Decades of Horror 1980s Gruesome Podcasts

The Beyond (1981) — Episode 123 — Decades of Horror 1980s

“You ungodly warlock! Because of you this hotel and this town will be cursed forever!” An angry mob storms the hotel of Schweick (Antoine Saint-John), a warlock trying to keep the 7th doorway to hell at bay. Or whatever the hell is happening in this opening as he’s covered in queso.  The Beyond  – like many a Lucio Fulci film – takes liberties with logic and forward momentum in story. There’s a lot more emphasis on the horror of the images rather than a traditional narrative structure. It’s an acquired taste. But who amongst the Decades of Horror 1980s crew acquired this taste? Listen to find out!

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 123 — The Beyond (1981)

The Beyond  is the middle chapter in Fulci’s Gates of Hell trilogy, following  Gates of Hell  (or  City of the Living Dead) and just before  The House By The Cemetery.  While a loose trilogy, each has a Giallo sensibility that combines bright gore with nonsensical narratives. Outside of the basic premise of a young lady Liza (Catriona MacColl) inheriting a hotel that has a gateway to Hell,  The Beyond  is mainly an excuse for the madness to unfold. Tarantulas bite a guy’s face. A woman’s face melts after being covered in acid in front of her daughter. Zombies attack for no real discernable reason.

So, does this sit well with the Decades of Horror crew? Well, Doc Rotten is a tried and true Fulci fan, though he admits that the Italian legend frustrated him initially. Christopher G. Moore and Thomas Mariani admit they aren’t as up on their Italian horror. Christopher has some trouble with the dream logic and lack of consistency in the characters. Thomas can see that, but revels in the unintentional hilarity at play. It’s a brazen frank discussion about auteur theory, gore and the grammatical errors of “Do Not Entry.” Make sure to go  Beyond  the extra mile and listen to it all!

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Special thanks to  Neon Devils  for their awesome song Bone Chillin!

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Doc Rotten
Doc Rotten is the founder of Gruesome Magazine. He is also a film critic for Gruesome Magazine and the podcast host & producer for Horror News Radio, Monster Movie Podcast, Decades of Horror: 1970s, The American Horror Story Fan Podcast and Hannibal Fan Podcast. He is also co-host of the Dracula podcast on TV TALK and is a contributing reviewer for HorrorNews.Net and Widescreen Warrior. Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
http://www.docrotten.com