Beyond, The

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4.5/5The Film

One of Lucio Fulci's greatest achievements in atmosphere, mood and bloodshed, The Beyond (also known in North America under the alternate title of The Seven Doors Of Death) is the perfect gateway drug to the late director's output. More than any of his other works, it really encompasses his odd world view, his taste for the macabre, his penchant for grisly onscreen violence and his talents for capturing tone and creating a truly otherworldly vibe.

The picture begins in the Louisiana of 1927 where a man known only as Schweick is put to death for practicing witchcraft, his body chained and left for dead in the basement of a hotel. Cut to 1981 when a pretty woman named Liza (Catriona MacColl) has bought the decaying hotel and is hoping to fix it up and make it operational once more. Almost as soon as she and her crew arrive on the scene, however, strange things start happening and before you know it one of the men she's hired to help her is dead.

A plumber hired to fix the leak in the basement breaks down a wall in the basement and unwittingly opens one of the seven gates to Hell, and Liza soon begins receiving visits from a mysterious blind woman (Cinzia Monreale) and her Seeing Eye dog. The girl warns Liza that the hotel is basically cursed and tells her to get out but she's determined to stay and so she enlists the aid of a nearby doctor named John McCabe (David Warbeck) to help her figure out just what exactly is going on in the hotel and why...

While this may not be the director's tightest or most focused effort, it's certainly one of his most lavish. The location shooting in Louisiana gives the film all sorts of authentic flair - you can almost feel the moss and mold on the buildings and the humidity in the air - while the bombardment of shockingly violent set pieces pummels you enough that you're able to overlook the logic gaps that are spread throughout the plot. This is one of those films where, yes, things don't necessarily happen for the most obvious of reasons and you could make the argument that it operates on dream logic (which really isn't logic at all) but in the context of the nightmare world that Fulci has crafted, even the nonsensical makes sense.

MacColl and Warbeck make for a likeable enough team and they're able to carry the film easily enough. A nice supporting performance from Monreale rounds out the key cast members (though be sure to look for an appearance from Fulci himself in the library scene) admirably making this one of the director's better acted pictures. It's a shame that the film is remembered primarily for its gore. While it's obviously true that the blood and guts are important to the film's impact and intent, this is a film that is ripe with gorgeous cinematography, a truly memorable score and some impressively bleak atmosphere.

3.5/5Video

4/5Audio

5/5Extras

First up is the commentary from MacColl and Warbeck that appeared on the previous DVD release and which was recorded shortly before Warback passed away, giving it a bitter sweet tone at times. The two actors amicably discuss working on the film as it was being shot in New Orleans, how they feel about the film now years after it was made, and what it was like working with Fulci, who could be notoriously difficult at times. This is a solid track and absolutely worth listening to if you haven't already given it a spin. McColl also pops up in a brief video introduction to the film that appears for the first time on this DVD.

Also new to this DVD is Voices From The Beyond which is a twenty-minute featurette containing a bunch of more recent cast and crew interviews that were taken from the Paura Productions release of Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered. Here you'll find input from DP Sergio Salvati, camera operator Franco Bruni, screenwriter Giorgio Mariuzzo, make up effects technician Maurizio Trani, actresses Catriona MaColl, Cinzia Monreale, and Veronica Lazar, screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti, producer Fabrizio DeAngelis, composer Fabio Frizzi and last but not least make up effects technician Giannetto DeRossi.

Also carried over from the previous release is a massive still gallery of promotional images, an interview with MacColl and Warbeck, some footage of Fulci directing Demonia, clips from convention appearances for Warbeck and Fulci, the American re-release theatrical trailer, the German theatrical trailer, the international theatrical trailer, the alternate pre-credit sequence from the German release of the film (with English and German audio options), and the video for Necrophagia's And You Will Live In Terror that was directed by Jim Van Bebber that uses some clips from the film but really has nothing to do with the movie.

Animated menus and chapter selection are included and inside the keepcase is a nice insert booklet containing some liner notes by Chas Balun.

4.5/5Overall

Back in print with some added supplements, The Beyond remains a high point in Fulci's career and Grindhouse's DVD is a fantastic way to enjoy the film.

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Film Rating		DVD Rating
Director:	Lucio Fulci	Film:
Writer:	Dardano Sachetti	Video:
Released:	1981	Audio:
Cast:	Catriona McColl, David Warbeck, Cinzia Monreale, Antoine Saint-John, Veronica Lazar, Anthony Flees	Extras:
		Overall: