Die Geisterstadt der Zombies

The idea of a gateway to hell being opened has potential but this movie doesn't pull it off. The story lacks details, the characters trait's are not developed enough, and the dialog is utterly ridiculous ("Attack Dickie! Attack!"). The only reason someone might want to see this movie is because of the gore, which the movie has a lot of, but some scenes are unrealistic. I advise people that aren't fans of Fulci's work to steer clear.

Director Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND opens with a flashback to 1927 Louisiana, where townsfolk take the law into their own hands, killing a man in hideous, grisly fashion. This is also when we are told of the seven gates of hell.

Fast forward to 1981, and Liza Merrill (Catriona MacColl) has inherited the very same hotel where the aforementioned death occurred. Within seconds, unfortunate "accidents" begin to take place. Liza just wants to fix the place up, unaware that occult terror and unspeakable doom await!

Another entry in Fulci's wonderful horror cycle, this is one dreadfully dreary, flesh-crawler of a movie! In spite of ridiculous dubbing, goofy characters, and the infamously questionable "tarantula scene" (Why mix fake spiders in with real ones?), the Director somehow manages to keep it so utterly bleak, that all is forgiven! Ms. MacColl is even better here than she was in CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD! David Warbeck is also good as the dauntless Dr. John McCabe. Of course, stealing the show is Cinzia Monreale as the enigmatic, blind, yet supernaturally sighted, Emily. Her intro is unforgettable!

Obviously, a zombie uprising is in the cards, and these are some memorable, shambling dead! There are several classic set pieces, showing Fulci at his finest. Gorehounds will be in ecstatic bliss, since Fulci pours on the gore by the bathtub-full!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: The devastating denouement that drains us of all remaining hope!

P.S.- For added enjoyment, count how many times you have to yell at Dr. McCabe to "Stop wasting bullets and aim for the head!"...

This is a creepy horror film plenty of brutal images and gory events . A New Yorker heir ( Katriona MacColl, Fulci's ordinary ) moves an old mansion-hotel in Louisiana and she wishes restore it . She investigates the weird deeds happened in a room and by basement of the old motel that is built on top of the door to the beyond. Bloody and purulent specters roam there. She is confronted with rare happenings as a worker has a lethal fall, the plumber is cruelly murdered and her blind friend is bitten by a dog that breaks his neck. When she escapes to the hospital along with friendly doctor McCabe ( David Wabeck ) she doesn't know what a new horror is waiting there . Early rare deeds begin to happen to them, as they start hearing noises, rare characters and tragic killings. Quote from the book of Eibon: "And you will face the sea of darkness, and all therein may be explored¨.

Chilling Italian terror flick full of screams, chills, thrills and lots of blood and guts. Gory, gruesome , pretty repellent , and ghastly gore feast in which the stumbling stiff dead are reanimated and committing astonishing murders . This is a classic excruciatingly splatter film in which the intrigue,tension, suspense appears threatening and lurking in every room, corridors , cellar , hospital , morgue and many other places . This unrelenting shock-feast packs good make-up and special effects make-up by the maestro Gianetto De Rossi. Produced on a tight budget by Fabrizio De Angelis , Fulci's usual producer and occasionally director. Eerie musical score composed and conducted by Fabio Frizzi . Usual secondary actors as Veronica Lazar , Al Cliver and of course special appearance of Lucio Fulci as librarian clerk . This genuinely frightening story with correct utilization of images-shock is well photographed by Sergio Salvati on location in Louisiana and Italy . The motion picture is realized by one of the most controversial filmmakers of terror movies ,Lucio Fulci in his usual style with flaws and gaps but is professionally made because he is a skilled craftsman . He creates a strange horror thriller that manages to be both scary and skilfully made, deserving its cult status . Reviewers are divided over booth the morals and talents of Fulci (1927-1996) who sometimes directed under the alias ¨Louis Fuller¨. For some critics many of his movies are cruel and shockingly violent, yet their gory surface often conceals religious, social commentaries or intelligent issues. Whether he should be viewed as a cheap sensationalist or just a genius Fulci has a loyal fan base and undeniably has an important and unique influence on the terror genre , creating great works on a low budget such as proved in ¨ The black cat ¨, ¨Manhattan baby¨, ¨Gates of Hell¨, ¨Island of the living dead¨, ¨New York ripper¨ , among them. this is one more imaginative horror pictures in which the camera stalks in sinister style . It's just one long unrelenting guts-feast and passable budget horror movie that still packs a punch for those who like to be terrorized out their wits . This gore-feast that tried to disguised itself under many other titles will appeal to Lucio Fulci aficionados.

This film has great atmosphere. There are some great moments and elements here.

I like it's approach to horror. To me it inspires the imagination.

It holds up as a gory film, even today. Which is an accomplishment.

However this film is not for everyone. You have to be able to appreciate older movies. And have a little open mindedness. But it does hold up well.

With movies like this, with giallo in particular, it won't be appreciated by some close-minded modern viewers.

Because this film works on inspiring the imagination.

With movies like this, it taps into that sense of wonder connected with fear and mystery.

A capacity for wonder is sorely lacking in our day.

Why this film works well is that it taps into wonder, fear and mystery. It implies more than it shows.

In usual Fulci style, it zooms up and focuses on the gore instead of cutting away from it, or whatever. Which I really appreciate.

But if you truly understand this movie, the impact comes not from gore but from what is implied in the story. And the atmosphere.

The film has a great ending which really makes the film for me.

Now it is a little bit of a slow burn. But even in that there is death and gore happening so it certainly shouldn't be considered boring.

But it takes time to build into the crescendo of the final act.

Some might consider it dated but in actually it has that charm of time. It has this late 70s horror vibe that can be really enjoyable for a genre fan.

(Yes, I know it was made in '81)

Ultimately, an objectively great film.

But I would only recommend it to open minded, perceptive viewers who can appreciate it like it deserves.

I guess I must have been in a bad mood when I first watched this as I really didn't like it. Now I've watched it again (simply because I'd forgotten I'd even watched it, I really enjoyed it - like I've done so with many (so-bad-they're-good) Italian horror films of the eighties. It's about a hotel in Louisiana which is basically a 'hell-mouth' and, seeing as Buffy probably wasn't born when this was made, it's up to a woman who wants to refurbish it and a doctor who can only shoot a zombie in the head every three shots (I counted!).

It's a bit weird where there are some secondary characters who just wander around talking badly. Yes, it's dubbed in many places - I noticed that severely when I first watched it and it's still as overly-dramatic now. In typical Italian horror movie style, it's almost deliberately all over the place and the sharp edits which give the film a truly disconcerting atmosphere. Plus there are some scenes which are almost funny while being bizarre - like when a woman seems to freak out because a beaker of water overturns in slow motion (and she then comes off worse, believe it or not).

And there's the gore - which was damn gool if you're into 'claret' and generally want to see a hundred and one different ways of inflicting pain on eyeballs. Back in the eighties (before every 'head-shot' was computer generated) film-makers had to come up with new and interesting ways of doing gore on the cheap. And, to be fair, that's one area where The Beyond succeeded. The gore wasn't just gore, but also pretty inventive, providing me with more than a few moments of on-screen horror that I've never seen before.

I'm glad I've given this film another go as - this time - I found it really entertaining and it's an example that you clearly need to be in the right mood for the right film.