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The Beyond
DVD/APPROX. 89 MINS/1981/ITALY R18+
DVD/APPROX. 89 MINS/1981/ITALY R18+
10
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Louisiana 1927
A large of group of men surround an old hotel in the middle of nowhere. Busting in they go up the stairs into room 36 where an artist named
Schwiek is painting his latest picture. Taking Schwiek into the cellar of the hotel the men whip him with chains, crucify him to the wall with large
nails through the wrist and throw acid on him, causing him to melt. Meanwhile a young woman Emily (Cinzia Monreale) is reading a book called
Eibon, which explains how the hotel was built on one of the seven doorways to hell.
And so begins Lucio Fulci's Masterpiece.
Louisiana 1980
Lizza (Catriona MacColl) has inherited the hotel and proceeds to start fixing the joint up. A painter up on a scaffold outside is working away when
he sees a pair of Blind eyes looking at him through the window and he proceeds to fall off the scaffold. The Doctor (David Warbeck) is called and
the painter is taken to hospital. Just after this, Joe the plumber turns up and is led to the basement to fix the leaky pipes. Standing at a section of
wall, it starts to melt away and a hand comes through, grabbing Joes head and gouging out his eye! These are just the tip of the iceberg of all the
other unusual goings on within the hotel, of which i will not spoil anymore.
The film itself is truly incredible in its "is it a dream or reality" feel, along the same lines as Phantasm. And as with Phantasm, first time viewers will
be better off thinking it is a dream as it moves along at a quick pace without revealing many hows, whys and whats, if you know what i mean. The
cinematography and sets in this (in particular, the "Sea Of Darkness" scene.) are spot on, very professional looking to the low budget the film was
made with. Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck & Cinzia Monreale are all spot on castings, even all the bit part people look the part. Fabio Frizzi's
score is excellent. One of my all time favourite movie scores in fact.
Of course what would a Fulci film be without gore? Gianetto De Rossi does a bang up job as usual. Eye Gouging, Acid Burns, Head Explosions (of a
child, no less!) and many other gruesome effects take care of the gore department.
I remember years ago seeing the trailer for this on an old Palace Explosive tape. 2 years later i finally tracked down a copy and watched it. I was
less than impressed! It was hacked to the shit house by the OFLC! Luckily i decided to give it another try when the R1 Anchor Bay DVD turned up
on EBay for fuck all. Well! It was like watching a whole different film!
Quite simply the DVD is stunning! Crystal clear transfer, Dolby 5.1 soundtrack (even the 2 Channel Italian soundtrack is on it!). A Commentary with
Warbeck & MacColl, recorded 2 weeks before he succumbed to cancer, is fairly good track. Both talk about their fondness for working with Fulci & in
the Italian film industry amongst other things. Footage of Fulci, MacColl & Warbeck at various Festivals. Although brief it contains some good
thoughts about the film. Other Extras include: Stills Galleries, Necrophagia music Video, German colour pre-credits sequence & liner notes. Unless,
of course, you are a lucky bastard like me who scored one of the Limited Edition tin versions which also contains Lobby Cards and a 48 page
booklet about Fulci and his films.
Every horror fan worth his or her salt should own a copy of this. (I own 3!) It is one of the classic Italian Horror Movies and definitely Fulci's best.
OK so some of the effects looks pretty crap these days (spiders anyone?), and its definitely not the most coherent storyline, but that is the glory of
low budget film making, Italian Style!
A large of group of men surround an old hotel in the middle of nowhere. Busting in they go up the stairs into room 36 where an artist named
Schwiek is painting his latest picture. Taking Schwiek into the cellar of the hotel the men whip him with chains, crucify him to the wall with large
nails through the wrist and throw acid on him, causing him to melt. Meanwhile a young woman Emily (Cinzia Monreale) is reading a book called
Eibon, which explains how the hotel was built on one of the seven doorways to hell.
And so begins Lucio Fulci's Masterpiece.
Louisiana 1980
Lizza (Catriona MacColl) has inherited the hotel and proceeds to start fixing the joint up. A painter up on a scaffold outside is working away when
he sees a pair of Blind eyes looking at him through the window and he proceeds to fall off the scaffold. The Doctor (David Warbeck) is called and
the painter is taken to hospital. Just after this, Joe the plumber turns up and is led to the basement to fix the leaky pipes. Standing at a section of
wall, it starts to melt away and a hand comes through, grabbing Joes head and gouging out his eye! These are just the tip of the iceberg of all the
other unusual goings on within the hotel, of which i will not spoil anymore.
The film itself is truly incredible in its "is it a dream or reality" feel, along the same lines as Phantasm. And as with Phantasm, first time viewers will
be better off thinking it is a dream as it moves along at a quick pace without revealing many hows, whys and whats, if you know what i mean. The
cinematography and sets in this (in particular, the "Sea Of Darkness" scene.) are spot on, very professional looking to the low budget the film was
made with. Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck & Cinzia Monreale are all spot on castings, even all the bit part people look the part. Fabio Frizzi's
score is excellent. One of my all time favourite movie scores in fact.
Of course what would a Fulci film be without gore? Gianetto De Rossi does a bang up job as usual. Eye Gouging, Acid Burns, Head Explosions (of a
child, no less!) and many other gruesome effects take care of the gore department.
I remember years ago seeing the trailer for this on an old Palace Explosive tape. 2 years later i finally tracked down a copy and watched it. I was
less than impressed! It was hacked to the shit house by the OFLC! Luckily i decided to give it another try when the R1 Anchor Bay DVD turned up
on EBay for fuck all. Well! It was like watching a whole different film!
Quite simply the DVD is stunning! Crystal clear transfer, Dolby 5.1 soundtrack (even the 2 Channel Italian soundtrack is on it!). A Commentary with
Warbeck & MacColl, recorded 2 weeks before he succumbed to cancer, is fairly good track. Both talk about their fondness for working with Fulci & in
the Italian film industry amongst other things. Footage of Fulci, MacColl & Warbeck at various Festivals. Although brief it contains some good
thoughts about the film. Other Extras include: Stills Galleries, Necrophagia music Video, German colour pre-credits sequence & liner notes. Unless,
of course, you are a lucky bastard like me who scored one of the Limited Edition tin versions which also contains Lobby Cards and a 48 page
booklet about Fulci and his films.
Every horror fan worth his or her salt should own a copy of this. (I own 3!) It is one of the classic Italian Horror Movies and definitely Fulci's best.
OK so some of the effects looks pretty crap these days (spiders anyone?), and its definitely not the most coherent storyline, but that is the glory of
low budget film making, Italian Style!
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| "The seven dreaded gateways to hell are concealed in seven cursed places... And from the day the gates of hell are opened, the dead will walk the earth." |
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