The Beyond

Lucio Fulci's Italian Splatter Horror fest means a great deal to me Due to the fact it's the first Fulci Film i discovered late in my Collecting I'm gonna share with you the day I came across the Beyond on DVD It was late spring of 2001 had no car (Due to my little sister wrecking my only car) It wasn't exactly a great car but, it was mine and I needed a wheels to go to and from my new job I was able to get my Grandfather to let me take his pride and joy a 1977 Ford T-Bird to work while i looked for a new car Found out about a CD Store 35 miles away That took used CD's in Trade for store credit or cash Went through my massive collection of cd's found 150 cd's to take there for trade (CD's I know longer wanted/I needed to cut down on my cd Collection) Drove to this Store handed the sales man a massive box of CD's told him i'll take Store credit I looked around this store was very cool (It was a typical late 90's Music Store) but, they also sold vinyl records, VHS Tapes , and the new Hot format DVD I wanted to add more to my very small dvd Collection (Maybe had 6-8 dvd's) Keep in mind this was very early on Best Buy & Circuit City still sold more VHS over the dvd Format This store actually had a lot of dvd's for a small Music retail shop the problem was they were super over priced While looking through what they had on dvd i seen a few things that Interest me, one being this super Cool Limited Edition Tin of The Beyond (with the coolest art work and a massive warning label on the front of the case (No one Under 17 Should view this Film) The downside to this Limited Tin it was marked at $39.99 so i just put it back and talked to the manager about my Store credit I was lucky to get $125.00 Store Credit so I swallowed really hard and gave in and added The Limited Edition of The Beyond (Anchor Bay TIN) to the stack of stuff I took...... That DVD was a massive blind buy (There were no smart phones to check price matching, etc.) Later on a day or two later I cracked up the TIN (I've bought a number of Special Edition Anchor Bay VHS Tapes) So i knew Anchor Bay at the time was a 5 Star Distributor they really put there heart and soul into this stuff back in the days of dvd's This Film blew me away everything about it even on a SD tv you could pick up on the Beautiful Lighting,The Production Values were insane everything is practical and Organic and it adds so much to the film over all The Beyond IMO one the Best Italian Horror Films ever! It pulls no punches and doesn't pull back when most films would The Ending is Anti Hollywood =Meaning it's more realistic Life is complicated Life is messy There is no real Disney Ending After watching this Film the first time I became a die hard Luci Fulci Fan i tried to get all his Horror Work very quickly I probably watched this dvd at least 5 times in a month 'Cause it was so fresh and unique and just Perfect even the negatives with this film you can turn to Positives...... I was so obsessed at the time I over payed to get my hands on the Limited Edition version of Zombie on Laserdisc (Needless to say I payed more for a outdated Laserdisc then for the New Format dvd) But, any Collector can relate to this Collecting is very much a OCD thing some people will not admit that I on the other hand know what I am and admit it freely Enough of this Palaver lets get the show on the road I'm gonna try and review and point out the Positives & Negatives surrounding the Blu Ray home video versions of Lucio Fulci's The Beyond (Note: I've had almost every version of the beyond put out on DVD) I've seen it with terrible edits The Seven Doors of Death **On The Cheap** dvd) to HQ DVD's like the AnchorBay Version & The 2008 Grindhouse Releasing, Inc. Version The Arrow Video (UK Release) The "Original" Arrow BR is region Free This Version is flat out amazing it's a 2-Disc Set (One Disc Being a BR and the second disc being a dvd) Both disc are region free Arrows Cut is a Brand New Uncut HD Restoration + 160mins of Special Features all there extras are exclusives to Arrow Video Disc Break down (BR Disc) Blu Ray Contains* Brand New HD Restoration of the film presented completely UNCUT (Full HD 1080p) *English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Original English & Italian Mono Audio options BR Special Features: Introduction by Star Cinzia Monreale * Audio Commentary w/ Antonella Fulci and Calum Waddell (Exclusive) *Audio Commentary with David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl (This Audio Commentary is old it's on almost every Previous dvd) But, it's a great Commentary Track all around!!!! AKA Sarah Keller: Cinzia Monreale remembers "The Beyond" Catriona MacColl Q&A from Glasgow Film Theatre (very cool Catriona is one of the Scream Queens That really gets over looked in Horror) Open Your Eyes Easter Egg Disc Two (DVD) everything on this dvd is Exclusive to the Arrow Video BR One Step Beyond Catriona MacColl Remembers a Spaghetti Splatter Classic (great interview) after watching this I became a bigger fan of Mrs MacColl 'Cause she's a Legit Actress that fell into the Horror Genre and seems to accept her past and embraces it and Respects the fans! Beyond Italy- Louis Fuller and the seven doors of Death Interview with US distributor and editor of the beyond Terry Levene (very interesting) the Living Dead Legacy of special effects wizard Gianetto Di Rossi (This is a must see Gianetto Di Rossi is without a doubt super under rated he's in the same league as Tom Savini But, most people don't know his name) Which is a tragic shame Fulci Flashbacks: Dario Argento, and others close to him remember the Godfather of Gore Alternative colour pre-credits sequence Original International Trailer The Grindhouse (So-Called Limited Edition BR) I'm gonna be completely Honest this BR is a utter disgrace Grindhouse took there previous dvd version from 2008 and Transfer everything from the dvd on to the HD Blu Ray and put the extras on a second BR Disc to pad this set!! All the extras are copied and pasted from the dvd and it's Cheap and a joke over all The only thing remotely exclusive is the Bonus CD with the Newly Remastered Soundtrack album (The cd comes in this uber cheap cardboard case God forbid they figure out how to put it in the case I'm pretty sure Grindhouse bought the US Rights to the Arrow HD Transfer and just carried over the Film itself and tacked on "old" dvd extras The Grindhouse Version is a quick money grab Nothing more nothing less (No Real exclusives) Except a CD that's in a cheap cardboard case I payed $30.00 for the BR when it was on sale Massive waste of $$$$ IMO Without a doubt buy and cherish the Arrow Home Video Version that is the BEST and only way to get a Proper BR of the Beyond Buy the 2008 Grindhouse Release dvd don't Support a Company that Thinks so little of Fans the only thing they give is a bloody CD Soundtrack for a exclusive selling point I Love The Beyond The film over all is Close to Perfect 9.8/10 But, whatever you do DON'T Buy the Grindhouse BR it's a massive money grab that is a smack to the face to Fulci and his fans!

This has to be the ultimate The Beyond release. The soundtrack comes in one of those cardboard/paper sleeves,and not in an actual case. The music has never sounded better, Grindhouse really put in the work in the CD as well as the movie. Once you open up the actual BluRay case(which is of the same type that Criterion uses for their Blurays), you'll see not a reversible cover but a complete Lucio Fulci filmography. Nothing too interesting for a longtime fan, but useful if The Beyond is your first Fulci film. The movie is what matters,and it looks really good. All the colors looks vibrant(well as vibrant as a movie about doorways to hell can be!), and I didn't notice any imperfections. I've never owned any of the previous versions, but the image looks really sharp on my 40 inch screen. The menu is mostly static, with a picture of Emily in the front, and a static-y hotel in the background(the music that plays is the main piano theme). Most of the extras are on the second disc, but the first does have the color version of the pre-credit sequence(you're given both german and english audio options). You also get a mini collection of trailers for the Beyond, along with tv spots(yes, you do get a trailer for the rare "7 Doors of Death" edit of Fulci's classic,which tries to sell the Beyond as some kind of slasher flick). The best extra here however is the wonderful commentary with Catriona MacColl and the always awesome David Warbeck. He really sounded like he had fun recording it. The second disc is where the main extras are. The menu background image is of the Book of Eibon, with more of Frizzi's music playing (the same music when Emily first opens the book in the film). You get Interviews, Still Galleries, and Grindhouse Releasing Prevues. If you're a David Warbeck fan, you will love the 1996 Festival of Fantasic Films one, which I believe was the last one he did. Overall, if you are a Fulci fan, you need this set in your life. :)

Sometimes I wish I could show you guys how excited I get to do certain reviews. This is one of them. Lucio Fulci. The Godfather of Gore. In horror circles, you either love him or you don't know who the hell he is. For those that dont, it's okay. This is something you have to seek out. He does not show up on Netflix. Despite directing a number of movies, beginning in the late fifties, it wasn't until the early seventies with two giallos that we began to see the Fulci we would all come to love. In 1979, he was given the chance to direct the Italian sequel to George Romeros Dawn of the Dead (in Italy, it was released as Zombi, so Fulcis movie was Zombi 2 there, but today it is just called Zombie), and I can honestly say that I've never seen anyone create zombie art like Lucio Fulci. Over the course of the next six years, he did a handful of gore films, each one beautiful in its own way, and all to be reviewed here eventually. After 1985, he split from his screenwriter, and the next eleven years were filled with failed movies and declining health, until he passed away from complications from Diabetes on March 13th, 1996 at the age of 68. Now let's get to The Beyond! The movie begins in Louisiana in 1927, at the Seven Doors Hotel, where a lynch mob accuses and murders an artist in room 36, because they believe him to be a warlock, and that he has placed a curse on the town. Despite his protest that the hotel was built over a gate to hell, and that only he can keep it closed, they beat him with chains, crucify him, and throw acid on his face. That's the first five minutes of the movie. In 1981, Liza (Katherine McColl) has inherited the hotel, and plans to renovate and reopen it. Unfortunately for her, her actions open the portal, and lots of people die in very violent ways. Plot was never Fulcis strong point, and sometimes it seems like things happen just to set up the death. Liza meets a blind woman named Emily(Cinzia Monreale) who warns her of the portal, but it really just feels like the conversation about the addition of her character went like this. Fulci: Write in a blind woman. Script writer: Why? Fulci: So I can have her dog rip someone's throat out. That's the feel of the entire movie. My plot synapses could actually go like this. Gates of hell. Stuff happens. Someone dies. More stuff. Someone else dies. A little bit more stuff. Another death. Zombies. The End. But that's not a bad thing. You don't watch this movie for story. You watch it for the glorious amounts of gore that pours from every character, every few minutes. To understand how much gore we are talking, when the movie was first released on VHS, it was heavily censored and renamed to The Seven Doors of Death. We had a copy at the video store I worked at, and I was super excited when I brought it home with me one night. That excitement lasted about 20 minutes, and the rest of the movie was me completely bored. It's almost a different movie. Finally, in 2001, the first uncensored copy came to America, and I've owned at least one copy of it since then. While not for everyone, those of us with an appreciation for carnage will adore every blood soaked second of this film. Scare Factor 6/10 It does have its creepy moments but it's usually just imagery. Everytime your mind thinks "That's spooky", it will follow with "But I don't know what the hell it means, so I'll just wait for more death. The plot of the movie does have a very creepy premise. A woman takes over a inheritance, only to find out its a portal to hell. See....that's scary. Gore 10/10 This movie has all of the gore, and then still brings more. Multiple Acid Baths: Check Dog Attack Throat Rip: Check Human Face Eating Spiders: Check Multiple Zombies: Check The special effect that Fulci excelled in was eye torture, and there are no less than three examples of this in the film. Even with all of that, my favorite death from this, and one of my favorite deaths of all time shows what happens when you completely obliterate a human head with a very large handgun. I watch that scene at least three times, every single time I watch this. Recommended 8/10 I know I've made it seem like this movie makes no sense, but that isn't really the case. It has a definite plot. It's just not one that you should worry about if something confuses you or doesn't make sense. It's best to keep watching, and not struggle too much to comprehend every little part. The only reason this isn't a 10/10 is that it is for the hardcore. While some of the effects look really fake (I'm looking at you, Human face eating spiders), Fulci was still a master of this art, so it's not for anyone with a weak stomach. That being said, anyone that can handle it, should see this immediately.

I must say Grindhouse Releasing really went out of their way with this one. I've never purchased any of their movies but this really makes me want to get more. The print, sound, and extras are well worth it, but what really sold me was the packaging. Not just the eyes of the red woman glow-in-the-dark but the eyes on the creatures in the background as well as the title both on the cover and all three spines as well. Perhaps its my fault for not reading more about it in the product description, but I didn't know it also came with a cd of the movie's soundtrack. The score is a masterpiece almost equal to Goblin's Suspiria. The movie itself is pretty amazing. I'm not going to ruin much for you if you haven't seen it but it pretty much has everything, witchcraft, zombies, a haunted house, chain whippings, eye gouging, flesh eating tarantulas, rabid dogs, and a portal to hell. Its almost as though someone had a checklist of weird, creepy things you put in a horror movie and decided to check them all. The commentary while not adding much is at least amusing. It features the movie's two leads instead of Fulci and if that upsets you just remember even if Fulci were on the commentary his english was never very good. I can't say I've watched all the extras on disc 2 but I can say the interview with Catriona MacColl is interesting. Everything here is impressive and I love this movie but the thing I found most entertaining were the 30 plus minutes of trailers for Grindhouse releases. I found myself laughing hysterically, not to mention curiously transfixed by titles such as: An American Hippie In Israel (Limited Edition/Blu-ray/DVD Combo-3 Disc Set) , Massacre Mafia Style Blu-ray + DVD Combo , and Gone With The Pope (Blu-ray + DVD Combo)

THE BEYOND is the best, or one of the best, Fulci efforts. This guy really likes his movies about zombies. We have ZOMBI 2; we have CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD; and now, we have THE BEYOND. Fulci really went all out for gore on this one. One of the best elements of the movie are the two leads who actually are much better than leads in his other movies (although CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD came close with Catriona MacColl). David Warbeck and MacColl really play their roles with vigor, and thanks to the mostly very suspenseful moments, it is obvious that they won't meet a grim end (but it won't be roses either). Sarah Keller also played great acting as the blind mystic Emily, and her grim fate was very disturbing. MacColl inherits a New Orleans hotel, which supposedly is one of the seven gateways to hell. The beginning of the film features one horrific beating of a supposed satanic artist who is melted away by acid, and the scene is just gruesome. After the man in the basement (waterboy if you will) tears down a wall and then his eyeballs are gouged, it's anybody can go at that point and the mayhem begins (is Fulci obsessed with gouging eyes out or what?). This ultimately sets off a series of gruesome events as zombies start to spring up everywhere, and now Warbeck and MacColl must fend off the flesh-eaters in order to survive. It was sad to see Emily get torn to pieces by her own dog after he socked the rest of the zombies in the scene where she gets surrounded by them. I guess maybe dogs are not man's best friend? The scene where the little girl gets her head blown off was just gruesome, just absolutely gruesome. You gore aficiandos will be very satisfied with THE BEYOND. You horror buffs with either like it or hate it, but THE BEYOND is a strong horror film that benefits from suspense, scares, and mucho gore. Fulci sure likes his violence juicy. That scene where the guy gets attacked by tarantulas was gross. The semi-downbeat ending featured our leads finding what must be "the beyond" and ultimately they, much like Emily, turn to blind people and the look on their faces are of pure terror. I was just a little let down by the ending, but still you can't go wrong...this is a good, good horror movie. Fulci sadly died of a diabetes related illness sometime in the 80s, and his legacy in the Italian horror genre is most assured by his movies. He has an eye for all-out, gross-out gore and some nauseating special effects. He also has some grip on suspense in most of his films, and the terror is real. If you want satisfying Italian horror, you can't go wrong looking 'BEYOND'.

Hello! This is really quite the film and a fantastique DVD for your collection of Italian horror. All I need to review here is the DVD quality. The sound is superb; absolutely superb. The film will begin quietly and then the thunder will rock you, flash you, and boom your speakers. Sound is crystal-clear throughout the movie; although in some of the soundtrack music, bass is lacking so it feels more shrill. Bass is used in sound effects sparingly & effectively, so for added shock value make sure you have a great sound system. There is sufficient volume for this movie, so I didn't have to set speaker and software volume to maximum. I understood each spoken word, clearly. Horror sound effects for grotesque sequences are quite lively and I assume, realistic. Who would know? The picture is not as clear as the sound by any means. In fact, there are two annoying splotches of reflective light at the top of the picture for approx. the first twenty minutes of the film. I own two separate DVD's (different packaging) of "The Beyond", and the dots appear in both. They are obviously from the film master. Do not let that make you hesitate to purchase this glorious masterpiece of horror. I'm not sure where to rank it, but it's definitely one of the finest films ever made. The beginning of the film has a nice sepia tint effect, but parts of the DVD extras are true colour beginnings in English and German. Because the sound is so superior, I have bumped this up to 5 stars despite the <slight> picture shortfall. Only once in a while does a DVD entertain the ears like this one! "Suspiria" and "Opera" are two that come to mind. And in fact, "Opera" is the only other DVD (from an older source) that I've rated 5-star based on quality alone. Just think: I used to watch stuff like "Bring It On". Once I started collecting Italian horror movies, my whole focus and hunger changed.

Ok. Here we go. "And you will Live In Terror!'' in the late Lucio Fulci's gruesome and rotting masterpiece - LÁldila (The Beyond). This film has it all that refers to the splatter horror theme, with all-too disgusting visuals, combined with masterful-milked photography by Sergio Salvati (Ghoulies II), great dramatic score conducted by Fabio Frizzi, and of course- stylish visuals by Fulci. Fulci brings out all in his heart-pounding horror set-pieces. 1. Possessed hotel with it's basement (Oh s*** Joe! Don't knock down the secret chamber! It's infested with rotting zombies eager to gouge out your eyes in a graphic mess). 2. If your arachnaphobic you won't want to stomach Giannetto de Rossi's infamous venomous tarantula scene. Ok, anyone can tell that some of these spiders are made with pipe-cleaner sticks, but even this makes it more off-putting in some way (The fake ones have a more "vile" tone). 3. Of course- Zombies. Even it's debatable to this day what the stumbling dead near the end in the hospital intended to do their victims (if they were quick or smart enough to catch them in the first place), my main conclusion is that the Zombies wanted to devour them, Dawn Of The Dead - style. I wish Fulci put had the authentic vision and put a Zombie flesh ripping, devouring scene in this film, if only just one at that. Hey- he served us this before with "Zombi 2" and sought of with "City", and that gave those films their own merit. Right?? 4. Loaded with pure suspense. One in about 5 lovers of LÁldila will quote that they were s***less in this film. Espescially what the scenes contained resulting in the prologue about room 36, and the crucifiction in the basement. By the way readers - Even when Emily quotes that Sweik did die in Room 36, when he clearly didn't, the simple fact is that she just didn't know this. 5. The ending. Pure emotional, dynamite. You may even wan't to replay it to get that surreal, "Buzz". Had allot of censorship problem before the mid-late 90's, beware of cut and "edited" versions, but by now you probably don't have to be an idiot to know that. Cut to the chase, if horror is what your expecting with this film , you'll definitely get it. With style complete with great music, yes too. Just don't expect much with excessive plot and dialoque. Oh yes, I own the Arrow UK Blu-ray steelbook(s), and a couple of copies of these new beauties from grindhouse (which includes a Soundtrack CD!) Plus I have all kinds of post-dvd versions of this film. Thanks Lucio, you were extremely talented. May your work live on to inspire future horror film makers. - Peace!

I really like this movie it's one of the goriest of the italian horror fms. Lucio Fulci is a legend to me he truly has left a mark in films and history. Story goes a portal is underneath this hotel and evil things are brewing. This is hardcore cool man all the gore scenes are unique The story is just one of those that i rememner watching the movie when i was about 5or 6 with my mom. I remembered this and licked it up. I am a big fan of Lucio Fulci and i have a ton of his films. Some recommendations would be House by the Cemetery,Cat in the Brain,Zombie,City of the Living Dead,Maniac Cop,Don't Torture a Duckling ...i could go on and on. However the version i got had an interview with Lucio Fulci himself and if your a metal fan you'll love this they got the video for Necrophagia's And You Will Live in Terror and i love metal. I'm a big Necrolhagia fan and Phil Anselmo fan so that's a bonus. The movie is really deep in the bayou of Louisiana where a hotel has been cursed for years because 40 years previous the hotel & townspeople kill this "ungodly warlock" and torture him then wall him up in room 36 and never speak of it. Fast forward 40 years and it all starts up again,the terrible accidents of the people on the property. There is a blind woman who shows up and then tries to warn the people (especially the lead Catriona McCall) until her dog rips her throat out. The movie is legendary Fulci at his best.

Película de visión obligada para todos los fans de Lucio Fulci. A mi personalmente me gusta más City of the living dead, pero por algo la volvio a reestrenar Tarantino. Es una visión muy diferente en el tratamiento de las películas de zombies al que han impuesto ahora con unos efectos que nada tienen que envidiar muchas pelis del mismo género que nos meten hoy dia. Lo dicho una joya y si puedes comprarla en bluray muchisimo mejor. Un saludo.

Perhaps one of the greatest of cinematic achievements, Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond" has had a troubled history, maligned by critics, cut or banned around the world by censors, re-edited and mangled on its American theatrical release and lost in copyright limbo there for over a decade the film has had it rough, frankly a work of such art should've been treated better but alas in the wake of DVD the film started getting more attention through many uncut and extra's laden releases worldwide, now in 2015 Grindhouse Releasing present the ultimate edition of this gothic blood drenched classic in an extra packed three disc Blu-ray and CD soundtrack collectors edition with a glow in the dark cover, uncut, remastered in HD, with no audio or video glitches and to those of you who care yes with a colour correct golden yellow tinted opening. A loose description of the film, I say loose because the plot is a mere skeleton cleverly used to keep the flesh and blood of the film together, a vague structure to attach a brooding doomed atmosphere and dark traditional gothic horror with outlandish surrealism and disjointed nightmares all topped off with excessively violent and very excessively stylish gore. Starting in 1927 at the Seven Doors Hotel Schweik the artist is painting a haunted landscape when a lynch mob comes in, whips him senseless with chains and then drags him into the basement, he tries even in this heavily beaten state to warn the mob that the hotel was built on one of the gateways to hell but to no avail, he is crucified and melted with large dollops of lime in an eight minute opening screened in black and white with a golden yellow tint that is both visually stunning and mysteriously haunting, this scene ending with a young woman (Emily) reading from an old book "Woe be unto him who opens one of the seven gateways to hell because through that gateway evil will invade the world...". Cue 1981 and Liza has inherited the now run down hotel, sadly her attempts at restoring the old place are met with disaster after disaster, the local painter falls from the roof which introduces the doctor John McCabe who becomes the other leading character and a close friend of Liza, as the two get close and weird unexplainable events surround them people seem to come, go and die without any real direction to the film but that itself is the ingenious structure (or lack thereof) of the film. A seemingly structured haunted house story gradually and progressively becomes a confusingly disjointed horror mystery with far more questions than answers leaving much up to individual interpretation as the characters begin to question their sanity and indeed reality. Are Liza and John losing their minds or is hell itself stretching out and swallowing the small town and its residents, are the dead coming back to life or do those haunted victims bodies represent ghosts shuffling through a hell the living are already engulfed in? To give you any more than I already have would be to deprive you the joy of being absorbed by the film and making your own judgements but I will say this, the ending is among the most brilliant I've ever seen and the film as a whole my absolute favourite. Twelve years ago I had the joy of watching this curious and bizarre little film, made with about $400,000 and carried from its initial release through home video to the uninitiated and potentially the masses purely through the love and dedication of the legion of fans it has spawned these last three and a half decades. What I saw would change me forever, at first I'll admit this teenage boy knew not what to make of the film, it was filmed brilliantly, most shots were visually captivating, the gore on show was unrealistically excessive but so stylish and done with such complete disregard for convention that it stood out and impressed immediately, in contrast to this crude and bold aspect was the atmosphere which generally looked the part of a southern gothic horror and a beautiful one at that, as eerie as it was captivating cinematographer Sergio Salvati and director Lucio Fulci knew what they were doing and made something unique! The atmosphere was intoxicating and further amplified by Fabio Frizzi's wonderfully playful but suitably haunting score, at one point this music, usually playing as part of the soundtrack is actually being played by the blind character Emily which makes me smile, an amusing if subtle attempt to break the barrier between film and reality, clearly Fulci thought that making a film about the gates between hell and earth being broken he wanted to hint that all dimensions and realities are in danger of seeping into one another. Just as realities are in danger of merging and polluting one another so too do film genre's, the violence and shocking spectacle a lurid show of B-movie excess, the gothic style reminiscent of 60's haunted horrors, the playful use and abuse of linear structure coupled with the visually and spiritually captivating moments taken from the surreal end of art-house cinema and the plot a mish-mash of the three and more. The film has gained as many distractors as fans who will hate the film with a vengeance but lets face it any film that provokes such marmite reactions is doing something right, love it or hate it you'll never find another film quite like "The Beyond". Sadly the purely moment to moment nature of the film is its biggest enemy as well as its greatest ally and frankly many a person just can't get their head around the fact that this structure (or seemingly lack of) is deliberate and a good thing, Fulci never wanted to adhere to the rules of mainstream film-making with this project and didn't fail on their standards, instead he created his own rules based on the nightmare logic of H.P.Lovecraft and by those standards which very few have tried to challenge and even fewer have had any success in Fulci reigns supreme, a genius if not of commercial cinema then of fever dream delirium caught on camera! Having waffled more than long enough on the merits of the film lets get down to this new special edition by US label Grindhouse Releasing, the set has a cool glow in the dark slipover cover which houses a two disc 14mm Blu-ray case with director Fulci's filmography inside the box along with a collectors booklet with a foreword by cult critic Chas Balun and a short piece by Martin Beine who debates influences from films that may have inspired this one, oddly enough the Japanese classic "Jigoku" which I'd always seen as an influence of sorts was absent as were the films of Jose Mojica Marins who I believe had an influence but its an interesting read to say the least. Inside the slipover is a cardboard wallet with the CD soundtrack which will delight fans of the film who love the sounds of Fabio Frizzi, its not just one or two tracks its a good 40 odd minutes worth. The film which is taken from a new master looks better than ever, the only other company to attempt this in HD were Arrow Video who sadly did a so-so transfer with all sorts of glitches and problems so this version is a very welcome and picture perfect edition in that respect, the audio commentary seen in many a previously released version is present with the late David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl along with original mono audio or all new 2.0 and 5.1 remixes which seem faithful to the sound of the film, the option to watch in Italian with English subtitles is also present but as the leads who take up much of the time spoke English I'd stay with the English audio, nice to know the option is there though. The extra's on disc one feature the full colour opening in both German (as this opening was only originally for the German release) or in English along with several trailers, hidden extra's include 20 odd minutes of other members of the cast and crew talking about Fulci as lifted from the following 4 hour analysis on the man Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered 1 [DVD] [2008] [US Import ] which I won't recommend to the casual fan of his work but to those who love his films with a passion and want a little insight into the man behind the films its a great watch. Other hidden extra's include a stills slide, the edited opening from the US re-cut version "Seven Doors of Death" and possibly more I haven't found. Disc two is packed with so many extra's I'll have trouble listing them but here goes, an extensive stills gallery including on set stills, actor and director stills, promotional items, previous releases and other titbits. A trailer reel for all Grindhouse Releasing's past releases and some in the works along with disc credits are also present along with a slew of interviews and a few more of those hidden extra's as per disc one including a short then and now look at a few locations. The interviews include one with US production manager Larry Ray, one with the US distributor (the guy who stupidly re-edited the film!) Terry Levine. Of the cast there is an interview with the lead actress Catriona MacColl (Liza) and one with star Cinzia Monreale (Emily). There are two archive interviews with director Lucio Fulci made in 1988 which fans may have seen but are of great interest, two appearances by lead actor David Warbeck at Euro-fest the first in 1994 with Lucio Fulci and another with Catriona MacColl two years later and two separate features on the 1996 Festival of Fantasic Films one focusing on Catriona MacColl the other on David Warbeck. A joint interview with special effects make up men Giannetto De Rossi and Maurizio Tranni is present and a long retrospective documentary with people all across the board polishes off what are over four and a half hours worth of interviews!!! Add to this the hour of extra's on disc one, the hour it took me browsing through the stills and the commentary and you've got yourself an ultimate edition of an awesome film, now what are you waiting for? Stop reading and just buy it!!!

I bought this not being too familiar with Grindhouse Releasing but having heard good things. I honestly never expected such a well made and lovingly constructed package. You get the soundtrack, a disc of interviews with cast and crew, and a beautiful transfer. I would suggest that you be familiar with the film before purchasing. You either love this movie or think it’s poorly acted garbage. Lucio Fulci is a divisive director. This is the best looking transfer of the movie I’ve ever owned though and in the end that’s what matters.

Super Schnelle Lieferung Zustand Neu jederzeit wieder. Zum Film selber gibt kaum was besseres.....

Lucio Fulci esta detrás de esta película, un tanto diferente a lo que el cine de zombies nos tiene acostumbrados, una historia un tanto lenta, pero que poco a poco va atrayendo hasta llegar aun gran climax. Mucho gore, todo con efectos practicos. Grindhouse Releasing hace nuevamente justicia con estas ediciones de primer nivel, ofreciendo un set de 3 discos, dos blu-rays y un cd con el soundtrack de la película, con la acostumbrada cubierta de carton, muchos extras que deleitaran a todo fan de Fulci. Mi quinto set por parte de Grindhouse Releasing y siguen sorprendiéndome, vale la pena el precio de entrada. La película esta en ingles e italiano, con la opción de subtitulos en ingles.