Covered in a layer of grime and sweat, Fulci’s The Beyond is the second in his Gates of Hell trilogy. Whilst I’ve not seen the first in the set, I found this more compelling than The House by the Cemetery. In fact, The Beyond has more of most things, including both atmosphere and gore.

It’s certainly not entirely coherent, but what is likely fairly sloppy writing can in part be hand waved away by viewing these elements as offering purposeful confusion over what is real, and what isn’t. Regularly punctuated by Fulci’s fixation with eye trauma, almost every trick in the practical effects handbook is thrown into the pot here, with some slightly less successful than others, including some laughably robotic tarantulas.

I continue to enjoy Italian genre movies in spite of my difficulties with the dubbing and the lack of sound recorded on site, but not perhaps as much as I would otherwise. I believe I’d find this significantly preferable with love Italian dialogue and subtitles, and whilst this is not an issue exclusive to Fulci, it certainly hampered my experience here.

One thing I do commonly love about Italian genre movies however, is the music. Unfortunately, whilst I enjoyed this score, I found it often at odds with what was happening on screen, with some fairly uplifting quasi-prog rock sounds kicking off over the top of gruesome death scenes.

Quite poorly acted, without being entertainingly so, The Beyond sits in a strange middle ground for me. I liked it, and I certainly see the attraction, but I can't help but feel like some of its qualities have passed over me. Still, there's plenty more of Fulci's filmography for me to explore, and enough here to encourage me to do so.