Connect with us

Editorials

[Butcher Block] Godfather of Gore Lucio Fulci’s ‘The Beyond’

Published

on

Butcher Block is a weekly series celebrating horror’s most extreme films and the minds behind them. Dedicated to graphic gore and splatter, each week will explore the dark, the disturbed, and the depraved in horror, and the blood and guts involved. For the films that use special effects of gore as an art form, and the fans that revel in the carnage, this series is for you.

Herschell Gordon Lewis may be known as the Godfather of Gore, but it’s a title that he shares with one other; Italian gore master Lucio Fulci. With over 50 films in his filmography ranging from western to comedy, Fulci was most known for his horror. Of all his films, the most widely known and likely most accessible is The Beyond, also known as 7 Doors of Death, the second entry in his “Gates of Hell” trilogy and one of three Fulci films to grace the Video Nasties list. Whether it’s the goriest of Fulci’s films is highly debatable, but his trademark gore sequences are there and the plot is one of his more coherent (by Fulci standards, that is), making The Beyond a perfect entry point into his work.

That the plot often makes huge gaps in story and logic could easily be attributed to Fulci’s style of horror, more fevered dream than linear storytelling, but, came about from a rush job by producer Fabrizio De Angelis selling the film before a screenplay was even written. He enlisted Dardano Sacchetti to get a script ready to go, and then the high demand for zombies during the period meant zombies inserted to the climax in a film mostly devoid of them. With Fulci at the helm, though, his focus on atmosphere and his own brand of logic made it somehow work in the film’s favor.

Following Liza Merril, played by “Gates of Hell” mainstay actress Catriona MacColl, as she learns that the old hotel in Louisiana that she’s just inherited was built over one of the gates to hell. With a crew of hired help that meets grisly deaths thanks to the gate being opened, the only other ally in Liza’s quest to unravel just what’s going on is Dr. John McCabe (David Warbeck), perhaps the only other sane person in New Orleans.

Never mind that some of the grisly deaths don’t make much sense, like the housekeeper that pulls a giant hairball from the murky bathtub and still misses the giant zombie that’s revealed by the draining water. It’s the gore that soothes over the logic gaps. In a sort of reverse twist to the famous eye penetration scene in Zombi 2, the zombie picks up the housekeeper and shoves the back of her head into protruding nails in the wall, causing her eye to gouge out from the back.

There’s also a gruesome dog mauling, multiple acid-ravaged faces, another eye gouged out by hand, a bloodied flesh torn face vomiting bloody chunks, glass shards to a face, crucifixion, flesh-eating tarantulas and a ton of other gore sequences culminating in one breathtaking, explosive headshot of little pig-tailed Jill. Fulci had a tremendous eye for gore (pun intended), and his frequent cinematographer Sergio Salvati’s knack for framing the viscera in such an uncomfortably intimate level, but just as much credit should be given to special effects artist Germano Natali (Suspiria) and master make-up artist Giannetto De Rossi (Zombi 2, High Tension).

Fulci’s films were never about coherent narratives in the traditional sense, but a string of visual images by way of dream logic meant to elicit shock and awe. More of a statement on the passage of time, and the Catholic concept of purgatory, The Beyond delivers on the surreal. A nightmarish vision strung together by punctuated moments of visceral gore of epic proportions means that The Beyond isn’t necessarily a journey everyone will enjoy taking, but it is a true masterpiece. No one before or since delivers eye trauma as well as Fulci.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

Published

on

leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

Continue Reading