleans that rests atop one of hell's seven gateways serves as the focal point for most of this movie's action. This particular gateway has remained open since 1927 when a warlock was lynched by an angry mob, whipped with chains, and crucified to a wall in the hotel's basement. He warns the townsfolk, "Be careful what you do, because this hotel was built over one of the seven doors of evil and only I can save you." Rather than heed this ominous declaration, they award him a faceful of unforgiving quicklime and leave him there to die horribly. Flash forward several decades to 1981. Liza, a promising and beautiful young woman from New York, has inherited the old building but does not detect the demonic forces already in residence. That's because nothing altogether odd has really happened, at least not yet. Before long, however, people associated in whatever fashion with the hotel begin dropping like flies. A house-painter working by the upper-windows falls from his scaffold, a plumber is found mutilated in the basement, and a man researching the blueprints for the hotel succumbs to a grisly attack by tarantulas. Add to the mix the blind and mysterious Emily who pressures Liza to pack up and flee, a skeptical doctor, the ancient book of "Eibon" as well as a handful of zombies, and you should have a general idea of what this movie is all about. "The Beyond" released here previously as the heavily edited "Seven Doors of Death", is what I believe to be director Lucio Fulci's greatest work. It debuts uncensored on DVD with an absolutely awesome transfer, the same remastered print Quentin Tarantino used when he re-released the film back into theaters in 1998. Never has it looked or sounded any better. Give credit where credit is due because Anchor Bay has just done a phenomenal job with this disc. An effectively eerie soundtrack along with the traditional gore Fulci was known for easily elevates this well and above the recent watered-down, mainstream-friendly slasher films we've all grown sick of. This is the type of horror film no american director would ever have the proverbial guts to put out, never mind the occasional acting gaps and dialogue, and is a definite keeper. Add it to your collection now.
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Summary: Fulci's "masterpiece" given the royal treatment
Review: It took me a few viewings (more like 5 or 6, actually) to get into "The Beyond," considered by many Italian horror fans to be Lucio Fulci's masterpiece. And even after accepting and liking the movie, I still can't understand why it's regarded so highly, especially when it seems to rip off its predecessor, "City of the Living Dead" in more ways than one. In any case, the story of a young woman (Catriona MacColl, who's always easy on the eyes) who inherits a run-down Louisiana hotel only to discover it's built on one of the 7 gateways to hell is told with Fulci's typical attention to camerawork and yes, incoherent events and loose ends. But who cares about the story, anyway? Most Euro-horror fans will be watching for the spectacular zombie-filled climax, where MacColl teams up with a heroic doctor (played by the late David Warbeck) and blows away hordes of the living dead. And the conclusion is a delightfully unpleasant downer much in the vein of Romero's zombie movies. The Anchor Bay DVD is packed with extras, but I felt there could have been even more. The still gallery, interview footage, and colorized opening sequence were my favorites, and while the chatty commentary (by Warbeck and MacColl) was informative, more often than not they seemed to be NARRATING the movie (and pretty excessively, at that). For Fulci fans who are batty for "The Beyond," this limited edition tin is well worth the investment. But for those of us who feel the director has done better, we can only hope AB will release some of his other movies in more exclusive versions in the near future.
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