The Beyond

Starting in the mid-1960's, and all the way through the 1980's there was a huge outpouring of great horror films from Italy. Italian horror films are extremely passionate and visceral. Probably to an extent that would be considered "over-the-top" to the average movie fan. In the Italian horror films, every element - color schemes, music, imagery, and action - are played to the hilt. Italian horror films are obsessed with flesh and blood. They tend to be extremely erotic and violent. ...And very artsy and operatic.

Of all the major Italian horror film directors, Lucio Fulci is definitely the coldest, and the most brutal. He was not overly interested in sex (an unusual quality among Italian horror film directors). Rather, his movies tend to be more focused on extreme horror imagery and graphic, gory violence.

Fulci's most famous work was his 1979 film "Zombie". That one is definitely the biggest crowd-pleaser of the Fulci filmography, and the movie that most Fulci fans will cite as their favorite. "Zombie" is also probably the best Fulci movie to see first, if you are unfamiliar with the man's work, or if you are unfamiliar with the bizarre, gushing tone of Italian horror films in general. "Zombie" is probably the most straightforward and satisfying Fulci horror film, because it contains many great, memorable scenes and is therefore most accessible to a wider audience.

But personally, I must say, his 1981 film "The Beyond" was always my favorite. "The Beyond" takes the same level of graphic horror imagery in "Zombie" and uses it to tell a more complex story. This is one of those horror movies you have to watch more than once in order to completely “get it”. The first viewing is a shocking assault of seemingly disconnected gore scenarios, weird characters, and goofy, man-eating monster spiders. It leaves you wondering if you just watched a movie made by a certified lunatic. But the truth isn't that simple. On a lower level, underneath its deranged surface texture, "The Beyond" is a surreal experience - a nightmare work of abstract art - that purposefully leaves its final conclusions up to the viewer's own interpretation.

I won't even bother trying to explain what the story of "The Beyond" is about. Perhaps I should just leave you with the tag-line from the poster, which sums it up best of all: "Behind this doorway lie the terrifying and unspeakable secrets of Hell. No one who sees it lives to describe it. …And you shall live in darkness for all eternity..."