✯✯✯✯ 1/2
I have a confession to make: I'm stuck in the 80's. Indeed, almost all my life I've had some strange fascination with 1980's pop culture and the films surrounding their circumstances, and yet I haven't even begun to delve into the massive amounts of media and history that hallmarked the best moments of the decade. Games like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and films like this and other classic 80's slasher films have helped curate my preferences and tastes for films of the time, and now more than ever I am looking for more new experiences of the same caliber.
Beyond the Black Rainbow rings of classic 80's sci-fi visions: Microsoft DOS, tube televisions, large square framed glasses- director Panos Cosmatos really managed to nail the science fiction feeling of the 1980's era perfectly, and throws in his own artistic flair to boot. Dr. Barry Nyle psychotically attempts to control a young patient named Elena, who displays extraordinary psychic powers. Nyle keeps Elena in a white, brightly-lit room, which dampens her powers and prevents her from escaping the institution. As an additional measure, a large pyramid structure lies outside her compound, which prevents her from escaping at any given moment. Elena has been trapped in this institution all her life, and only wishes to reunite with her father. The film initially presents Nyle as a tender, caring psychiatrist who only wishes to help Elena become cured of her "sickness," and Elena as the mentally unstable patient who constantly tries to escape the clutches of her own menacing doctor. But as the film progresses, Dr. Nyle begins to display stranger and stranger emotions, and we begin to question whose side we really should be on. Is Nyle really trying to help? Is Elena in the wrong for her actions? Or is there a deeper connection that we cannot see at first? Is there a secret within this neon-fueled 1980's science fiction vision that hasn't been fully unearthed?
Whether you love it or hate it, there's no denying that the director has a creative vision within his film. Some people may find the story slow and uninteresting, or just outright nonsensical, but a deeper examination suggest that Beyond the Black Rainbow is a thoughtful commentary on the classic slasher genre, with some tributary nods to such classic sci-fi and horror films such as 2001 and the Friday the 13th series. The idea is that the slasher films of old felt incomplete, like there was a feeling that we were watching an unfinished film. Sure, the slasher films have endings, but there's something looming within these films that gives us a sense of dreadful incompleteness, like a puzzle without its final piece, which is probably the biggest reason Netflix thought I would only give it a 2/5 (joke's on you, guys.)
In truth, I was in a trance the entire time while watching Beyond the Black Rainbow. The film is packed with both classic and art house sci-fi elements, while maintaining a pseudo-slasher feeling in its atmosphere. The story doesn't hold your hand and give you all the details right out- you have to keep paying attention to really understand what's going on. A simple rundown of the synopsis on IMDb will help better your understanding (the Netflix synopsis is completely off-kilter), and may help viewers enjoy it a lot more. The ending will seem a little vague and unsatisfying, but that's completely the point of the film. It's a unique satire on the 1980's slasher genre as a whole, while incorporating some gorgeous 70's futuristic visuals into the set pieces. Beyond the Black Rainbow is a wonderfully unique and horribly underrated sci-fi art house film that is as much tribute as it is commentary. It's definitely a hidden gem on Netflix that won't be for everyone, but to the few who love unique cinematic experiences such as this one, it's like nothing you've ever seen before.