A woman inherits a derelict hotel that she learns
was built on one of the seven entrances to Hell. HORROR
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The Beyond (1981)Directed by Lucio Fulci
Written by Dardano Sacchetti, Giorgio Mariuzzo, Lucio Fulci Starring Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck, Cinzia Monreale, Antoine Saint-John, Veronica Lazar, Maria Pia Marsala |
The Beyond is widely considered to be Lucio Fulci's masterpiece. While I can't attest to that, as I still have his entire filmography to peruse, I can say that The Beyond is an engaging, grisly, and creative horror movie. Sure, it has its problems, mostly due to its uninspiring ending, but it's a decent watch. The idea of a hotel being built on one of the entrances to Hell is certainly intriguing. With that concept and Fulci's reputation for gore, I was expecting a no holds barred gorefest and some truly terrifying visuals. I mean, this is Hell itself we're talking about here.
Liza (MacColl) is a young woman from New York who inherits a rundown hotel from her rich uncle. She plans to fix it up and run the place. But weird shit starts happening, beginning with the bizarre death of a plumber that nobody really investigates. The body ends up in the morgue, starting a chain of events that get a lot of people brutally killed. None of the performances really stand out, and the gore excels at times, but is surprisingly tame, I thought. Plus, it just isn't that scary. The ending is nearly identical to Fulci's Zombie, which is annoying. The Beyond has a great concept, some great makeup effects, but loses points for a bland, unoriginal ending that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. I've seen better, but I've also seen way worse. Welcome to the middle ground. |