The Beyond (1981)

Apocalypse now... 

Once in a while I come across a horror film that leaves me in awe. The Beyond is such a film. It’s such an immense experience that I have to write this review just to exorcise my thoughts.

The Beyond starts off immediately. Lousiana 1927. A bunch of people rowing. Men on a mission. Where are they going? A girl at hotel during a stormy night looks down at the mysterious book of Eibon. A painter, Schweick, adds another stroke to his dark and desolate painting. He is staying in room 36. Schweick is played by the characteristically looking actor Antoine Saint-John, perhaps better known as the killer in The Killer Must Kill Again.  The men arrive at their destination. The fragmented clips are merging. It’s an exceptional opening. Sad and somber tones play as the mob passes the hotel clerk, who silently follows each of the men with his eyes. It is a small revelation to behold. The mob and the painter come to a confrontation. Anyone unfamiliar with the works of Fulci is likely to raise an eyebrow as the whipping and crucifixion of the painter progresses with gratuitous zoom-ins on the carnage. It really sets the tone for the level of violence we can expect during the next 80 minutes. It also makes you wonder just what this man has done worthy of such a punishment. They end it by throwing something that melts his face. Here lies my only real objection to the opening. The music used during the face-melting is too funky. It’s great, but I feel it goes against the dark tone of the rest of the movie. Fortunately, this is immediately followed up by what is probably the finest opening credits I’ve seen in a horror film. The dark and melancholy tones are marching on, while fire burns in the background. The vocals practically screams: Welcome to Fulci’s apocalypse.

The film then cuts to the same hotel in the year 1981. The sun is shining and things seem much more pleasant. This lasts for about a minute. Catriona MacColl, playing Eliza, has come to restore the hotel back to its former glory. Her and David Warbeck’s performances really elevates the film, even if they make some odd choices, but more on that later. Enter Joe the Plumber. Surely they could have spared a couple of extra minutes of coming up with a more original name, not that I’m complaining. He goes down into the basement. Never go down in the basement! Needless to say, Joe never finishes the job. Instead, we are treated to some of Fulci’s trademark gore in such a fashion that I can’t help but grin. The mysterious blind girl Emily warns Eliza about the place. The lenses she’s wearing looks great and creepy and it’s all about the small touches! Though I’m not entirely convinced by their choice of name for Emily’s dog either, Dickey. As Joe’s wife comes to see his body, their child is left waiting in the hall. She is by the way an exceptionally ugly child. Sorry, but I had to get that out of my system. As she waits we’re treated to a torturous scene of a body being wheeled down the hall accompanied by screeching noises sending chills down your spine. It’s kind of "pleasant" to have such a disturbing, non-graphic scene in the film. Now Fulci is famous for his trademark gore. Personally, I love it. However I find it frustrating and rather ignorant whenever people say that that is all Fulci is. His earlier films show clearly just how talented a filmmaker he was. But I think his gore epics, like The Beyond, House by the Cemetery and City of the Living Dead are way better made than he is credited for. Sure all these films have an incoherent narrative (though The Beyond is pretty clear), but that is also what makes them so great. These are hellish visions. And I for one think that the vague/fragmented narrative combined with extreme gore works great in expressing what Hell is truly like. I haven’t seen any film, including Hellraiser, portray Hell as well as Fulci.

Then there is the famous spider attack. A lot of people criticize it for being cheesy, but I think they should rather acknowledge what Fulci is trying to accomplish with his exceedingly gruesome ways of killing people. And boy does he take his time with that scene! Fulci even outdoes Argento’s dog attack from Suspiria! And then there is the generous head shot at the end. And the list goes on.

                                           Another one bites the dust. 

The Beyond is not perfect. There are things that seem odd. Like, why Eliza doesn’t leave when she sees the crucified Schweick in his room leaves me a bit baffled. John’s failure to realize that you have to shoot the undead in the head is another one. At first you think he’s just a lousy shot, but no such luck. Then there is minor stuff such as hospital signs that read: Do not entry.

Fulci has undoubtedly made some sloppy films, but The Beyond is in the other end of the scale. A big part of what makes it so great is the moody and often brilliant cinematography. Just check out the wonderful point of view shot as one of the ladies is being pushed by a zombiefied Joe onto a nail. The scene ends so gruesomely that anyone I’ve showed this film to has started laughing in disbelief. The Beyond really does go all the way. Another great image comes as Eliza and John runs away from the hotel and we see shadows of undead moving about inside. Hell is literally loose. In addition to this the there is the lighting. There is an image of Emily in the hotel, while lightning strikes outside is just one of many scenes showing off how skillfully this has been put together. Add to that some careful editing and tremendous sound effects and you’ve got yourself a masterpiece.

I really cannot express how great The Beyond manages to create a wholly unique atmosphere of pending doom. There is great sadness in the film, yet somehow it all feels oddly uplifting in lack of a better word. The image as they enter The Beyond remains, in my opinion, one of the single greatest shots in all of horror cinema, or movies in general for that matter. The desolate, barren wasteland where no life can exist is simple, but so very, very effective.

Stuff of nightmares: The nothingness of The Beyond 

The horrified expression on Warbeck’s face as oblivion that is The Beyond is taking over his mind and body is truly the stuff of nightmares. Hell has come. I could go on and on because I’ve only mentioned a few of the treats in the film, but the end is near.

A final thought: The Beyond never holds back on the ugly and horrible, yet I’ve never heard anyone comment on just how beautiful it truly is.

10/10