Beyond the Darkness (1979)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Ottavio Fabri, based on a story by Giacomo Guerrini
Directed by Joe D'Amato
Starring Kieran Canter, Cinzia Monreale, Francia Stoppi

Features:

• Cast and crew interviews
  
• Running audio commentary with art director Donatella Donati
  

Released by: Shriek Show
Region: 1
Rating: NR (nudity, violence, drug use, language)
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Only fans of Italian horror need to bother.

Beyond the Darkness (aka Buio Omega) is another in a long line of Italian horror films, known for their gratuitous blood and frequent co-ed nudity...and in those respects, at least, it doesn't disappoint. Somewhere in Italy, Francesco (Canter), spoiled rich boy, has lost his love to voodoo and jealousy. Instead of burying her, however, he uses his interest in taxidermy to embalm and stuff her himself, installing her body in his bedroom. Unhinged by her loss, he murders anyone who gets close to her, including several more young women and assorted people.

The plot is exactly as weak as you think it is. Instead of a tense and emotional look at the depths of obsession, eternal love, and loss a la Edgar Allan Poe, this flick succeeds only in being periodically bloody. On the other hand, if you're hoping to see a gore-fest, you'll also be disappointed. After the first attack on Wyler's woman, the housekeeper hangs up her voodoo and never uses it again. Why? And why does he never suspect her when her own unhealthy obsession is obvious from the beginning? Is his mourning that deep or is he just stupid? The movie could support either hypothesis.

The acting is similarly dead (no pun intended). The scream queens fail to appear either frightened or endangered, even when bleeding profusely. Kieran Canter as the mourning rich boy is singularly uninspiring in every scene. The best actor is Cinzia Monreale, who hams it up deliciously, and of course those actresses who succeed in being very quiet when they're supposed to be dead. Even the brief bits of naked men and women can't liven things up.

The visuals are a bit faded in some sections and washed out in others. The overall sunny look is typical of the genre and the 1970s. The quality of the dub is rather insipid and a bit muted, but that has even more to do with the lackluster performances than it does with the sound engineering; when will producers learn that not just anyone can read lines and match the actors? Hire anime actors if you really want a quality job. The musical score is supposedly acclaimed, provided as it is by the Italian group Goblin, but it's rock typical to slasher films and essentially forgettable.

There are a couple of nice features on this release. There is a commentary with the art director, Donatella Donati, who has some fun things to say on how they pulled off some of the special effects and basically what it's like to work on a project like this. There are also a couple of interviews, one with Donati and one with actress Monreale, which is interesting and a good feature for any DVD. There is also a booklet accompanying the case that looks behind-the-scenes and provides some interesting history for the film, Italian and Spanish horror in general, and on director D'Amato. There's also some information on the sources for this film. Fans of D'Amato's work will appreciate this addition.

Beyond the Darkness is suited primarily to those viewers with a taste for Italian horror, especially the shock-fests of director Joe D'Amato. The plot had some promise, and there are many, many worse movies in the world, but that isn't enough to rescue this one. If you like shameless camp (and many do) or tales of obsessive love or dead lovers, then this film will appeal to you, but if you're hoping for something a little more gothic, then you're likely to be disappointed.