Lucio Fulci’s ‘The Beyond’ Remake Opens the Gates of Hell!

Before Hellraiser, there was Lucio Fulci’s 1981 horror masterpiece The Beyond, which will be the first remake in a strategic partnership between Hangtime International Pictures and Severin Films, Variety writes.

The companies aim to “secure remake rights to genre films for theatrical, streaming and physical media,” the site adds.

The Beyond is the first of several planned remakes over the next two years from the partnership.

The original Beyond, which was written by Dardano Sacchetti, Giorgio Mariuzzo and Fulci, is about a woman who buys a Louisiana hotel that’s the site of a murder and just might be a gateway to hell. It’s the second film in Fulci’s Gates of Hell trilogy.

“The impetus for this partnership was our shared commitment to fans of the genre and our desire to deliver for new horror audiences,” Frank Murray, the co-CEO of Hangtime, said in a statement. “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.”

“Severin Films has devoted two decades to restoring and releasing genre films with the utmost respect for their originality and ongoing legacy,” David Gregory, co-founder, president and CEO of Severin Films, also said in a statement. “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.”

The deal was brokered by Severin’s Italian correspondent Manlio Gomarasca and RTI Mediaset International sales manager Claudia Marra, who secured the English-language remake rights to The Beyond (known originally as … E tu vivrai nel terrore! L’aldilà) on behalf of Hangtime and Severin.

“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,” said Marra. “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.”