IMDb RATING
6.6/10
25K
YOUR RATING
A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.
Catriona MacColl
- Liza Merril
- (as Katherine MacColl)
Cinzia Monreale
- Emily
- (as Sarah Keller)
Calogero Azzaretto
- Zombie at Hospital
- (uncredited)
Pino Colizzi
- Voce dell'aldilà
- (uncredited)
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua
- Zombie at Hospital
- (uncredited)
Roberto Dell'Acqua
- Glass-Smashing Zombie
- (uncredited)
Lucio Fulci
- Town Clerk
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe DVD commentary by actors Catriona MacColl and David Warbeck was recorded two weeks before Warbeck's death from cancer. In the commentary he talks about his illness.
- GoofsThis movie is set in the basement of a house in New Orleans, Louisiana. However, New Orleans is below sea level and no houses there have basements.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Narrator: And you will face the sea of darkness, and all therein that may be explored.
- Crazy creditsThe end titles of the U.S. version, "7 Doors of Death" are full of incorrect billings.
David Warbeck's character John McCabe is billed as "Doc." Antonie Saint-John (here called Tony Saint-John) is billed as Joe the Plumber. He actually played Schweick. Veronica Lazar is billed as playing the little girl, Jill. She was Martha, the housekeeper. Jill was played by Maria Pia Marsala. Someone named "Philip Ostrow" is billed as playing Arthur, Martha's son. He was played by Giampaolo Saccarola. Martha is billed as being played by someone named Margaret Lund. She was played by Veronica Lazar. Mary-Ann (billed here as "Joe's Wife") is billed as being played by someone named Helen Pierce. She was played by Laura De Marchi. Schweick (billed here as "Sweik") is billed as being played by someone named Robert Leahy. He was played by Antoine Saint-John. Dr. Harris is billed as being played by someone named Jim Barrett. He was played by Al Cliver.
If you count Catriona MacColl and Cinzia Monreale's real names not being used, every single cast listing in the "7 Doors of Death" version is wrong in some way or another.
- Alternate versionsThe German DVD released by Astro in 2001 contains both the color and b/w pre-credit sequence (selectable via menu). This release is also completely uncut.
- ConnectionsEdited into Through Eyes of the Dead (1999)
Featured review
To All The Ghosthunters Out There - I Double Dare You To Stay At This Hotel.
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Beyond; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.50 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 6.75 out of 10.00
Lucio Fulci steps grandly into the Haunted House sub-genre with the Beyond - And knocks it out of the park. What I admire most about Fulci is his unwillingness to hold back. If you're going to do something, then do it with panache. Though the plotline isn't too complex, it doesn't deter Fulci from inventively getting carried away, especially with the movie's finale.
The writers give us the tale of Liza Merril, who inherited an old Louisianna hotel. Unbeknown to her, the house has a dark past and blacker secrets. A painter renting one of the rooms taps into the hotel's corruptness, exhibiting itself via his artwork. Frightened, the townsfolk storm the artist's room and liquidate him in an unequivocally nasty fashion. They nail his crucified form in the building's basement. And in doing so, they allow the evil to ooze out into the world. Now Liza's having the old place renovated and preparing it to reopen the wickedness finds it has new toys with which to play. Anybody setting foot near the hotel had better beware. The writers give the audience a delicious taste of the macabre. They fill the narrative with credible characters, some of which are bizarre and some mysterious. They sprinkle in liberal amounts of passages from an enigmatic book. And they pepper the whole story with ominous iconography. There's enough in this story to keep you beguiled.
But your bewitchery doesn't end with the narrative. Fulci's direction will keep those peepers of yours frozen on the screen. He is a true master of the cinematographic art. The entire movie is abundant with smooth pans, rapid close-ups, varied camera points of view, quick cuts, and iconic compositions - he's especially dazzling with close-up eyeballs in this flick. Another plus is the special effects. These are gruesome, and although the popping peeper isn't too realistic, the chain-whipping is. It even made me wince, and I don't wince easy.
And, the magic doesn't end with the story and the direction. This cast is splendid. Even David Warbeck isn't too bad - if you've read my other reviews, you'll know I'm not a great fan of his. However, though the role is similar to others he's taken, he's less gung-ho in this flick. He would've been better if he'd completely removed the stick from his arse, but at least it's halfway out. I particularly liked Veronica Lazar as Martha. In The Beyond, she is the Queen Of The Scared Stare. Her face says everything though her mouth hardly utters a word. And the rest of the cast is splendid in their portrayals. Though Catriona MacColl as Liza, and Cinzia Monreale as Emily, can incline towards the hammy side - but it's only once in a while, so it's not too bad.
If you've not watched a Lucio Fulci film yet, do yourself a big favour and check out The Beyond. It's not as good as The House by the Cemetery, but it's close and well worthy of your time. Gorehounds included.
Now, lay down your paintbrush because it's time to review my Absolute Horror list and see where I ranked The Beyond.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.50 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 6.75 out of 10.00
Lucio Fulci steps grandly into the Haunted House sub-genre with the Beyond - And knocks it out of the park. What I admire most about Fulci is his unwillingness to hold back. If you're going to do something, then do it with panache. Though the plotline isn't too complex, it doesn't deter Fulci from inventively getting carried away, especially with the movie's finale.
The writers give us the tale of Liza Merril, who inherited an old Louisianna hotel. Unbeknown to her, the house has a dark past and blacker secrets. A painter renting one of the rooms taps into the hotel's corruptness, exhibiting itself via his artwork. Frightened, the townsfolk storm the artist's room and liquidate him in an unequivocally nasty fashion. They nail his crucified form in the building's basement. And in doing so, they allow the evil to ooze out into the world. Now Liza's having the old place renovated and preparing it to reopen the wickedness finds it has new toys with which to play. Anybody setting foot near the hotel had better beware. The writers give the audience a delicious taste of the macabre. They fill the narrative with credible characters, some of which are bizarre and some mysterious. They sprinkle in liberal amounts of passages from an enigmatic book. And they pepper the whole story with ominous iconography. There's enough in this story to keep you beguiled.
But your bewitchery doesn't end with the narrative. Fulci's direction will keep those peepers of yours frozen on the screen. He is a true master of the cinematographic art. The entire movie is abundant with smooth pans, rapid close-ups, varied camera points of view, quick cuts, and iconic compositions - he's especially dazzling with close-up eyeballs in this flick. Another plus is the special effects. These are gruesome, and although the popping peeper isn't too realistic, the chain-whipping is. It even made me wince, and I don't wince easy.
And, the magic doesn't end with the story and the direction. This cast is splendid. Even David Warbeck isn't too bad - if you've read my other reviews, you'll know I'm not a great fan of his. However, though the role is similar to others he's taken, he's less gung-ho in this flick. He would've been better if he'd completely removed the stick from his arse, but at least it's halfway out. I particularly liked Veronica Lazar as Martha. In The Beyond, she is the Queen Of The Scared Stare. Her face says everything though her mouth hardly utters a word. And the rest of the cast is splendid in their portrayals. Though Catriona MacColl as Liza, and Cinzia Monreale as Emily, can incline towards the hammy side - but it's only once in a while, so it's not too bad.
If you've not watched a Lucio Fulci film yet, do yourself a big favour and check out The Beyond. It's not as good as The House by the Cemetery, but it's close and well worthy of your time. Gorehounds included.
Now, lay down your paintbrush because it's time to review my Absolute Horror list and see where I ranked The Beyond.
Take Care & Stay Well.
helpful•42
- P3n-E-W1s3
- Jun 30, 2022
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 7 Doors of Death
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $400,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $123,843
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $18,148
- Jun 14, 1998
- Gross worldwide
- $123,843
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Sound mix
- Mono(original version)
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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