‘The Beyond’ 4K Review – A Strong Contender for Best Physical Media Release of the Year

2025 isn’t even halfway over, but Grindhouse Releasing‘s deluxe 4K UHD edition of Lucio Fulci‘s The Beyond is a strong contender for the best physical media release of the year. From the pristine restoration to the exhaustive extras and the ravishing packaging, it’s difficult to imagine anything topping this six-disc set.

Written by Dardano Sacchetti (Demons) and Giorgio Mariuzzo (The House by the Cemetery), the 1981 Italian horror cult classic chronicles the supernatural bedlam that ensues when a gateway to Hell is opened beneath a New Orleans hotel — but a written summary of the plot is a disservice to the baroque yet ethereal atmosphere cultivated on screen.

The Beyond plays like a fever dream through a haunted attraction. Fulci brazenly merges discordant genre tropes — from zombies and possession to a chilling mystique a la The Shining and his penchant for outrageous splatter — into an economical 87 minutes that succeeds despite itself.

A treat for the eyes — as long as they’re not being torn out by monsters — the film has been newly scanned in 4K from the original Techniscope camera negative with DolbyVision HDR. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound was re-mixed by Academy Award winner Paul Ottosson (Spider-Man 2, The Hurt Locker). The Italian language soundtrack and original mono mix are also included.

The long-awaited The Beyond: Composer’s Cut, with a newly reimagined and expanded score by original composer Fabio Frizzi (Zombie), is also featured via a robust 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound re-mix. As averse to change as cinephiles can be, I suspect this will become the new go-to version of the film for many.

Three audio commentaries are included: a cheeky track by stars Catriona MacColl and David Warbeck, a technical breakdown from cinematographer Sergio Salvati (Zombie), and a special effects discussion with makeup artist Giannetto De Rossi (Dune, High Tension). The first disc is rounded out by a new interview with Frizzi, detailing the process of creating the Composer’s Cut, and a lengthy chat with Fulci for Fake filmmaker Simone Scafidi.

The same materials are available on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray.

The third disc is a Blu-ray loaded with extras, including interviews with MacColl, Warbeck, Sacchetti, Mariuzzo, actors Cinzia Monreale, Al Cliver, and Michele Mirabella, stunt performers Ottaviano Dell’Acqua and Massimo Vanni, sound engineer Ugo Celani, dubbing director Pino Colizzi, poster artist Emanuele Taglietti, and The Eye of the Witness: The Cinema of Lucio Fulci author Michele Romagnoli. Also included are four trailers (international, German, US, and US re-release), TV spots, and a radio spot.

The fourth disc contains Looking Back: The Creation of the Beyond, a 2015 featurette with Salvati, Sacchetti, producer Fabrizio De Angelis, and Fulci’s daughter, Antonella Fulci, plus archival interviews with Fulci, Warbeck, MacColl, Monreale, De Rossi, make-up artist Maurizio Trani, US production manager Larry Ray, and US distributor Terry Levene. Also included are five galleries (production stills, behind the scenes, promotional materials, video releases, and Beyond The Beyond).

The fifth disc is a DVD dedicated to 7 Doors of Death, the R-rated edit of the film released in the US in 1983, featuring a different score and running five minutes shorter. It’s sourced from the original analogue one-inch video master, presented with its original Dolby Stereo mix. It’s supplemented by The Beyond in the Age of Acquarius, in which Levene and editor Jim Markovic detail the history of the US cut, along with the trailer and a gallery of newsprint ads.

The sixth and final disc is a CD of Frizzi’s Composer’s Cut, featuring all 28 songs plus five bonus tracks remastered from the original studio master tapes.

A debossed digibook modeled after the film’s cursed Book of Eibon is packaged alongside a 100-page book featuring essays by Eurohorror experts Jesper Mørch and Martin Beine, Sacchetti’s original synopsis and treatment, and a gallery of the film’s artwork, all housed inside a deluxe slipcase featuring new artwork by Italian artist Emanuele Taglietti.

Fulci explored similar themes in City of the Living Dead and The House by the Cemetery, but The Beyond remains his masterpiece. Whether you’re experiencing the deadly ghouls, tarantulas, dogs, acid, and supernatural forces for the first time or the 100th, there’s no better way to open a gateway to Hell than with the 4K restoration.

The Beyond is available now on 4K UHD + Blu-ray.

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