October 2nd. The second day. LET’S DO THIS!!!
When we randomly selected the letters for the ABC’s of Horror, the first letter I got was ‘B’. With almost too many good titles to choose from, I knew it would be tough to pick just any one movie. I mean, we have The Blob (1958), The Birds (1963), The Burning (1981), Bad Taste (1987)… I could keep going at length. But we don’t have a couple of hours.
Recently for the syndicate, I have written a couple of Retro Reviews for the Lucio Fulci films Aenigma (1987) and Touch Of Death (1988). Both were watchable but not great. Neither film has much replay value. But because they are Fulci films, to me they stand with a little more clout. Since this season is my favorite time of the year, I wanted to share my favorite Fulci film with you all to enjoy this Halloween season. Its 1981’s The Beyond.
“And you will face the sea of darkness, and all therein may be explored.” – The Book of Eibon.
At the beginning of the film, we find ourselves in the midst of a witch hunt down in the bayou close to New Orleans in 1927. The posse of hunters track a warlock down to a hotel that was built atop one of the seven gates to hell. There they beat him with chains, crucify him to a wall and pour hot quicklime acid onto him. Killing him horrifically and effectively closing the gate. We fast-forward to 1981, where Liza (Catriona MacColl) inherited the same infamous hotel. Strange and deadly accidents begin to happen. Has the gate been re-opened? Was it the warlock? Or is it something far worse and can it be stopped before there’s hell on earth?
This film was Fulci’s second in his epic Gates of Hell Trilogy. Sandwiched between City of the Living Dead (1980) and House by the Cemetery (1981), The Beyond is easily the best of the bunch. This movie has everything! Witches, zombies, killer dogs and the supernatural, you name it. So, add to that all the gory special effects and kills and the eerie soundtrack, this movie has everything you are looking for during the Halloween season. I love Fabio Frizzi’s score so much so that I even own it on vinyl, that’s how awesome it is. This soundtrack could easily stand up against any of the great horror movie scores.
The Beyond is a truly underrated film that needs more exposure. The entire film is tense and ominous. With you gasping for breathes of air the entire time, only to have the surprise ending COMPLETELY knock the wind out of you. Unlike the films mentioned above, this film has so much replay value. So seek this movie out, however you can. Turn off the lights and enjoy, because this Halloween treat of a film is truly terrifying and the ending could leave you up all night.
IMDB: 6.9/10
ZombiSurvivor: 9.0/10
STAY SCARED all throughout October, as our ABC’s of Horror is just getting started! What will be the movie for letter ‘C’ tomorrow??
Stay tuned!
-ZS
