‘The Beyond’ Remake Wakes Seventh Gateway to Hell

Lucio Fulci’s infamous supernatural gore nightmare The Beyond (1981) is heading back through the gates of Hell.

Hangtime International Pictures and Severin Films have announced a partnership to acquire and develop remakes of select genre titles, beginning with an English-language reimagining of Fulci’s splatter-soaked classic. The companies say further reboot projects are planned across the next two years, for theatrical, streaming and physical-media release.

Originally released in Italy as …E tu vivrai nel terrore! L’aldilà (1981), and also known in English-speaking markets as 7 Doors of Death (1981), The Beyond (1981) follows Liza Merril (Catriona MacColl), who inherits a crumbling hotel in New Orleans. Unfortunately for Liza, the property sits on one of the seven entrances to Hell. Renovations soon bring about blind seers, tarantula attacks, missing eyeballs and an increasingly unpleasant amount of undead activity.

The film was directed by Lucio Fulci, whose other blood-drenched landmarks include Zombie (1979) and The New York Ripper (1982). It became a major cult favourite despite... or perhaps because of,  its dreamlike, often logic-defying descent into supernatural carnage.

For British horror fans, the film also has a particularly grim bit of history. The Beyond (1981) was caught up in the Video Recordings Act panic of the 1980s, when a wave of horror releases were labelled “video nasties”, seized and prosecuted under obscenity laws. Several editions were heavily cut before uncut versions became more widely available years later.

The agreement was brokered by Severin’s Italian correspondent Manlio Gomarasca and RTI Mediaset International Sales manager Claudia Marra. I assume that is was made in blood, over a glowing pentagram!

In a statement, Marra said the company was pleased to see the remake moving ahead with “strong and passionate partners”, adding that there is already significant excitement around bringing the film to a new audience.

Claudia Marra: We are very excited to see this remake project moving forward, and especially to have found such strong and passionate partners to bring this classic to a new audience. There is already a great deal of excitement around the project, and we believe this is a fantastic way to start this new journey. We can’t wait to see it take shape and move forward together.

David Gregory: Severin Films has devoted two decades to restoring and releasing genre films with the utmost respect for their originality and ongoing legacy. Reimagining these classic titles for a new generation presents a unique opportunity for the genre community, and we look forward to what this partnership will bring forth.

Frank Murray: The impetus for this partnership was our shared commitment to fans of the genre and our desire to deliver for new horror audiences. This is a rare opportunity for an established director to reimagine THE BEYOND, contemporize it as a classic of experiential horror and further the ever-growing cultural significance of Fulci’s work. We also love the built-in sequel opportunity afforded us by Fulci’s Gates of Hell universe.

Frida Torresblanco: Severin is the ideal partner, not just in helping us navigate the rights process but as a uniquely knowledgeable creative sounding board.

 

Hangtime co-CEO Frank Murray said the team hopes an established director can reinterpret The Beyond (1981) as “experiential horror”, while also pointing to possible sequel potential through Fulci’s so-called Gates of Hell cycle.

That cycle is commonly associated with City of the Living Dead (1980), The Beyond (1981) and The House by the Cemetery (1981). The films are not tightly connected in a conventional story sense, but they share Fulci’s apocalyptic mood, supernatural dread and enthusiasm for turning the human head into a very fragile object.

Remaking The Beyond (1981) is no small task. The original is not beloved because it offers neat answers or a carefully mapped mythology. Its power comes from atmosphere: rotten architecture, apocalyptic imagery, unnerving music by Fabio Frizzi, and a stair case that leads down into the very pits of hell. 

ooh thinking about it makes me go all MISTY EYED! 
More news once it ozzes through the floor boards. 

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