My review of Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond"...

[JDFP]

Wow, just wow, this movie was just so freaking AWFUL! However, I will say this, on a campy level I haven't had that much fun in quite a long, long time. If you choose to see "The Beyond" as a comedy (like the "Scream" series which are dark comedies), I think you could have a great deal of fun with it.

First off, the plot is about as believable as Lindsay Lohan at an Amish prayer meeting. It just doesn't make sense. But who needs logical thinking when you can have scenes of dumping acid on two different people, enough blood to make Mel Gibson cringe, and three -- I'll say that again -- THREE eye gouging-scenes. And the winner of most laughable line of dialogue I've seen in a film this year goes to the doctor in this flick who is inspecting a painter who has fallen off the side of the house and for whatever reason has blood pouring from his mouth (it's Fulci) and the doctor says: "This man needs to get to a hospital!" -- oh man, I literally had to pause the flick (not that I really missed anything) because I was laughing too hard thinking to myself: "Really? Did the gallons of blood coming out of his mouth give that one away?"

Yeah, so the people that supposedly step over through the "gateway to Hell" to see the face of Hell become blind and their eyes turn into this really weird looking contact color that would go well at a "Cure" concert. Because that makes sense, right? We see a man in a public record's office attacked by about ten different spiders after he falls (cue blood pouring from his mouth round two, as that's only natural after a fall from about 10 feet) -- where the spiders just happen to appear from or what they're doing there doesn't matter... it's a good opportunity for some more eye-gouging. There's a character in this film (I kid you not) named Joe the Plumber that was the only interesting character in the entire film. He was eye-gouging victim # 1 though.

The acid-melting scenes are actually strangely engrossing. What is any horror film without at least one person being melted by acid? Fulci agreed that it was groovy, for he does it again a second time as well. The end of the film makes no logical sense either (wait, it's Fulci), but has the hero couple of the film magically teleporting from one location to the entranceway to the gates of Hell in the basement of the hotel/portal in the flick. Where's Padre Pio when you need him, eh?

Don't get me wrong, this flick was bad -- but it wasn't Uwe Boll bad. Not even Fulci could intentionally be that bad, I think (though I haven't seen but a few of his films, so I could be wrong). It's worth watching just for the humor. It would be a great drinking game flick to have friends over -- you could make eye-meatballs to eat while watching it and drink it with fruit punch (blood! And more realistic looking than the blood in this movie!), so it's definitely worth checking out. A great campy ride... but what astounds me is that there are people out there who hail "The Beyond" as a GREAT horror flick! This just blows my mind...

Speaking of which, what is the obsession with Fulci? I'll give him kudos for the gore and sound effects of popping eyeballs and the ilk in his films, but I just don't see the appeal at all.

j.p.

[bassman]

Speaking of which, what is the obsession with Fulci? I'll give him kudos for the gore and sound effects of popping eyeballs and the ilk in his films, but I just don't see the appeal at all.


I've always wondered the same thing. Of the few films i've seen it's just crap. Different strokes and all that...

But for me, your first sentence summed up all of those films. "Awful".

[triste realtà]

Dumb people like dumb things and vice-versa. Which are you? You wrote an awful lot about a movie you didn't like. It seems like a cry for help.

[bassman]

Dumb people like dumb things and vice-versa. Which are you? You wrote an awful lot about a movie you didn't like. It seems like a cry for help.

:lol:

Did you work on this film or know anybody that did or something? Don't take it so personally...

[triste realtà]

Hey Bassman, guess what DVD just came in the mail today: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to get the oop flipper disc so I could see it in all its full frame glory.

[bassman]

Okay....

Sounds fun.

:rockbrow:

[JDFP]

Dumb people like dumb things and vice-versa. Which are you? You wrote an awful lot about a movie you didn't like. It seems like a cry for help.

Oh, I liked it, as a comical horror camp B-flick. If you actually read my review instead of coming here to throw a silly one liner out, you'd see that I appreciated it as camp. On the contrary, people that consider it as an amazing horror film obviously haven't seen many horror films outside of the piece of shit Hollywood re-makes and straight to video garbage produced over the last 20 years or so.

j.p.

[triste realtà]

Okay....

Sounds fun.

:rockbrow:

I thought you were the failbrain that hated that movie and mentions it every other day.

---------- Post added at 06:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:30 PM ----------

But seriously I want to add that the acid on the face was taken from Terror Creatures from the Grave, an earlier b&w Italian horror movie that was extensively ripped off for the Evil Dead.

[bassman]

I thought you were the failbrain that hated that movie and mentions it every other day.

:lol:

You sooooo underestimate me. Every other HOUR, silly bug!:kiss:

[SRP76]

I thought you were the failbrain that hated that movie and mentions it every other day.



That movie was retarded. Simple as that.

The one thing I can give it is that it's better than the Sci-Fi channel sequels. That's not very impressive, though.

[axlish]

Return of the Living Dead > Day of the Dead

[JDFP]

Return of the Living Dead > Day of the Dead

If you're comparing ROTLD to DAY re-make, absolutely. ROTLD is a fun movie, one I occasionally watch for the great 80s fun (especially the Fields of the Nephilim music). Comparing ROTLD to the original DAY is like comparing Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO to Gus Van Sant's PSYCHO. It's a non-comparison. No matter how pretty you make a T.V. dinner look compared next to granny's home-made meal (ROTLD being the T.V. dinner and granny's cooking being the original DAY), it just won't ever compare.

j.p.

[fulci fan]

Wow, just wow, this movie was just so freaking AWFUL! However, I will say this, on a campy level I haven't had that much fun in quite a long, long time. If you choose to see "The Beyond" as a comedy (like the "Scream" series which are dark comedies), I think you could have a great deal of fun with it.

First off, the plot is about as believable as Lindsay Lohan at an Amish prayer meeting. It just doesn't make sense. But who needs logical thinking when you can have scenes of dumping acid on two different people, enough blood to make Mel Gibson cringe, and three -- I'll say that again -- THREE eye gouging-scenes. And the winner of most laughable line of dialogue I've seen in a film this year goes to the doctor in this flick who is inspecting a painter who has fallen off the side of the house and for whatever reason has blood pouring from his mouth (it's Fulci) and the doctor says: "This man needs to get to a hospital!" -- oh man, I literally had to pause the flick (not that I really missed anything) because I was laughing too hard thinking to myself: "Really? Did the gallons of blood coming out of his mouth give that one away?"

Yeah, so the people that supposedly step over through the "gateway to Hell" to see the face of Hell become blind and their eyes turn into this really weird looking contact color that would go well at a "Cure" concert. Because that makes sense, right? We see a man in a public record's office attacked by about ten different spiders after he falls (cue blood pouring from his mouth round two, as that's only natural after a fall from about 10 feet) -- where the spiders just happen to appear from or what they're doing there doesn't matter... it's a good opportunity for some more eye-gouging. There's a character in this film (I kid you not) named Joe the Plumber that was the only interesting character in the entire film. He was eye-gouging victim # 1 though.

The acid-melting scenes are actually strangely engrossing. What is any horror film without at least one person being melted by acid? Fulci agreed that it was groovy, for he does it again a second time as well. The end of the film makes no logical sense either (wait, it's Fulci), but has the hero couple of the film magically teleporting from one location to the entranceway to the gates of Hell in the basement of the hotel/portal in the flick. Where's Padre Pio when you need him, eh?

Don't get me wrong, this flick was bad -- but it wasn't Uwe Boll bad. Not even Fulci could intentionally be that bad, I think (though I haven't seen but a few of his films, so I could be wrong). It's worth watching just for the humor. It would be a great drinking game flick to have friends over -- you could make eye-meatballs to eat while watching it and drink it with fruit punch (blood! And more realistic looking than the blood in this movie!), so it's definitely worth checking out. A great campy ride... but what astounds me is that there are people out there who hail "The Beyond" as a GREAT horror flick! This just blows my mind...

Speaking of which, what is the obsession with Fulci? I'll give him kudos for the gore and sound effects of popping eyeballs and the ilk in his films, but I just don't see the appeal at all.

j.p.

I can't even read everything you said without getting extremely annoyed. How old are you? I am simply at a loss of words... I guess it takes a certain kind of person to appreciate and love good films. This isn't Michael Bay, son. It isn't American. This is Fulci. You have to use your brain in order to watch his films. You can't go into the movie expecting everything to be laid out for you and have the movie hold your hand the whole way through telling you what everything means. It takes many viewings of this film to understand it. Don't feel bad, though. Many people hate Lucio Fulci's films because they can't understand them.

Please do not watch any more of Italy's finest. :annoyed:

---------- Post added at 05:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:46 AM ----------

Stop saying cheesy,campy, cheesy fun, campy fun, gory fun, etc. ;)

[bassman]

:lol:

I love it when people take others' opinions so personally.

Or maybe i'm just a stupid American Micheal Bay fan that can't understand them. Son.:rolleyes:


Fulci's films suck.

[major jay]

I like it. And yeah, it's cheesy. I love the way Fulci depicts Southerners. :lol: This film also has the original Joe the plumber!

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w234/tcrine_photos/beyond5.gif

err, I mean Joseppi the plumber.
This dude's a real player.

I bought the Grindouse release of this. The transfer is the same as the old Anchor Bay release, but what's great about this is the remastered 5.1 soundtrack. It sounds frickin' awesome!

[JDFP]

I can't even read everything you said without getting extremely annoyed. How old are you? I am simply at a loss of words... I guess it takes a certain kind of person to appreciate and love good films. This isn't Michael Bay, son. It isn't American. This is Fulci. You have to use your brain in order to watch his films. You can't go into the movie expecting everything to be laid out for you and have the movie hold your hand the whole way through telling you what everything means. It takes many viewings of this film to understand it. Don't feel bad, though. Many people hate Lucio Fulci's films because they can't understand them.

Please do not watch any more of Italy's finest. :annoyed:

---------- Post added at 05:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:46 AM ----------

Stop saying cheesy,campy, cheesy fun, campy fun, gory fun, etc. ;)

Hah! If that's "Italy's finest" than I'd hate to see the worst! Sorry to disappoint you, but Fulci doesn't hold a torch to Argento or Bava. They made some truly great Italian giallo/horror flicks. I'd put Fulci around the same level as Claudio Fragasso and Bruno Mattei.

How old am I, chief? I'm 29. How old are you? Are the pimples still bursting on your face as you listen to "My Chemical Romance" while driven around in mom's mini-van for your shopping at Hot Topic while trying to find rare OOP Fulci flicks on VHS? If you want to be treated like an adult, act like one.

I agree with you, it does take a certain type of person to enjoy and appreciate good films. People here who appreciate Romero's original trilogy for example. People who enjoy good horror films such as the work of John Carpenter. Fulci isn't in the same category. While I agree that Fulci most definitely isn't American film, he could take taken a cue from other great European directors like Bergman or Luis Bunuel on how to make good films. But who needs to make good films when you can have gallons of blood and eye-gouging every other victim?

I shouldn't have to go through many viewings of a film I don't enjoy. Hell, it is tough enough going through one viewing of something that is an utter mess of trite, boring, unrealistic camp. And that's exactly how I take his films. If you want to proclaim the greatness of Fulci, fine, but don't expect everyone to agree with you. And if you want to take that as meaning that I'm somehow less cultured than a Fulci fan, there's no arguing I could point your way to make you think otherwise. So, good for you.

I don't hate Fulci's films because I "don't understand them" -- but because they are silly, inept, pretentious romps of campy cheese by the chuck-wagon of garbage. I will give Fulci one thing though, he makes me appreciate the greatness of films from people like Argento and Bava.

:cool:

j.p.

[Mr.G]

I didn't get it either. I only watched it once...probably need to view it again. I actually prefer House by the cemetary myself.

[SRP76]

It takes many viewings of this film to understand it.



So what you're saying is, it took you repeated viewings to convince yourself that it's good.

[Mr.G]

In all honesty, I don't get any (Fulci, Argento) Italian films. And I don't consider myself an idiot. Maybe it's just cultural...

[fulci fan]

Jp- I listen to Warren Zevon and Jethro Tull. Argento made great films in my opinion, but he made really shitty ones later in his career; Even Romero made shitty movies. Bava was a different director and he was older so he shouldn't be compared to the younger guys. Fulci was a very dark and misunderstood man and it shows in his films. I know that no one truly appreciates Fulci's films on this board but you have to realize that he made great films throughout his entire career. Believe it or not, Fulci could have come to the States and been a big time director but he decided not to. I think it was because he preferred Italian style film making.

If I were to agree with you about Italian directors that made "cheesy/campy" movies, it would be Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso. The thing is: they never made a bad film. All of them are very entertaining and Mattei made entertaining films until the day he died.

it takes many times watching foreign films to understand them because they are way different than American movies. To tell you the truth, When I first saw Zombi 2, I didn't like it (I didn't watch it all). I was so used to American films, I couldn't get what these movies were about. Then I watched the whole movie (zombi 2) without skipping to the gory scenes and without interruptions from beginning to end. Then my whole life changed. I was 11.

I don't know, man. I guess it takes a wacko to like Fulci's films. You are probably too normal ;).

[triste realtà]

hahaha I was going to break rank and tell about how I was underwhelmed by my first Fulci viewings. His reputation precedes him and I was expecting the best horror films you could watch. And I was like WTF that kinda sucked. As another example, here is a review of Zombie by Evilned in 2006 in a thread linked in the related section at the bottom of this page:



I hate that film. I think it's horrible, cheesy and stupid beyond salvation. The plot needs to be at least a BIT engaging for me to like a film. If that fails, give me something I can at least like. This film didn't have that. The conquistadores zombie which took one minute to prepare himself for an attack on a girl one meter away (who just stood there, screaming). horrible, horrible crap.

The shark scene is alright (and I'm amazed at how they pulled it off) and the main theme is catchy (but not fitting). Overall, I hate every part of the film.

Sounds like JDFP's review. What do you think of it today EvilNed?

I can't get enough of these films today although I think I like D'Amato and more grindhousy stuff like Zombi Holocaust more and Avati's two horror masterpieces. I have branched off into Spanish horror (Naschy and Ossorio) and love them just as much.:hyper:

RotLD is more 80s goofy than I remembered it but it could be the clarity of the DVD and the horribly mixed audio that semi-ruined the film. I was riveted when I first saw that in the 80s.

-- -------- Post added at 01:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:11 AM ----------


So what you're saying is, it took you repeated viewings to convince yourself that it's good.

You like Mall of the Douchebags 04. I bet you got that one right away.

[major jay]

Here's a great review by someone named Egregious Gurnow that supports what Fulcifan has been trying to get across in this thread.

“Where should we be if nobody tried to find out what lies beyond?” --Henry Frankenstein, James Whale’s Frankenstein

“No, my idea was to make an absolute film, with all the horrors of our world,” so says the Italian maestro of gore, Lucio Fulci, when questioned about his masterpiece, E tu vivrai nel terrore - L'aldilà (literally, “And you will live in the terror - the afterlife”), more commonly known as The Beyond or, in its truncated version (which should be avoided at all costs), The Seven Doors of Death.

The Beyond is a film that you either love or hate. Of the nay sayers, the common complaint is that the film doesn’t make sense, a.k.a. it doesn’t have a plot. However, after watching the film the first time, I found myself fascinated because I felt there was something there that I wasn’t getting. The film seemed controlled, especially Fulci’s priority of returning to two specific locations throughout the feature atop the implementation of numeric and symbolic markers used as signposts, and thus, as I reflected over what I’d seen, I realized that the mood, à la atmosphere, was what had me in the throes of its grip. Much like Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, while I was watching the film, the work didn’t have much of an effect, but as time wore on, the more I thought about it, the better it got in retrospect.

This is what I refer to as a masterful piece of filmmaking: a gradual impact of effect verses a quick death of firecracker excitement.

While up-and-coming filmmakers during Fulci’s time studied film, he buddied up with philosophy students (or so the rumor goes) and, along the way, found a kindred spirit in the writings of French philosopher Anton Artaud. Artaud was famous for creating the “Theater of Cruelty,” which refused to allow a play to merely remain on the stage. Artaud theatrics were notorious for including their audience regardless if they wanted to play along or not. From this, it isn’t hard to see what Fulci took away from this idea: To be confused creates fear, and the disjointed nature of the non-linear plot of The Beyond thereby offsets the narrative balance, and--egro--further adds to the chaos. And Fulci accomplishes this, moreso than any other film in his canon, with aplomb.

However, I recently sat down and watched the film again. To by surprise, and to many detractors chagrin, the work does house a plot. I do not mean to imply that the events depicted in the film are crystal clear, but it is not merely a surrealist collection of random images as many claim. You can’t watch The Beyond halfheartedly as you would, say, a chapter Friday the 13th. The narrative is loosely bound. It does proceed in a linear order but the characters aren’t evenly followed nor are they overtly accounted for in relation to why they exist or what purpose they serve (much like people in everyday society).

The film opens in 1927 in a hotel in New Orleans. The entire scene is cast in a sepia hue in order to promote the dated nature of the events we are witnessing (as well as aide in establishing a theme for the climax) as we watch as a painter by the name of Schweick (Antoine Saint-John), who looks remarkably like Artaud, being bodily torn from his canvas. He becomes the victim of a lynch mob, which subsequently crucifies him on grounds Satanism. We are then brought to present day, that is 1981, were Liza (Catriona MacColl) has inherited the Mandanville Seven Doors Hotel. She is busy remodeling the estate with the intent of reopening to the public. However, when a plumber named Joe (Giovanni De Nava) goes into the basement to fix a leak of monumental proportions, he is met by a decomposed corpse and that’s that, as they say, because he inadvertently opens one of the seven gates of Hell. Liza then recruits John McCabe (David Warbeck) to make sense of the ensuing chaos. What remains is a succession of images which are dazzling, grueling, yet possess a dark ambience which revolve around Schweick’s reappearance, Joe’s resurrection, as well as the presence of a blind woman named Emily (Cinzia Monreale), who escaped Hell in an attempt to save Liza from what is to come.

The unease produced by the events we are witnessing is further compounded by the ambiguity spurred on by the possibility that what is occurring may or may not be the product of Liza’s confusion. However, by the close of the film, we find the two main characters inadvertently entering into Schweick’s painting, presumably a prophetic depiction of Hell itself, as they attempt to flee those passing through the gate. Fulci’s statement that, “Life is often a really terrible nightmare and that our only refuge is to remain in this world, but outside of time,” comes to a resounding climax.

Many of the people who didn’t care for the film cite what they believe to be many of its idiosyncrasies throughout, such as how the zombie in the basement, if it is Schweick of yesteryear, got into the basement (a basement in New Orleans--p-shaw!). However, a parallel scene is presented (and this leads me to think it isn’t an inadvertent oversight on either account) when Joe reappears after his death, not in the basement where he died, but in the room where Schweick was crucified . . . hmmm. Then there’s poor McCabe that, after firing several rounds into various undead bodies only to discover that to dispatch the creatures you must aim for the head, he empties the remainder of his ammunition into the body cavities of the zombies. I have to step in and state that this is a matter of Fulci’s steadfast direction in that, if you were attempting to flee from the grasp of the minions of Hell, you wouldn’t be thinking as clearly as you might under non-apocalyptic circumstances. However, I will acknowledge the faux pas of a sign beside the morgue that reads “Do Not Entry.”

With the aide of frequent screenwriting collaborator Dardano Sacchetti, and the consummate product of makeup wizard Giannetto De Rossi (who crafted the trademark cadaver in Zombi 2), Lucio Fulci presents his irrefutable masterpiece, The Beyond, a surreal, scathingly earnest, psychological inquiry into what we have come to fashion the notion of Hell to be, both during and after life has commenced pulsing through our veins.

Conversation piece: For those keeping track, The Beyond is the second installment in a never completed trilogy (beginning with City of the Living Dead). What puzzles me is that both films deal with “The Seven Doors of Death” yet, in the supposed “trilogy,” only one door is opened in each chapter. Go figure. Perhaps Fulci was planning something extraordinary for his finale by keeping five doors to himself . . . .

- Egregious Gurnow

[fulci fan]

Major Jay, you and I are alone on this board, brother.

Wow, just read the review. I think the big problem is (and it is mentioned): people go into these films like they would a mindless Friday the 13th movie. And I liked how he said he got something more and more after every time he watched it. That couldn't be more true. I guess some people watch certain horror films to have fun. Others watch certain horror films to expand their mind and understanding of the world.

I forget who said he is getting into Spanish horror but check out Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. And the Blind Dead films. I saw you are already getting into Naschy films, that's a good place to start.

[triste realtà]

I forget who said he is getting into Spanish horror but check out Living Dead at Manchester Morgue. And the Blind Dead films. I saw you are already getting into Naschy films, that's a good place to start.

I got all that and more. My most recent sweet acquisition is The Dracula Saga which I got for 11.49 new while fools were bidding up a used copy on ebay to 20.00. :skull:

I also think that review is taking things a bit too far. I think maybe Fulci was being a tad pretentious making a film "with no plot" as he has said about The Beyond. I am going to check out his other films to see if they're different in this respect. Next up will be Don't Torture a Duckling and The Psychic and maybe Aenigma or Touch of Death.

[Mr.G]

I'll give it another watch soon. I'd hate to think I'm missing something. But I did not go in thinking it was going to be F13 or NOES.

[fulci fan]

I got all that and more. My most recent sweet acquisition is The Dracula Saga which I got for 11.49 new while fools were bidding up a used copy on ebay to 20.00. :skull:

I also think that review is taking things a bit too far. I think maybe Fulci was being a tad pretentious making a film "with no plot" as he has said about The Beyond. I am going to check out his other films to see if they're different in this respect. Next up will be Don't Torture a Duckling and The Psychic and maybe Aenigma or Touch of Death.

His giallos are really scary and weird but very easy to follow. Don't Tourture a Duckling is such a cool film. The psychic is more nightmarish, it is really strange. They will have you on the edge of your seat wondering who the killer is. :hyper:

They aren't like Argento's black glove wearing killers :) Not that that is a bad thing.

[major jay]

I've read good things about Don't Torture A Duckling, but me being more of trashy film fan I think I'm going to pick up The New York Ripper next. Not long ago Blue Underground put out a special edition standard def and bluray version of it. Any thoughts on this one?

[krakenslayer]

Although I find most of Fulci's films unappealing and a little boring personally, I feel I have to stick up for Fulcifan and other Spaghetti horror geeks and say that, judging by the comments some have made, most of you guys just didn't get it: Fulci and a few other Italian directors basically worked in a genre of their own, these are not narrative horror films that are supposed to have a conventionally story and realistic sequences.

In American film, logical narrative and "loose" plot realism take precedence over almost everything else - I'll liken it to a detailed, photorealistic painting of a scene; the scene might be peaceful or violent, but in any case it looks more of less like it would look if it happened in real life.

In the films of Fulci, early Argento, etc. real-world logic and linear narrative take a back seat to imagery, atmosphere and expressionism. They are not trying to tell a clear and coherent story; they intend instead to leave you with a series of impressions, images and feelings. These are more similar to Goya-style or even impressionist paintings, which depict events that are impossible in the real world, or otherwise illogical, mythical or removed from context, where the story of how those events came to be is not as important as the impact of the events themselves.

Now, personally, I don't really like this style of filmmaking. That's just my own individual cultural preference. But I don't respect it any less; Fulci put just as much work, planning and artistic effort into the imagery and set-pieces of his films as any A-list American director puts into the building the narrative of their films.

Long story short: they're art films and trying to compare them to mainstream movies is like trying to judge Picasso by the comparing it to Michaelangelo.

[slickwilly13]

The New York Ripper is worth checking out and it is not a bad mystery movie. Acting is bad, but trying to figure out who done it will keep you guessing. I still own a copy on VHS. Make sure it is uncut.

[fulci fan]

Although I find most of Fulci's films unappealing and a little boring personally, I feel I have to stick up for Fulcifan and other Spaghetti horror geeks and say that, judging by the comments some have made, most of you guys just didn't get it: Fulci and a few other Italian directors basically worked in a genre of their own, these are not narrative horror films that are supposed to have a conventionally story and realistic sequences.

In American film, logical narrative and "loose" plot realism take precedence over almost everything else - I'll liken it to a detailed, photorealistic painting of a scene; the scene might be peaceful or violent, but in any case it looks more of less like it would look if it happened in real life.

In the films of Fulci, early Argento, etc. real-world logic and linear narrative take a back seat to imagery, atmosphere and expressionism. They are not trying to tell a clear and coherent story; they intend instead to leave you with a series of impressions, images and feelings. These are more similar to Goya-style or even impressionist paintings, which depict events that are impossible in the real world, or otherwise illogical, mythical or removed from context, where the story of how those events came to be is not as important as the impact of the events themselves.

Now, personally, I don't really like this style of filmmaking. That's just my own individual cultural preference. But I don't respect it any less; Fulci put just as much work, planning and artistic effort into the imagery and set-pieces of his films as any A-list American director puts into the building the narrative of their films.

Long story short: they're art films and trying to compare them to mainstream movies is like trying to judge Picasso by the comparing it to Michaelangelo.

Makes me feel like I am at the campfire scene in "Glory" :D

As for the New York Ripper; it is not a trashy film. In fact, I don't believe Fulci ever made a trashy film. However, Fulci really gets mean with this one. Especially towards the women. There are excellent effects as well. Rosario Prestopino and Maurizio Trani did the makeup so you know it's good. ;)

[major jay]

Thanks guys, I'm going to pick this one up. So far I only have Zombi (I wasn't impressed with it at first but now I love it!) and The Beyond (ditto). Oh yeah, I have Zombie 3 too (I know it's not his best, but I dig it!)

[fulci fan]

Zombi 3 really isn't Fulci's film. He sort of abandoned the project so Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso took over. That is why it feels nothing like a Fulci film.

[major jay]

Yeah I agree, but I think he had more to do with it than most people think.
On the audio commentary with the two leads they say that they never saw Mattei. That it was only Fulci directing them. Of course Fragasso wrote it so that would help explain how it , by my count, rips off at least 6 different movies.

They also said that they had live birds brought in and killed right before the filming of zombie birds scene! :mad:

[fulci fan]

Commentary? Do you have the shriek show copy?

[major jay]

Yeah, it's not listed on the box but when I checked out the extras there it was.
The way I understand it Shreik Show fucked up the first pressing by not including it. They then did a second pressing and recalled the first. When they decided to put out the 3 pack they used the recalled discs until they were gone and then went back to using the second pressing, but kept using the same boxes as the first, which don't state that there's a commentary. There's also interviews with Mattei and Fragasso.
So, there is a 50/50 chance that you may have the commentary if you bought the 3 pack.

[triste realtà]

The way I understand it from watching the interviews and listening to the commentary and reading some things: Mattei did the DJ and all the shots with the scientist vs the army and maybe some of the cleanup footage with the people in white suits and gasmasks. Fulci definitely did the scene with the machete zombie because Beatrice said he kept making her do it over to get her to be more hysterical but she said she did it the same way every time. Fulci was probably pissed.

And the birds weren't dead, they were injected with air bubbles to appear dead for a few minutes. Still cruel.

[axlish]

If you're comparing ROTLD to DAY re-make, absolutely. ROTLD is a fun movie, one I occasionally watch for the great 80s fun (especially the Fields of the Nephilim music). Comparing ROTLD to the original DAY is like comparing Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO to Gus Van Sant's PSYCHO. It's a non-comparison. No matter how pretty you make a T.V. dinner look compared next to granny's home-made meal (ROTLD being the T.V. dinner and granny's cooking being the original DAY), it just won't ever compare.

j.p.

Return of the Living Dead is a tightly scripted masterpiece of horror. Day of the Dead is bunch of folks yelling at each other in a cave over a lousy score. Your Grandmother's cooking must have been awful! You mentioned remakes twice, is that something you just toss out at folks to make them feel bad for not agreeing with you?

[strayrider]

Return of the Living Dead is a tightly scripted masterpiece of horror. Day of the Dead is bunch of folks yelling at each other in a cave over a lousy score. Your Grandmother's cooking must have been awful! You mentioned remakes twice, is that something you just toss out at folks to make them feel bad for not agreeing with you?

Sez who? I loved the score from Day and the "yelling" (actually Rhodes was the only one truly yelling) only added to the tension.

:D

-stray-

[fulci fan]

Yeah, it's not listed on the box but when I checked out the extras there it was.
The way I understand it Shreik Show fucked up the first pressing by not including it. They then did a second pressing and recalled the first. When they decided to put out the 3 pack they used the recalled discs until they were gone and then went back to using the second pressing, but kept using the same boxes as the first, which don't state that there's a commentary. There's also interviews with Mattei and Fragasso.
So, there is a 50/50 chance that you may have the commentary if you bought the 3 pack.

I have the copy with the interviews and no commentary.

Fulci was so pissed about the machette scene, he sped up the footage to fuck with everyone. I always think: "What if Fulci made a true sequel to Zombi 2?"
What would it be like? Would it follow Peter and Ann? I hate to say this, but I think Zombi 2 would be a decent remake. Maybe half remake half sequel. :rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 01:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:50 AM ----------


Return of the Living Dead is a tightly scripted masterpiece of horror. Day of the Dead is bunch of folks yelling at each other in a cave over a lousy score. Your Grandmother's cooking must have been awful! You mentioned remakes twice, is that something you just toss out at folks to make them feel bad for not agreeing with you?

Say hello to the Bad Guy.

[major jay]

Mattei did the DJ and all the shots with the scientist vs the army and maybe some of the cleanup footage with the people in white suits and gasmasks.

That makes sense. The DJ scene is a ripoff of The Vanishing Point, scientist vs the army Day Of The Dead, and white suits and gasmasks The Crazies. I love the DJ's last sign-off speach. "I'll dedicate my last number to all the undead from around the world". :lol:


And the birds weren't dead, they were injected with air bubbles to appear dead for a few minutes. Still cruel.

That's good to hear....I guess.

[krakenslayer]

And the birds weren't dead, they were injected with air bubbles to appear dead for a few minutes. Still cruel.

I may have this wrong, but doesn't injecting macroscopic bubbles of air directly into the bloodstream of any animal invariably cause the permanent damage or death?

[JDFP]

Return of the Living Dead is a tightly scripted masterpiece of horror. Day of the Dead is bunch of folks yelling at each other in a cave over a lousy score. Your Grandmother's cooking must have been awful! You mentioned remakes twice, is that something you just toss out at folks to make them feel bad for not agreeing with you?

"Masterpiece" is pushing it big time. It's a fun little flick, nothing more. If you like it better than "DAY", that's great. To each their own.

j.p.

[fulci fan]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WonFaloXFvc/ScxC0zThyfI/AAAAAAAABY8/O1B8eJf8Vsc/s400/buzzkillington.jpg

[axlish]

"Masterpiece" is pushing it big time. It's a fun little flick, nothing more. If you like it better than "DAY", that's great. To each their own.

j.p.

I consider it a masterpiece of horror in the same vein that I consider Friday the 14th part 4 to be a masterpiece of horror. Day of the Dead is just a movie that I have never liked. It hit me sour on the first viewing, and although I have warmed up to it slightly over the years, I would never recommend it to anyone.

I'm not singling you out or anything, but I find it odd that the two times in recent memory that I have cracked on Day, someone lays down the remake card as if I am some babbling teen standing in line at the mall theatre.

[Precinct13]

I think it's a tad harsh to toss Fulci into the same bag as the bottom of the barrel of knock-off artists of former Italian genre cinema. Unlike, say Alfonso Brescia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss7Ve5dO2qk) or Bruno Mattei, Fulci clearly had some directing experience and formal education under his belt and everything that came with it. He knew is craft, if probably not from genius rather than by sheer workload and practice, as is shown in some of the imagery and shots in "The Beyond" too. There's something to be said about slow shots showing blood dripping from cellar ceilings for no apparent reason or decomposing motels getting shrouded in clouds of mist at unknown night-time - all that kind of stuff Fulci aficionados file under "atmosphere" whenever an excuse for liking a Fulci movie is due. As if you'd need an excuse for liking something, even "The Beyond", sheesh. :D

However, that doesn't keep "The Beyond" from being trash pretending to be something else. The kind of trash that has IMDB geeks handing out stars as if they robbed Hollywood's Walk Of Fame for Christmas, the kind of trash that gets that Tarantino sign of approval. A couple years later is was a scholar of Argento, Michelle Soavi, who transcended the surreal and the horrific into a much better (and much more fun) movie with "Dellamorte Dellamore".

Interesting trivia about "The Beyond", taken from wiki:


the German distribution company that owned the release rights to Fulci's films at the time were not interested in a haunted house story. Zombie movies were still popular at the time in Europe and Fulci's backers wanted something similar to his previous zombie films. Fulci agreed to rewrite his film, adding zombies and completely rewriting the film's final act to include a shoot-out between the main characters and a zombie horde at a local hospital.

"The Beyond" is called "Ghost City Of The Zombies" in Germany, by the way, and "City Of The Living Dead" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081318/) (heh!) got that "special treatment" not only in German, as it seems. Probably doesn't help Fulci's reputation that not only foreign distributors saw his films as an opportunity to cash in on the success of some of cinema's contemporary trends, even if his own intention was something else. Unlike Romero and Latent Image, who refused when they were demanded to fix the bleak ending in "Night Of The Living Dead", Fulci gave in for "The Beyond" himself at the very least. Bit puzzled why Fulci's painted-by-numbers take on zombie mythology in his "Zombi 2 / Woodoo - Schreckeninsel der Zombies (hah!)" is adored so much though. As Fulci doesn't seem to be the complete hack people make him out to be, it's got the occasional intriguing shot of undead shuffling deserted places, it's got professional make-up effects, it's got Frizzi doing that Goblin thing, and it's got zombies - well, figures. :D

[major jay]

Welcome to the boards.

[fulci fan]

hahaha

[bd2999]

I honestly have seen most of the Fulcili movies and most of them are interesting if taken on their own merits. In general Italian zombie movies have more just blatent out there gore for everyone to see. As far as I understand it that is the point at times.

I am not scholar on the man but from what I get both watching movies and reading some about him, Fulcili was all about visuality and themes. The story was there but takes the backburner to that so at times you are not exactly sure if the same plot is still going on or not. You will get various feelings watching the movies but the mind has issues sorting most of it out. Not saying this is good or bad, it is just not for everyone. Also his movies are not usually flat zombie movies, aside from Zombie of course, most of his most known like Beyond and the trilogy it is loosely fit with are more supernatural movies. Often involving the gates of hell and the fabric of reality, the dead returning is not the direct point but the after math of the world being turned upside down. The characters were screwed even before that happened.

The Beyond is an interesting movie and one of Fulcili's better movies bit I do agree it is not for everyone. I do not think it is anywhere near as good as the Romero dead movies and honestly I like alot of other horror films more. It is just a bit odd for my taste overall. My biggest pet peeve with Italian horror in general is the characters. I can deal with the dubbing, as I cannot understand Italian, but about every character will just flat out freeze in terror and be unable to move. Then there is a drawn out period of the creature slowly getting to the person then taring their throat out or something. The FX are great when you get to the pay off but come on. I understand some people freeze up in scary situations but it happens in almost all of these types of movies and it is annoying.

That is my main beef honestly. And it is more a general one to that sub sub genre than anything else in particular. People are dumb but a fair bit of the time they are reactionary, wether that means fighting or running, even running into another ghoul, they do something. I just think it is more believable, unless you have set the situation so it is so dire that there is nothing to do but stand there and wait for the oncoming doom. Much like the end of Beyond.

[fulci fan]

http://www.hellofthelivingdead.com/pagine/rubriche/speciali/fulci/03.jpg

Fulci says: "Throw this thread in the garbage or else you must answer to my sten gun!" :D

[Precinct13]

Welcome to the boards.

Thanks, man!


Much like the end of Beyond.

My fav part of the movie - it'd contain the most wicket "WTF?" moment in the history of Italian cinema if only there wasn't "Nati con la camicia" (Go For It). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14TaMzeyycY) Plus, reading about distributor demands to shoehorn some zombies into "The Beyond", I'm not sure if it was even Fulci's intention to warp zone his characters from hospital zombie climax to motel cellar like he did, who knows. :D

Does anyone like "House By The Cemetery"? Or bits of it? Say what you will, but some of the cinematography is beautiful. You don't get any of that from cheap 80s American slasher drivel a la "Friday the 13th".

[bd2999]

I liked House by the Cemetery. I found the ending to be extremly dark. Not quite as utterly hopeless as Beyond but just so much terror and such running around. I liked that movie.

[Precinct13]

Heard the English dubbing was pretty shite though...

By the way, there's a guy on youtube doing pretty amazing things on his guitar with Fulci movie scores. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2A1QY7enrE&feature=related)

[major jay]

By the way, there's a guy on youtube doing pretty amazing things on his guitar with Fulci movie scores. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2A1QY7enrE&feature=related)

Fulci would be proud.

[Minerva_Zombi]

I don't think Fulci's all that great either. Zombie is OKAY. Good gore. But thats about it. Never seen The Beyond, but I'd give it a shot.

And as far as fulci fan goes... he kinda sounds like a fan of avant garde music. Most people wont like it because they're obviously not smart enough to understand it, not because its complete garbage. lol

[bd2999]

It did not have great dubbing but alot of the movies that do have it are done sort of crappily too. So I think the story was good and atmosphere was good. If you have some good parts you can overlook things like that. The dialogue is always funny though.