There was a time in the movie lovers’ lives where a favorite film could either get left behind in an outdated format or worse yet disappear altogether. Currently, however, movie lovers live in a utopia where every film that ever graced the big or small screen is making it to Blu-ray and being given the same treatment the classics are getting. So while this is a golden age for the fan and the film preservationist alike, this is also leading to an overabundance of sub-par movies, ones that were forgotten by time for good reason, films all very similar to Beyond Terror.

Some would call them just youngsters running amok, others would call them trouble just waiting to happen, but no one could have expected what they would do that faithful night. A young biker gang has bought their drugs for the night and is looking to make some quick cash. Robbing the local diner would have been an easy score, but that was before the cops showed up and the gang killed everyone inside. Now they are on the run with two hostages and they come upon an isolated home. Stealing for the elderly is bad enough but after they leave her and her grandson to burn in the house, they unknowing doom themselves to an even more grisly fate.

Cauldron Films, new on the scene, joins the ranks of other publishers like Severin Films and Vinegar Syndrome that restore lost classics and some forgettable stinkers, but they are already making a name for themselves. This is only their third release and Beyond Terror looks fantastic inside and out. The packaging is gorgeous with the limited edition embossed slipcover having both variations of the movie poster, four lobby cards featuring various scenes, and a mini press book. The film itself has received a pristine restoration and lacks even the tiniest bit of film grain but is sadly limited in special features, only having a single commentary with film historian Kat Ellinger and an image gallery.

With such attention to detail given to the presentation you would expect the film to be of equal quality, if not maybe just a bit dated but Beyond Terror is so far below expectations. The film begins with a grisly murder, before a diner shootout with innocent civilians, only to burn an old woman and her grandson to death in a house, and just when the supernatural eeriness is ready to settle in, the film shift tones. It becomes boring, slow, tedious, and where there could be a slow burn build to something, there is nothing. The film instead has the characters wandering around, some weird sexual moments, and it climaxes like a balloon with a leak.

Cauldron Films has shown, even with this only being their third release, that they can not only release a quality product but have it looking gorgeous. If they keep this same passion then they will be giving the competitors a run for their money, but even with these beautiful releases, they are going to have to find better movies to publish than Beyond Terror or risk becoming the world’s most beautiful film dump.

 

4 out of 10

(with a 8/10 for packaging & perfect 10 for the restoration itself)

 

Beyond Terror
RATING: UR
Beyond Terror (1980) Cauldron Films trailer
Runtime: 1 hr
23Mins.
Directed By:
Written By:

About the Author

A huge horror fan with a fondness for 80s slashers. Can frequently be found at southern California horror screenings and events.