The Beyond is without a doubt Lucio Fulci's peak as a director. After more than two decades of low-budget comedies, giallos and more than a few misfires, Fulci began to hit his stride with Zombi 2. After moderate success with what is now the cult classic City Of The Living Dead, the director decided to further explore the theme of metaphysics. What resulted is a mostly non-linear fever dream of horrific images and gory murder sequences that most fans call his best film.
The plot, which is mostly secondary to everything else, is simple: a woman moves into a hotel in New Orleans that happens to be built over one of the Seven Gates of Hell. (One of the biggest gaffes of the film is that there are no buildings with basements in New Orleans, but that doesn't really matter here.)
This is a perfect example of the 80s Italian horror film: style over substance. It looks great, but don't try to find any great acting or story development. It's all about the trippy images, creepy characters and gore effects. The Beyond has all three in spades, and is essential viewing for any horror fan.
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