Without spoiling, I could give one example why this movie is terribly bad: At one point of the strory, the characters know they have to find one tombstone before midnight to stop all the bad things going on. They are in the cemetery on the afternoon, close to end everything. But suddenly appears another character who wants to help them and then they decide to explain everything to him AT HIS HOME and only come back at night in the cemetery when it's almost to late! What the heck! this has no sense at all. And all the movie is like that. Every scene is poorly written, all characters' behaviors are irrational, most of dialogs are just here to give information the to the Spectator just because the director was not able to give them differently, low budget make up and effects are terrible, nothing is scary (unless you're scared by a priest with a toy store makeup holding spaghetti). And the movie isn't even funny (unless unvolontary), it's dead serious and bit pretencious like most of movies from Fulci, the guy who shot 2 movies a year... it mathematically can't be good...

I had almost watched The Beyond before I realized that it was part of the "Gates of Hell" Trilogy which had lead me to City of the Living Dead to start with the first film.Holy gore this movie has some great kills and practical effects for it's time. The scene with Rose & Tommy where they are in his Jeep and Father Thomas comes is amazing. The movie jumps around quite a bit between the characters into the city which is a little confusing at times and the score is a bit repetitive but that is part of it's charm.I will say I am relatively new to Fulci. This movie isn't the best work I have seen from Fulci but it is a great starting point for the Gates of Hell Trilogy and I can't wait to watch the next two films.

Lucio Fulci's 1980 horror film stars Christopher George, Catriona MacColl, Carlo De Mejo, Janet Agren and Fabrizio Jovine. This begins in New England town, Dunwich where priest, William Thomas (Jovine) commits suicide by hanging himself at a cemetery. The same time in New York, Mary Woodhouse (MacColl), a psychic, sees the vision during a séance and dies from shock. George (Pieces, Graduation Day) plays journalist, Peter Bell who investigates what happened to her and discovers she's not dead. He works with her and they head to Dunwich where they meet psychiatrist, Gerry (De Mejo) and his patient, Sandra (Agren). They discover that Thomas' death has opened the gates of hell unleashing ghouls and must close it before All Saint's Day by destroying his spirit. Fulci also makes a cameo as a doctor. This is a weird, eerie flick aka "The Gates of Hell" that reminds me a bit of "The Amityville Horror" and "Phantasm" with a decent cast, atmospheric score & grotesque make-up effects. I recommend checking this out at least once if you're a horror fan.

This is the first film of Fulci's 'Gates of Hell' trilogy, all three starring the stunning Catriona MacColl. Anybody who knows Fulci knows he doesn't like to let trivial things like plot structure get in his way. It's all about atmosphere, mood, maggots and gore. Oh yes how can I forget the red stuff? Fulci has two nasty set-pieces as his main course in addition to the tasty tidbits he adds around them. The thing I liked most about this movie was that there was a genuine effort to generate suspense. The use of fog and Fabio Frizzi's amazing score create a truly unnerving atmosphere without ever needing cheesy jump scares. I would have given the movie an 8 if it hadn't been for a truly unnecessary tacked-on ending which is an example of lazy writing.The acting is par for the course with Christopher George adding a level of class to the proceedings. MacColl is okay enough though some ghastly writing lets her down. I must mention Daniela Doria who is part of one of the two nasty set-pieces and easily the most horrifying. Poor girl's career is littered with scenes in which Fulci has her do terrible things, none as ghastly as this one. Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron got an Oscar for making themselves "ugly". What about this scene then?Overall, the film is a bit slow and meanders along but the gore and suspense make up for it. The disastrous ending doesn't kill the movie but does take away much of the bite. But this is still a very good horror film by Fulci though it was the beginning of his "Bizarro" phase.Do enter these Gates of Hell!