Beyond the Black Rainbow
Director: Panos Cosmatos
Writer: Panos Cosmatos
Starring: Eva Allan, Michael Rogers, Scott Hylands
How I Watched It: Amazon Instant View
Review By: Griff
This week I am taking a look at one of the stranger films that I seen in quite a long time. This is the kind of movie that I can see being a bit polarizing. It’s a love/hate kind of movie and truthfully, If you told me that you thought it was a trash I would completely understand where you are coming from.
Beyond the Black Rainbow is a difficult movie to write a synopsis about because it isn’t really very linear and truth be told it’s pretty damn confusing. From what I could tell the movie is set in 1983. There are a small group of scientists that are trying to create a utopian society by experimenting with a cocktail of drugs, isolation, and therapy treatments.
Along the way, one of the scientist has a bit of bad trip and and kills one of the female scientists who happens to have a small daughter. The young girl is brought up in a state of isolation inside this elaborate lab that the scientist have created. Now a teenager, the girl appears to be gifted and has some kind of telekinesis which the scientist can control through the use some strange triangle device with a huge volume knob.
Eventually, the lead scientist dies from old age and his second in command goes off the deep end. Apparently he wants to have some sexy time with the teenage girl. She escapes from the lab/compound/whatever and the 3rd act becomes more of a stalker slasher film.
That’s about the best I can do with what I saw. The movie is really best taken in as just a series of very interesting scenes rather than trying to make it all follow a story. On this level it is a truly unique film. Some of the visuals are absolutely amazing and a couple of the scenes were actually downright frightening.
A read a lot of complaints about the 3rd act of this film and people not being happy with the ending. Personally, I didn’t mind it and thought it wrapped things up pretty well but I will leave that for you to decide on your own.
There is definitely some big nods to the sci-fi movies of the 80’s and you can see a lot of Kubrick’s influence in Cosmatos work. The best way I could describe this would be Kubrick meets Jodorowsky.
Some of you may find the pacing of this movie to be just plain tedious and the non-linear storyline will turn some away as well but if you have the patience for it and have a bit of an adventurous eye I think you enjoy the trip.
I am giving Beyond the Black Rainbow 2 guys but I would certainly understand if you came back to me after seeing this and tell me I wasted and hour and half of your life. This is not a movie for everyone.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice write-up here Griff. I’ve been wanting to see this for a while. It’s sounds like something I’d like but I won’t go into it with high expectations. Thanks man.
Hey Mark, thanks for the comment. Let me know what you thought of it if you check it out.