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Comment count is 20
chumbucket - 2010-10-01

the production wishes to thank
the LOUISIANA film
COMMISSION

for their
kind collaboration


kingarthur - 2010-10-01

Movie was filmed in New Orleans, at least partially. Got it on video, never made it past the first few minutes. Maybe worth a look?

Then again, if you want to point out a hellish valley of darkness, Louisiana wouldn't be too far off.


NewHeavenSalesman - 2010-10-01

I liked it, though my girlfriend (who loved Zombi) didn't. It's basically a linear series of really good gory setpieces with the tiniest semblance of a supernatural plot.

My suggestion would be to watch City of the Living Dead on Netflix Instant if you have it, as it is basically the same sort of movie, though with a way less awesome ending, and go from there.


Rovin - 2010-10-01

After Lucio Fulci scored with the zombie exploitation flick Zombi2/Zombie/Zombie Flesh Eaters, he did a number of horror films that were more into suggestion and concept than linear plotting, these three being City of the Living Dead (Gates of Hell), The Beyond, and House By The Cemetery (House by the Cemetery being the most plotted and structured of the three). City of the living dead, to all intents and purposes, is sort of a conceptual "pilot" for The Beyond. It's important to note when watching one of these films that they are not meant to be taken in as a "story," but as a series of hirrific setpieces and images. In terms of disturbing imagery, I personally find The Beyond more effective.

In City of the Living Dead and The Beyond the supernatural evil is never really revealed as a character - it's a sort of spiritual cancer or corruption most often represented as biological corruption - death, rot, maggots, zombies, putrescence.

Another thing that throws viewers who don't know what they're getting into upon first viewing is the fact that these films have stuff that seems to randomly break the laws of physics or any sense of logic - zombies will teleport from one location to another, or someone entering one location may suddenly find themselves in a completely different, unconnected location upon walking through a doorway. This is intentional as the concept was that the "evil" is capable of corrupting and warping reality itself.

I once read that, as an athiest, Fulci was using The Beyond as a sort of exploration of a concept of there being a such thing as a supernatural "Hell" without there being a God.


Riskbreaker - 2010-10-01

I like both City of the Living Dead and The Beyond, but the later feels like the most well put together flick. City sure has many great moments, but some characters annoyed me a bit, and the ending truly made me scratch my head, wondering what was going on. Here the ending fits the movie far better.


Rovin - 2010-10-01

In Jay Slater's book on the Zombie and Cannibal exploitation period in Italian Cinema "Eaten Alive," he shows that there are multiple conflicting stories as to why the ending was set up the way it was... and at least two of the conflicting stories are from Fulci himself!

And I agree, City has some really fantastic ideas and moments (the gut puking is ETERNAL), but The Beyond is a better-crafted film I think.


Lurchi - 2010-10-02

City of the Living Dead has one of the most annoying kid actors in history. But it's cool anyway.


Rovin - 2010-10-02

The kid in House by the Cemetery was worse.

And that voice acting on the dub... shudder.


Riskbreaker - 2010-10-02

Call me crazy but i already got used to must of the dubs in italian movies of the 60s and 70s. It takes a very special kind of bad dub to really annoy me at this point.


Frank Rizzo - 2010-10-01

Im confused.


Rovin - 2010-10-01

The film has a major theme involving the eyes of victims - they're constantly destroyed, be it by being eaten by spiders, avulsced by spider attacks, or whatever else. A girl who tries to warn our heroes to get out of the hotel is blind, her eyes looking as these two look at the end of the film.

The concept is one of hopelessness. There's nothing to see - an endless "sea" of darkness. If you wanna get all clever, there's nothing to "look forward to."

Hardee har har.


revdrew - 2010-10-01

Great movie, awesome ending. Italian horror is really hit or miss but this is definitely one of the hits.


CharlesSmith - 2010-10-01

If Italian Horror is hit or miss, what is American horror? Hit or miss or miss or miss or miss or miss or miss? Or miss?


Riskbreaker - 2010-10-01

These days they don't even try to hit.


Rovin - 2010-10-01

CharlesSmith, Take The Beyond and watch it back to back with Joe D'Amato's Anthropophagus. That would probably give you a clearer indication of what revdrew's meaning by "hit and miss" in terms of Italian horror. It's more a pure entertainment aspect of the film... we KNOW it's ludicrous, but is it ENTERTAINING? Can it overcome its limitations budgetarily, or in a storytelling sense, or in some way?

The Beyond is plenty ludicrous in many ways - and some very unintentional ways (a sign above a door in a hospital reading, "Do Not Entry" is a good starting point for these), but it is able to rise above it's quickie exploitation liklihood through its energy, visual creativity, and atmosphere thick enough to cut with a knife. Anthopophagus, on the other hand, is about the most fucking boring thing to be called an Italian horror film. Five good minutes at the beginning and maybe fifteen at the end. The rest of it is dipshits roaming around a seemingly abandoned town.


Riskbreaker - 2010-10-02

Well, every time a genre would become a hit in italy (zombies, westerns, sexy-comedies) they would milk the living hell out of said genre or sub-genre. We are talkng abut dozens and dozens of movies made on low budgets, directed by all kinds of directors, and with diverse actors. When you are making so much stuff quality is not going to be present all the time. I think the average number of films produced in Italy back in those glory days (late 60s/early 70s) was around 600 films a year.
So, every genre eventually got overkilled by so much saturation. When you are going to watch the fifth clone of a Django movie, or another movie trying to proclaim it's a sequel of Zombi, you just can't expect a quality product anymore.

Also, Fulci>>>D'amato. That said, D'amato did directed some good stuff, but he was more of a skin flick director.


pressed peanut sweepings - 2010-10-01

I stumbled upon the wikipedia article for this movie a while back and had forgotten the title since then. I had been trying to find out the title for a while, but I had confused it with "From Beyond" and couldnt relocate the article. Thank you!


kwash - 2010-10-02

This movie is absolutely amazing.


Rodents of Unusual Size - 2010-10-02

This is the worst date ever, Italian Bruce Campbell.


Caminante Nocturno - 2010-10-02

D8


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