Movie Details
| Title: | The Beyond | |
| Director: | Lucio Fulci | |
| Year: | 1981 | |
| Genre: | Horror | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 07.18.06 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (2)
- Gates of Hell
- Zombie
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 07.18.06 | Internet | What would Fulci do without a zoom lens? Seriously though, this is a movie that I've been feeling actively guilty for not having seen... I call myself a horror fan but I haven't even seen this? So now I've seen it... it's seen, check it off my list... what did i think? Well, as far as Fulci goes, I can see how it's regarded as his best. It makes absolutely no sense, I had no idea what was going on, the ending was so confusing that I was beyond confusion into a realm that could be mistaken as apathy but is really more like blown fuses... I felt the same way after Open Your Eyes/Vanilla Sky... I have a limit to the amount of plot twists or, in this case, nonsensical storylines and obtuse theories of narrative and after I cross that limit the systems shut down. So I can't tell you what this is about, can't tell you about any of the characters (there's a woman... and a man... and a little girl, sometimes) but the gore was pretty sweet and the whole movie delivers what I've found so far to be absolute distilled essence of Italian horror. I don't think Fulci care if his movie makes sense.. I think he cares that we see that goddamn eyeball pop out of that dude's head... and the tarantulas bite into the dude's tongue and rip his nostril off... and the 50 gallon beaker of acid pour all over that woman's face so the strawberries 'n' cream froth that oozes out for the little girl's shoes churns our stomach a bit. And in that regard, I think the movie really works. Ultimately, I think I still prefer Zombie... just because that one scene of the zombies coming out of the ground set to that music makes an absolutely classic image for me that will probably always define the word "zombie" for me... but otherwise this is pretty fun. I'd like to see it with a real gore-hungry crowd to hear the cheers when each of the particularly nasty ends happen. |
