Maybe more than any other cult genre, Italian horror from the ’70s and ’80s is stuffed with a style so specific it feels impossible to recreate. The music, the cinematography, the stories that feel ripped directly out of nightmares rather than reality, the exquisite gore, and even the questionable dubbing are all part of the magic in films by Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, Umberto Lenzi, and others from that era.
However, that doesn’t mean contemporary filmmakers have adopted a hands-off policy. Luca Guadagnino took a crack at Suspiria in 2018 that wasn’t completely terrible, though it didn’t come close to Argento’s 1977 masterpiece. And now we have word that The Beyond, Fulci’s 1981 chiller also known as 7 Doors of Death, may be getting a remake soon.
The original film tells the story of a woman (Catriona MacColl, who also stars in the other films in Fulci’s Gates of Hell trilogy, City of the Living Dead and The House by the Cemetery) who inherits a run-down New Orleans hotel and finds her efforts to renovate the place stymied by the fact that it’s situated over a hellmouth. The plot involves an ancient book of evil, rampaging ghouls, a cursed painting, a deranged guide dog, and an extremely distressing scene in which a man who is merely trying to do some library research is eaten alive by tarantulas.
At the very least, we can be glad that the team behind the new Beyond has some serious bona fides, with noted cult distributor Severin Films partnering with Hangtime International Pictures. According to a press release, they’re joining forces “to secure remake rights to select genre films for theatrical, streaming, and physical media.”
The release also notes that “the companies plan several reboots over the next two years,” leading off with “a reimagining” of The Beyond and perhaps continuing with the rest of Fulci’s trilogy.
“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,” Hangtime co-CEO Fred Murray said in the release. “We also love the built-in sequel opportunity afforded us by Fulci’s Gates of Hell universe.”
So far, there’s no indication of who might be stepping into the director’s chair for the new Beyond. Hopefully, though, it’ll be approached with care.
David Gregory, co-founder, president, and CEO of Severin Films, pointed to his company’s history in a way that gives us some hope for this new project. “Severin Films has devoted two decades to restoring and releasing genre films with the utmost respect for their originality and ongoing legacy,” he said. “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.”
Another option, of course, is for that “new generation” to watch and appreciate Fulci’s The Beyond, which will be very difficult to improve upon no matter who’s steering the ship. But we’ll be keeping an eye on this one for sure.
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