Jul 9, 2020

Return from Beyond (1982)


(Original Title: Regreso del más allá) A couple moves into a rural home in Grenada where the wife is confronted by ghosts from the past. A Spanish horror movie that is very small scale - taking place all in one location, with basically just two actors (aside from your occasional ghost).



 It begins with a horrific murder, where a man and woman are impaled on top of each other.  We don't see the identity of the killer.

 Nora (Ana Obregón) and Javier (Andrés Resino) have just purchased the home in Grenada where the murders took place.

 Nora (Ana Obregón)

Immediately, Nora starts hearing weird noises.

 She goes to take a shower...

 This ghost dude appears behind her in the mirror.

 She frantically walks around the place, and it only gets spookier.

 Javier returns and makes her feel more at ease.

 The next morning, another ghost appears - right at the foot of her bed.

 She tries to stumble away, but the nude woman seems to push her forward.  This reminds me a lot of It Follows

Another corpse - and they all seem to want her to go into her husband's study where he writes.

Javier is back to make her forget all about those ghosts.



They keep showing this kitten.

 Nora finally takes the ghosts' "advice" and reads Javier's work.

It's about a woman who is forced to have an abortion after a rape - and the child that witnesses it.

Nora is overcome with the idea that Javier was the child, and his pent up rage caused him to kill the inhabitants of this house.

The truth is revealed in no uncertain terms; Javier even admits to it.


 The ghosts converge on Javier, stabbing and killing him.



 Nora faints next to Javier's body.

The police arrive.

They find Nora still alive, but in a state of shock.

They lift her up and take her to the hospital.

In the back of the police car, Nora strokes the kitten. FIN



This film doesn't get much love, but I suspect it's more to do with its very small scale than actual quality. I thought the ghosts were extremely horrifying, and have to think It Follows got some inspiration here.  I love that it goes right into it, with Nora seeing ghosts right from the start.  There's not much downtime in this film; it's one creepy scene after another.

Double Feature: Rest in Pieces (1987) would be a great compliment to this film, as it also features prior inhabitants seeming less like ghosts and more like zombies.  However, when it comes to a house being haunted by murdered lovers , you have to go with The Reincarnation of Sex (1982)
★★★★★

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