Voices from Beyond (1991)

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

If repeated eye close-ups, a soft-focus lens, and dream sequences moving in slow motion are your thing then this abysmal supernatural thriller from Lucio Fulci may be the film for you. Otherwise, skip it, as this is a Fulci far from the success of ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS or any of his other classic zombie gut-munchers. This is an old, muddled embittered Fulci, a man preoccupied with being over-the-top "arty" and supposedly stylish when instead all he can do is make the film look cheap and tacky, a director who had seriously lost his 'bite' when it came to horror films in 1990. At least he had some of the gore dripping for his next film, his swansong, NIGHTMARE CONCERT.VOICES FROM BEYOND is a film packed with cheap scares and bad dream sequences, with attempts at atmosphere by having sets enshrouded in cheap-looking dry ice whilst monotonous synthesiser music plays loudly over the images on screen and threatens to blow your mind. None of the old acting hands are around to give the film any kudos either or any of those "cool, look, it's him!" type moments. Here, the cast is a bland one, a gang who couldn't act their way out of a paper bag, and even the repeated bared breasts of blonde female lead Karina Huff fails to generate the excitement that Fulci was desperate for.The film's singular gory highlight comes at an autopsy, when a pathologist (played by a gleeful Fulci, up to his old tricks again) pulls out the guts from a corpse in graphic detail, snips them up and chucks them in a jar. Aside from the opening sequence which takes the term "death bed" literally with gallons of blood pumping from the mouth of a dying man (which promises a return to the old days which never occurs) this is a relatively bloodless and shoddy offering. The rest of the horror comes from repeated shots of a corpse decaying in its coffin, as while we watch flies appear and maggots crawl from the body's eye sockets - bizarre, seeing as the coffin is buried six feet below ground level. I guess it's those "burrowing flies" causing trouble again - or maybe it's just a film "of images".Sure, this movie does have a few cool moments - I liked the voice-over narration of the corpse, a good effect used in literature a lot but rarely in films, and Fulci harks back to the old days by throwing in a nightmare sequence involving an attack by a few mouldy-looking zombies. But what a let-down of a non-ending! Our female lead laughs in the graveyard and walks off, what the heck?! Then watch closely for a final message from the director in which Fulci pays tribute to his "real friends" - one is none other than Clive Barker! This film's a poor mess from a disillusioned mind.

I'm a big fan of Lucio Fulci; many of his Giallo and splatter flicks are amongst my favourites of all time, but this made for TV movie is extremely sub par and not what I've come to expect from the great Italian director. The film is neither interesting, like some of Fulci's more tame Giallo's, or gory like the majority of his cult classics; thus leaving it lacking in both major areas, and ultimately ensuring that the film isn't very good. The film works from a plot that has been used many times previously, but still it's an idea that always has the chance of springing an interesting story just because it focuses on the theme of the afterlife, which is the ultimate unknown. This film focuses on Giorgio Mainardi; a man that isn't exactly well liked and after he dies of an apparent stomach hemorrhage, there aren't many people that are sad to see him go. This means that his ghost is trapped somewhere between life and the afterlife, and so he decides to try and get to the bottom of his death, and his only ally in this endeavour is his daughter.The video that I saw this film on is proudly proclaimed that the film is "in the style of HP Lovecraft", and that's one of the most blatant attempts to sell a film I've ever seen. There is nothing even slightly reminiscent of the great horror writer in this tale, and the reason for that tagline would appear to be because of title similarity to the Stuart Gordon/Lovecraft film, 'From Beyond' - which is a lot better. The film does benefit from a distinctly Italian style, and the score is rather good. Unfortunately, however, Fulci has seen fit to positively roast every scene in it - and so the theme quickly becomes annoying. The plot plays out in a really boring way, and most of the scenes simply involve the ghost 'desperately' trying to find things out, or the daughter placing her suspicions over her family members. This movie was made for Italian TV, and so it's not surprising that it's all rather tame. There's a little bit of gore and a nightmare sequence with zombies; but this isn't the Fulci we all know and love. Overall, this film is extremely mediocre and not a good representation of Fulci's talents. Not worth bothering with, unless you're a Fulci completist.

One of Lucio Fulci's last films, this is a cross between a murder mystery and a horror shocker. It has a rather weak script and resolution (it just doesn't seem to matter much who did it one way or the other), but it's stylishly, sometimes imaginatively directed by Fulci. (SPOILERS FOLLOW)......Some viewers called this too tame; I guess it depends on your standards. It does feature a gruesome autopsy scene, repeated shots of worms munching on a rotting corpse, a attack by decomposed zombies (!) and a scene of a man who spits blood. Not your normal "mystery" stuff, I'd say. (**1/2)

Caution: Some plot and scenes revealed"Voices from beyond" is one of Fulci's most coherent and successful productions, especially among his last films. As usual, the subject are the horrors of death and what comes after it.The story deals with the death of Giorgi Mainardi, a man with a lot of money and enemies. After the prologue and the opening credits we witness the violent death of Mainardi, vomitting loads of blood. During his burial ceremony we are introduced to the main characters and in flash back sequences to why they had good reason to hate him. After his death, Mainardi manages to keep contact to the living: To his only trustee, his daughter Rosy, he talks in dreams, and his enemies he haunts with terrible nightmares. This concept gives Fulci the opportunity to insert many wildly surreal dream sequences (including, believe it or not, a zombie attack), and he makes good use of it. This dreamlike aspect of the movie is contrasted to the clinical analysis of Mainardi's death and decay, starting from his unpleasant demise on the death bed, ranging over the autopsy carried out by the Maestro (i.e., Fulci) himself, and ending in repeated shots of his decaying corpse.Other fine images include a still life with broken light bulbs (the device used to kill Mainardi) which summarizes the evil plot against him.We also watch the claustrophobia of Mainardi's father whose spirit is still alive but who has no means to communicate with the outside world, except his tears. He has to suffer interminable mockings through Mainardi's enemies.Maybe this character expresses Fulci's own incapacity to express himself properly in his latest movies due to extremely limited budgets and equipment. In fact, in an interview Fulci declared that he wanted to make one more movie with sufficient production values (i.e., "The Wax mask"), so that he can die in peace. As everybody knows, fate has declined this favour to him.Nevertheless, with "Voices from beyond", Fulci has demonstrated that he could create something of value even with restricted resources.