The Beyond was brought to Blu-ray by Grindhouse Releasing on March 24th
A woman named Liza inherits an old Louisiana hotel, unaware of its sinister history of violence (which is shared with the audience through the pre-title opening sequence). As it turns out, the hotel’s sewer-like basement is one of several portals to Hell scattered throughout the earth, and evil emanates from the unholy site. In this respect, The Beyond is part of Fulci’s unofficial “Gates Of Hell” thematic trilogy which also includes City Of The Living Dead and House By The Cemetery.
For the most part, the film plays as a haunted house chiller. The hotel is possessed by evil forces which frequently terrorize Liza and other folks helping her restore the building. These frightening attacks can come at pretty much any time without any attempt at explanation — it’s a goddamn portal to hell, what more explanation is needed? Therefore each scare is crafted with for maximum creepiness, style, and violence, with no attention to reality or rationality. The film’s style is not only creepy but often surrealistic and hallucinatory, creating an unsettling and sinister vibe.
The mystery deepens as Liza meets a mysterious blind woman named Emily. Emily is an eerie character with her piercingly empty eyes and ominous warnings, and their initial meeting on a long bridge has a sense of menacing isolation that encapsulates what this film is all about.
Fulci’s horror films are known for their gore, and The Beyond is no exception. His style of shooting these sequences is incredibly intimate, delivering extreme close-ups to the acts violence. As a result, the film’s many gore scenes are extremely… fleshy, but perhaps too intimate. The highly detailed shots make the effects more obvious, and often where Fulci wants you to see skin and blood, you can’t help but see paint and latex.
Eventually the Hell Portal’s powers are released, creating a full-on zombie outbreak which serves as the film’s climactic finale.
It’s kind of difficult to explain what makes The Beyond so compelling to watch because it’s largely a matter of style and visual artistry applied to uncanny horror. Fulci delivers intense, nightmarish visions of death and evil that aren’t quickly forgotten.
The Package
Grindhouse Releasing has pulled all the stops to make this the definite edition of The Beyond, both in terms of disc content and packaging.
The package is absolutely stellar and includes a clear (Criterion-style) case, 12-page booklet with a written introduction by Chas Balun and essay by Martin Beine, 11-track score CD, and glow-in-the-dark slipcover with different artwork than that of the inner case.
The film, presented in its full uncut and unrated presentation, looks stunning and includes English 5.1, 2.0, and Mono tracks as well as Italian Mono. Subtitles are also provided.
Special Features and Extras — Disc 1
Audio Commentary by stars David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl
Color Pre-credit Sequence (8:24)
English and German versions, presented in matted SD.
Trailers
International (3:28), German (3:23), US “7 Doors Of Death” (3:05), US Re-Release (1:25). Quality and format vary.
US TV Spots (1:07)
A pair of TV trailers for “7 Doors Of Death”, VHS-quality SD
Special Features and Extras — Disc 2Interviews
Professionally Produced Segments:
Looking Back — The Creation of THE BEYOND (47:54)
The New Orleans Connection — Larry Ray (44:33)
Beyond and Back — Catriona MacColl (34:05)
See Emily Play — Cinzia Monreale (21:57)
Making It Real — Giannetto DeRossi & Maurizio Trani (32:29)
Beyond Italy — US Distributor Terry Levene (19:05)
Festival Appearances (Amateur/Consumer Grade Footage):
Eurofest ’94 — Lucio Fulci & David Warbeck (46:04)
Eurofest ’96 — Catriona MacColl & David Warbeck (5:24)
1996 Festival of Fantastic Films — Catriona MacColl (12:16)
1996 Festival of Fantastic Films — David Warbeck (21:06)
Audio Recording:
Lucio Fulci Interview — August 1988 — Part 1 (20:05)
Lucio Fulci Interview — August 1988 — Part 2 (13:04)
Still Galleries
“Production Stills”, “Behind The Scenes”, “Promotional Materials”, “Italy”, “Germany”, “French”, “US”, “Various”, “Video Releases”, “Beyond The Beyond“
Grindhouse Releasing Prevues
Trailers for other Grindhouse Releasing titles: Cat In The Brain (1:59), Cannibal Holocaust (1:58), Cannibal Ferox (2:47), Massacre Mafia Style (2:21), Gone With The Pope (2:02), Pieces (0:33), Corruption (2:07), The Swimmer (2:45), The Big Gundown (2:15), An American Hippie In Israel (3:03), Scum Of The Earth (2:14), The Tough Ones (3:31), Ice House (1:40), I Drink Your Blood (2:50)
Grindhouse Releasing has hit the nail on the head — or is that the head on the nail? — with this absolutely phenomenal Blu-ray edition. A must-buy for horror fans and easily one of the best releases we’re likely to see this year.
A/V Out.