The Film:
The late Lucio Fulci is one of the most well known directors of the well loved horror genre who shined through in the early fifties and finally getting the recognition he deserved in the early eighties when he made The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, Black Cat, The House by the Cemetery and The New York Ripper. His films were relatively difficult to get hold of when VHS was the standard system but as DVD continues to shine, a few companies have now made the films available to the mass market. They include companies such as Anchor Bay and Vipco who have been around for a few years, but now Scandinavian company Another World Entertainment have made the films available with The Beyond being the first film to be released under their "Zombie" label.
The Beyond follows the unlucky Liza Catriona MacColl - Power Game) who has had a succession of failing careers in New York. She travels to New Orleans to open a hotel left for her by her Uncle in an effort to change her life for the better but people start to get killed in mysterious ways from unknown demonic forces. As the story unfolds we learn that the hotel was built on one of the entrances to hell and this is why the supernatural deaths are happening. Is there anything that Liza can do to stop the hotel from being a place of death or will she be killed aswell?
The Beyond is one of those films that has such a huge cult following yet the casual viewer tends to find it rather poor. Fulci uses close up shots in the vast majority of his movies, particularly to the very gruesome scenes where nothing is left to the imagination and The Beyond is no different. The effects throughout the film are very good for it's time and it's amazing what special effects gurus can do with a bowl of porridge. The acting is rather weak with no-one giving a particularly great performance but is still a lot better compared to low budget horror movies today. The story is rather good but unfortunately fails to excite due to a few long moments that don't have much happening and seem to be there just to make sure the film spans more than an hour. Genre and Fulci fans will lap this film up but it may not interest the casual viewer.
The DVD:
Video:
Another World Entertainent have given us an anamorphic transfer at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, which is the original aspect ratio. The print is altogether pretty clean though there is some noticeable grain throughout. I also noticed some minor edge enhancement and the occasional light scratch. Some scenes also felt a little 'too' dark. All in all, whilst nothing exceptional, the film is still easy on the eye.
Audio:
The audio is pretty much what I have come to expect from Another World Entertainment with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track being provided here. Seperation is minimal yet noticeable and I didn't really notice any major problems at all. There was the occasional crackle and some very minor background hiss, but dialogue was always clear and volume levels consistent. With all the action scenes in the film, I am left wondering why a 5.1 track wasn't provided though. The disc contains subtitles in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish.
Extras:
The extras are pretty unsubstantial, yet great to have included. Rather than go into detail of all the extras seperately I'm just going to list them due to them being self explanatory:
Filmographies:
- Lucio Fulci
- David Warbeck
Slideshow (2:58)
Bonus Trailers:
- Cannibal Ferox (4:16)
- Mountain of the Cannibal God (3:44)
- City of the Living Dead (2:53)
- Eaten Alive (3:03)
- Puzzle (3:11)
Theatrical Trailer
