Anchor
Bay were the first to release giallo maestro
Lucio Fulci's Zombiefest that is The
Beyond.
Gore, zombies, seven gateways to hell, dubbed
voices, and one-time Hammer protige David Warbeck
combine to make this one of the finest of the
video-nasty period. And Anchor Bay turn that into
one of the finest genre DVDs available.
plot
Catriona MacColl finds herself the
inheritant of an old hotel in down-town New
Orleans. However she soon discovers that the
house has a sinister past, having been founded on
one of the legendary Seven Gateways to Hell, the
true scale of which is revealled in the strange
Book of Ebion.
David Warbeck arrives on scene and together they
find themselves swamped by a series of deaths,
zombified victims, and something sinister in the
basement...
dvd
For the dvd release of this 1980 picture, Anchor
Bay have contunued to impress with another
fantastic collection. Despite being a small
independant company they somehow continue to
manage to provide a better package than most of
the major studios.
The standard disc contains more extras than you
can shake a stick at and even includes rare
footage of the fabled director himself. Most
poignant is the commentary from David Warbeck and
Catriona MacColl.
David spent many years in Giallo movies, having
really launched his career with the John Hough-directed
Hammer pictures Wolfshead and Twins Of
Evil in the early 1970's. Warbeck
himself remarks on how ill he sounds doing the
commentary, assuring the fans that he is well.
Sadly, he would die just a few weeks after
recording his thoughts.
Presented in a beautiful print with a sinister
remastered soundtrack, the ambling plot looks and
feels better than ever before. The cover of the
disc warns "The SHOCKING and VIOLENT nature
of this film may be too intense for some viewers".
Certainly, in the right mood, lighting and
company, this picture can do just that. Far more
effective than a lot of films I've seen lately.
MacColl
and Warbeck make for a superlative team and their
enthusiasm is evident in the commentary. The
general feel of the film is excellent and
performances top notch, though the dubbing
process can make even the most seasoned actor
laughable.
Where Fulci's film excels is in its macabre and
twisted death sequences, where the forces of evil
seem most prevelant. Audiences squirm even now at
the death by spider, or the acid bath...
The
Beyond blends an enjoyable tale, some
great locations and some very twisted and
squirmish demises. Recommended in the extreme...
The
dvd is one of the best presented in the Anchor
Bay catalogue, seemless and entrancing menus, and
an admirable selection of extras.
RJES
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