Beyond the Gates of Hell (2022)

2/10

paul_haakonsen2 October 2023

I was initially drawn to this 2022 horror movie, given the fact that it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, and also that the movie's cover was actually interesting enough.

The movie ran for 42 minutes, which felt rather long, as the movie's storyline wasn't really particularly entertaining. And the fact that the movie was filmed with an added yellow layer and a cheesy effect to make it look old, well that just didn't exactly help to make the movie any more enjoyable. The storyline in "Beyond the Gates of Hell" felt like something that was made up on the fly, as the crew progressed filming the movie with their parents digital home video camera.

Yeah, there was a permeating sense of low budget and amateurish film-making to "Beyond the Gates of Hell", for better or worse. It wasn't something I enjoyed, so it was somewhat of an annoyance actually.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, except for Brinke Stevens. However, the acting performances were generally as wooden and rigid as the storyline, so at least that counted for something.

Visually then you're not in for anything to write home about.

If you enjoy horror movies, you might want to skip on "Beyond the Gates of Hell" entirely.

My rating of writer and director Dustin Ferguson's 2022 movie "Beyond the Gates of Hell" lands on a two out of ten stars.

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5/10

Gritty, Creepy Whats in Your Basement?

themovieraidshow15 April 2023

The story involves a married couple that buys a mansion home, however instead of a welcoming to their new home its a warning.

The story tells you it's a supernatural feel, for the most part the cast does ok on their roles within this story, there is the occasional over hype on dialogue. I felt however it slapped you point a to point b with not enough Horror fill between scenes. The story has its own theme by placing a grained filter as the viewing lense to the audience to add more of that creepiness feel.

I would of liked to have seen more actions from the side characters that warn the couple to sell the mansion than being just victims and it almost doesn'tgive you any insight of whos who because of the events that take place. Even though the couple are the focal point it seemed less satisfactory as we get to the climax. The zombies I felt weren't necessary for the story since this is more demonic themed and the zombies only had a micro role in this.

The effects has some cheese to it but the visual effects sparked character. The film score has a nice tone.

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10/10

Fun little Grindhouse Film

bbanacka1 February 2023

If you are looking for a fun little popcorn film with some scares and fun. Look no further than "Beyond the Gates of Hell." For that 70's Grindhouse feel and the wonderful acting by all involved.

Such an homage to Fulci and his Italian horror, the 70's Grindhouse feel is so on point with the grainy film look, the sound design and the music to just elevate this low budget horror to a different level.

Director Dustin Ferguson has elevated his game with this one. This is a fun romp into the low budget horror genre that shows the actors and crew put some much love into this film. Grab yourself a bag of popcorn and you favorite drink, but you might want to leave a light on to watch this one.

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7/10

A wholly enjoyable throwback that does have some minor issues

kannibalcorpsegrinder20 April 2023

After buying a new house, a couple is shocked to learn the real estate agent wants it back from them but decides to stay, soon realizing that the demonic events of the past must've been started up again and have ensnared them in its plans.

On the whole, this is a pretty fun and enjoyable genre throwback. That comes about through the presentation which includes the visual aesthetics and a series of references that showcase a nice bit of love for the genre fare from the past. Other factors, from the messy effects-work on the creature that contains several references to further the connection and several storyline beats. Mixing together points from several films into this singular plotline, it allows for a solid base to tell its own story involving the desire to reclaim the house from the couple just after moving in, the strangers who keep showing up at the house, and the attempts at manipulating who's shown up that are in place to signal various forms of demonic activity are in place to bring about a nefarious plan to destroy them. On top of that, there's a lot of fun here involving the build present here, managing to pull off a great build-up to their plans coming to fruition that serves to fully unnerve her. As the meetings, strange behavior, and unsupportive husband finally take their toll, this one picks up considerably as the events here turn from demonic chantings to a zombie outbreak as they get resurrected for a brief cameo at the end. Still, all of this comes across way too quickly as if the homages to the past are supposed to make it all come together as nothing has time to be revealed or fleshed out properly due to the film's origins and excessively short running time. This really could've used more to connect the various plot points together as very little makes sense or is explained, and is what brings this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Brief Nudity.

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10/10

A fantastic independent film

tocherd6 January 2023

BEYOND THE GATES OF HELL as great acting, cinematography, sound design, and music. The storyline is tight and clever. Everyone put their heart and their professionalism into this. I love the effect of the old school grainy screen; this enhanced the films texture.

My favourite performances were from Jennifer Moriarty and Brad Banacka. Still, I loved and admired everyone else's performances.

Joshua Palace's interpretation of Fabio Frizzi's musical style was fun to enjoy and it enhanced the movie's suspenseful buildup.

If there is one indie movie you see this year, make it this one. Bravo, Dustin Ferguson, and bravo to his entire team.

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7/10

Fun Italian throwback

BandSAboutMovies26 February 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Starting with grindhouse-style trailers for Zombie Blast Fighter and Don't Eat My Flesh (and how great of a title is that?) and then following that with a murder straight out of Lucio Fulci, this movie presents a forty-plus-minute tribute to the godfather of gore's three bloodiest films The Beyond, Gates of Hell and The House By the Cemetery all with a modern flair.

It's smart because it even contends that the murder that drives the entire film happened in 1981, the same year that Fulci was popping eyeballs on screens worldwide.

Ian (Eric Larsen), who works in the movie business but keeps getting screwed over, and Katrina (Traci Burr) have just bought a new home when they're made an offer by the very real estate agent who sold it to them, Sheryl (Brinke Stevens, always a beyond appreciative face to see show up in any movie and used to incredible effect here). She wants to offer them a hundred grand over asking price to get out of their house.

Does that seem strange? Look, I bought and sold a house in the middle of coronavirus lockdown so I'll believe everything after what we went through.

The reason? The old owner -- who also worked in films -- was a suspected devil worshipper who was burned alive in the basement of the house. What was his name? Schweick? To make things worse, just the year before, a young girl had been stabbed in the basement.

Now, Katrina worries that Ian moved them in so he could get material for a new film. Or is it even worse and are they doomed to relive the same cycle as ten years before? Would you want to live in a home built over the gates of hell? What if it came with its own housekeeper (Allie Perez) who just randomly shows up while you're in the shower and claims she's part of owning the house?

From there, all sorts of dark and bloody events unfold, like Father Tom (Brad Banacka) trying and failing to bless the home (can the Amityville house be considered adjacent to the Fulci Cinematic Universe?) to Ian and Katrina's daughter Heather (Janet Lopez) getting stalked by Jennifer to -- of course -- the blind Henrietta (Jennifer Moriarty) showing up to reveal the secrets of this house. If you're wondering if zombies will show up, well, you're on the right track.

Thanks to perfect music by Joshua Palace and the most assured direction and writing I've seen from Dustin Ferguson, Beyond the Gates of Hell rises beyond its low budget origins to create a film that follows the Fulci formula as if it were a cover band standing in admirably for a band we'll never be able to see play live ever again. Before you get critical of someone redoing Fulci, well, wasn't Zombi intended to redo Romero? And if we love Italian exploitation cinema and demand originality, we can't have those two things at the same time. It was all based on remaking and remixing past films to create new experiences.

Here's hoping that Ferguson rides the wave of this success into creating movies of his own that can rival the past that he adores so much.

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