In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Wednesday 12 October 2016

The Beyond (1981)

aka 7 Doors of Death

Considered by many to be horror maestro Lucio Fulci's masterpiece, Beyond follows the doomed history of a Louisiana mansion said to be built over one of the seven gates of Hell. After inheriting the estate, Lysa (Catriona MacColl) unsuccessfully attempts to revive it into a bed & breakfast, thwarted at every turn by the forces of darkness. Best known for its considerable gore and while there are plenty of shocking and effective sequences, the SFX are obviously limited as, in some cases, the blood flows like Kool-Aid and the skin rips like wax. Despite a lack of budget, the imagery is unmistakably haunting. The film owes much to Fabio Frizzi's beautiful and other-worldly score which speaks to something apocryphal. I found myself humming the melodies far past the end credits, and I would say the film wouldn't be half as great without them. I'll admit The Beyond hasn't aged well, but it still holds up as one of Fulci's greatest horror films.

4 impossible basements out of 5 

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