"The Beyond" is a film that will offer lots and lots of frights even though it is a bit scant on plot. This makes it a perfect film to watch to scare yourself and your friends without needing to worry about following exactly what's happening. This is NOT a criticism--it really isn't. And, sometimes you want to see a film that is one thrill after another.
A young woman inherits a hotel in New Orleans--a city that is reputed to be very haunted. However, this place makes EVERY haunted place in the city put together seem like paradise! This is because everyone around the woman keeps dying horrible deaths--very bloody and horrible deaths. They are absolutely horrific--such as a dog tearing out someone's throat as blood goes shooting everywhere! However, and this is important, while very bloody and intense, the special effects are not as realistic as movies today. This is a GOOD thing, as the film would have simply been nauseating and disgusting--but instead, you could laugh off the deaths. Now by 1981 standards, they were not bad at all--something that works very well when seen today.
So is it worth seeing? Absolutely. As I said above, if you are just looking to be scared it's very good. But I didn't give it an even higher score because a few scenes were a bit cheesy (such as the obviously fake tarantulas used in one death). I also thought the guy helping the lady at the end was an idiot. Even though EVERY head shot killed the zombies, he kept shooting them in the chest with no effect! And these were really, really, really slow zombies and he could have easily used 1 bullet per zombie! What a knucklehead! So, remember--if you are being attacked by zombies, conserve your bullets and concentrate only on head shots!
A young woman inherits a hotel in New Orleans--a city that is reputed to be very haunted. However, this place makes EVERY haunted place in the city put together seem like paradise! This is because everyone around the woman keeps dying horrible deaths--very bloody and horrible deaths. They are absolutely horrific--such as a dog tearing out someone's throat as blood goes shooting everywhere! However, and this is important, while very bloody and intense, the special effects are not as realistic as movies today. This is a GOOD thing, as the film would have simply been nauseating and disgusting--but instead, you could laugh off the deaths. Now by 1981 standards, they were not bad at all--something that works very well when seen today.
So is it worth seeing? Absolutely. As I said above, if you are just looking to be scared it's very good. But I didn't give it an even higher score because a few scenes were a bit cheesy (such as the obviously fake tarantulas used in one death). I also thought the guy helping the lady at the end was an idiot. Even though EVERY head shot killed the zombies, he kept shooting them in the chest with no effect! And these were really, really, really slow zombies and he could have easily used 1 bullet per zombie! What a knucklehead! So, remember--if you are being attacked by zombies, conserve your bullets and concentrate only on head shots!