BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 18: THE BEYOND (1981)

The maestro of gore and one of the Italian masters of horror, Lucio Fulci has a visual style and appeal uniquely his own. His films are often cited as being foreign derivatives designed solely to cash in on American hit films making waves abroad. Shameless knock offs some would say. Yeah, that's true to a degree. The various influences seemingly directing Lucio Fulci's hand when creating these films is undeniable. What's also undeniable is how Fulci crafts these ideas into something all his own. Simply put, the films of Lucio Fulci are unlike any other, in spite of the film's genesis maybe lying in another. For example, Fulci's ZOMBI 2 was made to cash in on the popularity of George Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD. But when you watch Zombi 2 you see that it is nothing like Romero's film.

THE BEYOND a.k.a. 7 DOORS OF DEATH could be seen as another Romero zombie cash grab with elements of Michael Winner's THE SENTINEL (1977) and Dario Argento's INFERNO (1980). The Beyond takes inspiration from many such films and, in true Fulci fashion, the director creates some new and singular. The film stars Catriona MacColl and showcases incredible special effects from Germano Natali and Giannetto De Rossi. Zombies and gore the likes of which you couldn't find anywhere else, save from another Fulci film that is, are on full bloody display. All punctuated by an eerie and powerful score by Fabio Frizzi.

The Beyond is the second film in Fulci's GATES OF HELL trilogy, preceded by CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and succeeded by THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. The Gates of Hell trilogy isn't a traditional trilogy in the sense of one continuous narrative, but rather a spiritual trilogy of like subject matter. When looking at the trilogy as a whole The Beyond makes sense as the final installment, based on the wide scope of story, despite being the second film produced. The third film produced, The House By the Cemetery, maintains the smallest scope of the three films.

My suggestion for the viewing order of the trilogy: House, City, and Beyond (it makes sense, right? House, City, and Beyond!). With that in mind, prepare yourself for the Gates of Hell to open!

THE PLOT

Liza Merril has inherited an old hotel just outside of New Orleans. While undertaking renovations a painter falls from the scaffolding, seriously injuring himself. A plumber, trying to find the source of the flooding in the basement, has his eyes mysterious torn from their sockets. Soon Liza and those helping her begin seeing rotting corpses appearing in rooms all over the house, only to vanish upon a second glance. While driving into town Liza encounters a blind woman named Emily standing in the middle of the road. Emily urges Liza to cease renovations, revealing that the hotel was built upon one of the seven gates to Hell. Liza must reseal the gate before the world is swallowed by Hell itself.

WHAT I LIKED

Atmospheric & Gory. I've seen some great horror movies with haunting atmosphere, films that could've been greater had they possessed some incredible gore effects. Likewise I've seen some great gory films which needed far more atmosphere. The Beyond manages to attain both. The gore effects by Giannetto De Rossi are shivering and gut wrenching, even after having seen it multiple times. The sound design coupled with eerie lighting and great camerawork all play a big part in creating the atmosphere. The sound design is especially remarkable, from creaky doors and dripping pipes to labored breathing from the shadows. The hounds of hell howl and the wailing of demons can be heard on the wind at night. And Fabio Frizzi's music is the chilling icing on this horror cake. There's as much a feast for the ears as there is for the eyes.

The Power of Hell. I love the way Fulci handles other-dimensional influences on our reality. The threat in this film comes from an open gateway to Hell, the effects of that otherworldly place spreading throughout the land. Fulci presents this in a wide scope of ways. The presence of Hell literally warps time and space within the hotel. Dead bodies appear at random, corpses travel from one place to another instantaneously, and a door in one place opens to another location miles away. And as the infernal event horizon spreads it begins distorting reality everywhere. This adds a surreal effect to the events in the film. The rules are thrown out and anything can happen. The dead begin rising and those living who're effected by Hell possess the "white eyes of the damned."

How can the protagonists possibly win in such a scenario? Well, they don't. This film has one of the darkest ending of any horror movie. Hell engulfs the world leaving the protagonists to their fate in the wastelands of Hell. The world loses. Hell wins. The protagonists at the very end sport the white eyes of the damned and are seemingly wiped out of existence. If such an ending were to occur in real life it'd be beyond horrible. But for a horror movie, this is one of the boldest endings I've ever seen.

A Love Letter To Horror. You can tell Fulci is a fan of the horror genre across all mediums as he pours so much of his love for the genre into this movie. For instance, the film begins like a 1930's black & white horror film complete with monochrome color tinting and an angry lynch mob. Fulci literally lifts a creation straight from the works of H.P. Lovecraft with the Book of Eibon (so, in essence, this movie takes place in the Lovecraft universe? Sweet!). There's a haunted hotel a la The Shining replete with its own cursed room, #36, and bathtub horror. The story is set in rural Louisiana near New Orleans (the heart of American Voodoo). There's allusions to Edgar Allan Poe's work with the walled off area in basement. And there's even a potential horror movie monster icon here. The hero zombie, Schweick, has a sick design and should be considered one of the great zombie characters of cinema. His presence is ominous and terrifying and he's literally unkillable.

NITPICKS

The Dubbing. The English voice dubbing doesn't do the film justice. It's a little annoying but ultimately not something I couldn't get past. You watch enough foreign dubs of Godzilla movies and spaghetti westerns and you learn to get used to it. It's not nearly as bad as the dubs on new foreign films, mind you. Then there's the non-linear storytelling. This was originally a big stumbling block for me with this film in particular. American audiences have a tough time handling non-linear storytelling but it seems to be quite common place among Italian and Asian films. In the case of this movie I speak particularly on the matter of the time place distortion I mentioned above (something I now love about the film). It isn't explicitly told in the film what exactly is going on. But after repeat viewings I gleaned it was Hell's influence intruding upon our reality. Boom! Sense was made, I got it, and it completely opened up the movie for me. Just be forewarned, this movie won't play by the rules you'd come to expect.

THE VERDICT

The Beyond is exactly what the title suggests. Lucio Fulci takes this film "beyond" other horror movies with the gate to Hell being opened and its effects on our reality. There's Fulci's signature brutal gore along with potent atmosphere. The sound design of this film is amazing as well. Close your eyes and just listen to it. But what really shows through is Fulci's love of the genre and his mastery of the horror art-form. This is his love letter to horror and one of his greatest cinematic achievements. Prepare yourself, for this movie is like nothing you've ever seen.

Overall Ranking: 9 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10