31 Days of Creepy Kids, Day 10: Jill (The Beyond, 1981)

Jill

Like most Italian Horror flicks of yesteryear, The Beyond manages to be both cheesy and amazingly effective at the same time. The dubbed voices were awful, story elements often made little to no sense, but I'll be damned if any of that mattered once you got sucked into the atmosphere and nastiness of it all. And let's not forget that Lucio Fulci, like Argento and Bava, was one of the best Horror/Suspense directors of all time.

They were all visionary, crazy Italians who who knew how to mess with our heads, and they did. At least we still have Argento with us

Worst class picture ever.

One of the best scenes in the Fulci classic (and there are many), is also one of Horror's most iconic images... and of course it involves a creepy child.

I could set it up for you, but the set-up is so convoluted and nonsensical, you just might not believe me. Short version: Our hero and heroine are running from the undead (who move so slow, you could escape them at a slow crawl), when they happen upon young Jill in the morgue, just hanging out like kids her age do. In the morgue.

She likes dead things?

Anywho, they end up trapped by a bunch of Zombies, when suddenly Jill growls and tries to kill the chick, and homeboy gives her one of the most memorable shots to the dome in the history of cinema. It's interesting to note that this is the same guy that stops, aims, really takes his time to make sure he's shooting where he wants to... and then shoots Zombies in the chest region, to absolutely no effect. Repeatedly. Over and over again.

She should have moved slower and groaned... then, he would have missed.

I guess he's capable of an off the cuff head shot when he's ready to do it right.

Hey man, nice shot. What a good shot, man.

The Beyond is a Must See for any true Horror fan, especially if you like your Zombies good and slow. Now, some of it is very frustrating (like the guy that keeps shooting the undead everywhere but the head, when he sees it does no good), but that's not why you're watching a Fulci flick anyway; no, blood and crazy shit, that's why you're watching a Fulci flick.

Also, you'll not find a Horror movie with a more classically iconic little ginger girl. The image of white-eyed Jill getting her cap peeled back will not soon leave your mind.

And you wonder why the world is terrified of Gingers!