Posts Tagged ‘Elena’

Written and directed by Panos Cosmatos, Beyond the Black Rainbow takes place in the year 1983 in a mysterious facility called the Arboria Institute. There, Dr. Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers) has a girl named Elena (Eva Allan) under his supervision that over time he becomes obsessed with. She escapes her holding cell and tries to make her way out of the facility but Dr. Nyle won’t let her get away very easily.

This movie is a very interesting Sci-Fi flick to say the least. We’ll just say you’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it. I definitely didn’t hate it. The first thing that came to mind after the first viewing (Yes, I watched it more than once.) was “David Cronenberg”. Cronenberg’s early work was much like this and that’s a definite positive. It of course had its “WTF” moments but that’s what make this film unique. The thing that really impressed me the most was the look of the film. You can look at it and say “What about it? It looks old.” without realizing that this film was filmed in 2009 I believe. It’s one thing to shoot and edit a film in 1983 as opposed to shooting and editing a film 2009 to make it look/feel like it was done in 1983. That takes a great deal of work. They visuals were fantastically psychadelic. They were beautiful but with an added horror element. I was quoted as saying during the movie “It’s like you’re on drugs but without the drugs.” If that won’t explain it then I don’t know what will. There were times that I had to look away for a moment because of bright flashing lights or a lot of quick cuts that made my eyes hurt a bit but it was only few moments. The story I felt could have had a bit more substance to it but it was good for what it was. Kudos to Panos Cosmatos for making this film. Whether or not people thought the film was good or bad it still got people talking about it. In time it will definitely find a proper audience and be adored by the same group of people that love Cronenberg’s Videodrome and Scanners. I say it’s a definite watch if you’re into the strange/artistic/psychadelic type of films.

A thank you to Magnolia Pictures for allowing me to review this film.

Beyond The Black Rainbow is available on Bluray and DVD now