If you browse around your local Blockbuster Video (75% of this country lives 15 minutes from one) you’ll find a lot of crap.  I’m not just talking about the horror section either, but ESPECIALLY the horror section.  Most movie rental stores are missing a lot of essential horror and to fill in shelf space, they toss in extra copies of Wishmaster 2 and The Leprechaun movies.  It’s painful, I know.  Gorehounds are forced to travel the extra mile to there local mondo video store to pick up their quick fix of crazy carnage.  Hopefully, after you start to finger your way through the Euro-trash section, you’ll come across a large assortment of Lucio Fulci films.  His "masterpiece" is a hell raising zombie splatter-fest entitled, The Beyond.

Now, I read A LOT about this film before I ever found a copy (that worked) to throw into my DVD player.  When you hear that the flick you're about to watch is quoted as being a "masterpiece," your expectations are automatically raised through the roof.  Rarely are these expectations ever met and even if the film is quite exceptional, I can’t help but feel let down if it’s not the greatest horror film of all time.  Well, The Beyond is not the greatest horror film of all time, but it sure as hell is not to be missed by any horror fan and it will not disappoint.

The plot is simple.  A young woman inherits an abandoned hotel, wants to clean the place up and have it running in no time.  The only problem is that the hotel was built over the 7th gate to hell.  Bummer!  One by one the cleaning staff discover corpses awakening from there eternal rest to seek vengeance on the living.  What follows are some very gruesome death scenes.  You’ve got tarantulas devouring a man's face, a possessed dog ripping out the throat of its blind owner, and a large metal nail being impaled through the back of a woman’s head and out...well, you’ll see!   Although, the plot sounds simple enough, there is a lot of jumping around and certain unexplainable sequences.  In one scene, it’s completely pitch black outside and literally two minutes later the sun is shinning high in the sky.  Still, all of these little quirks are done with great intent.  Fulci wants the audience to question the film's sense of time and space.  He wants to take this simplistic plot design and cast it under a more hypnotic spell.  The end product is definitely the most gorgeous and surrealistic film Fulci has to offer us.

Lucio Fulci’s signature camera techniques are used extensively throughout the entire film.  Random close ups of characters' eyes, manual focus adjustments, and extreme close ups of all the amazing special effects.  In some situations, like the tarantula scene, you’ll wonder exactly how Fulci was ever able to pull off such awkward camera shots and positions.  Somehow, he was able to capture a giant spider ripping out the insides of a character's mouth in as much gruesome detail as one's imagination could ever allow.   He really goes out of his way to make an audience wonder how the hell he was able to pull off such amazing effects with makeup artist Gianetto De Rossi at his side.  Some of these sequences will be etched into your brain long after there’s a change in scene.

Okay, here’s the part of the review where I have to mention Rolling Thunder Pictures.  Thank you Quentin Tarantino, for rescuing this film and making me one happy happy Fulci fan.  There...I said it!  As if this man needed more recognition.  But still, this DVD package is simply amazing.  It’s loaded with wonderful extras like still galleries, audio commentary with David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl, plus a rare exclusive interview with the man himself, Lucio Fulci!  This widescreen presentation is crystal freaking clear and is presented in Dolby 5.1 surround.  It’s the ultimate package that this film has been waiting much too long for.  Anchor Bay has done it again!

On a final note, I’ll be damned if The Beyond isn’t in your top three Fulci flicks.  It’s probably cuddled up somewhere next to your copy of Zombi and The New York Ripper.  It’s also hard to ignore City of the Living Dead and Don’t Torture the Duckling...but you get the idea.  The Beyond is one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen.  Fulci’s trademark uses of color and technique are all here.  MacColl and Warbeck are both satisfying enough in there rolls, but in the end, it’s the films infectious style that keeps you begging for more.  I don’t care if you are a gorehound, scare queen, or are altogether completely clueless about horror film history.  You owe it to yourself to see this film.  It has its little quirks from time to time, along with some minor plot lapses, but you have to remember who’s in charge here.  Lucio Fulci is a true master of horror!