The World Beyond

I remember seeing this twice when I was a 9yr old kid. The first time I seen it, I was with my parents when it originally aired on TV, and it scared me to death. Then I spent the night with an aunt and uncle and it aired again, and I got to see it a second time. I'm not sure I even knew the name of it back then. I just know this movie scared me really bad both times that I watched it. (((I would love to see a full remake of this made with good special effects and a much longer script(and maybe with more than just one mud monster)....this could be turned into an incredible horror movie))) All of these years later, all I could remember was the arm getting cut off in the door and then the arm coming to life, and I remember them killing the mud monster by tripping him into the salty sea water.... I had looked for this movie for years but didn't know the title of it, then I luckily stumbled across it by accident on YOUTUBE, I literally jumped for joy when I found it on YOUTUBE. My search for this film (and it's title) was finally over.

Whats interesting is that when I went back and re-watched it again for the first time since 1978, I still found this movie to be very creepy.

With about an hour's worth of movie time, this TV horror does give you some chills and thrills, with the mud creature menacing a small group of people on a remote Maine Island after they were called there to look for a missing person. The creature's cries and shrieks are scary enough to frighten a whole town and its hideous appearance might give you nightmares.

It's a fast-paced movie from start to finish - just one main plot to follow and no room for filler subplots. The acting was good and the atmosphere was chilly. Though the suspense and thrills might be a little tame nowadays, it's still an entertaining movie.

Grade B

What I love most about these obscure and semi-forgotten TV-productions from the 70s, is reading the nostalgia-laden user comments from people who re-discovered them online and instantly remembered how it were the most terrifying viewing experiences from their childhood. Personally, I never had that kind of pleasure, as I'm a product of the 80s, and 90s television is in no way comparable to the 70s.

I can understand my so many people have fond memories about this "The World Beyond", and why certain aspects - like the constant shrieking - haunted their nightmares forever after. It's a fine example of a TV-pilot that potentially could have become very successful, but for some reason got cancelled in an early phase. Who knows, maybe because there were already enough and similar supernaturally themed TV-shows at the time ("Kolchak: Night Stalker", "Night Gallery", "Thriller", ...).

Fact remains that "The World Beyond" most definitely had reason for existence, what with its intriguing concept about a sport journalist who, following a motorcycle accident and a brief 2'37" period of being clinically dead, receives desperate requests from deceased people to rescue their living loved ones from upcoming dangers. In the pilot, additionally titled "Monster", he must go to a remote and practically inhabited island to protect a woman from a Golem. The monster, created from mud and brought to life through black magic, remains largely unseen but its harrowing shrieks and howling is very unsettling. The short film - not even one hour - also contains a few bloody moments, and an early lead role for the talented JoBeth Williams ("Poltergeist").

What appears to be a pilot for a non-existent TV series turns out to be a pretty good monster movie. A man who communicates with the dead is directed to a location where he is to save the life of a woman he has never met. They journey to an island where her brother lives, only to find his home in disarray and no sign of him. Soon enough, they and the captain of the boat that brought them to the island are being pursued by a mud monster -- a golem that her brother built, as it turns out. The TV movie is genuinely scary, and the monster is only glimpsed until the very end, which keeps up the suspense. Some scenes would look right at home in "Evil Dead," whose director may in fact have been influenced by this modest thriller. Worth a watch.

I too saw this as a youth of about ten and remember being very frightened. I love the internet because I searched mud man and found this. Amazing, as I have been looking for this for maybe two decades. Most interesting though is I remembered yet another film from my youth about a giant turtle. I found the made for TV movie THE BERMUDA DEPTHS to satiate that search. Now heres the kicker. Somebody did enough research to find the TV Guide listing for our beloved THE WORLD BEYOND, lo and behold what movie do you think played right after world beyond? You got it THE BERMUDA DEPTHS. Quite a fine evening of television as you see that one night of programming has haunted me for more than 20 years. Brilliant! http://home.earthlink.net/~usondermann/mud.html