#Sara Stockstad

[scenesandscreens]

Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) Director - Panos Cosmatos, Cinematography - Norm Li "You are about to embark on a great journey. Are you ready, my friend?"

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)

I recently was invited to an early screening of the upcoming Panos Cosmatos film Mandy by Alamo Drafthouse, and like any fan of film, I was blown away by the amazing trailer.  Luckily, I have friends equally dedicated to their love of film as I am, and in my spreading the word about getting to see what appears to be a new classic, I was told that I must watch the first Panos Cosmatos film, Beyond the Black Rainbow.  I am a lucky man to have friends with such great taste.

The Arboria Institute is a Reagan-era hospital run by Head of Research Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers).  The hospital, in operation since the 1960′s, holds dark secrets beneath it’s surface : Arboria Institute founder Mercurio Arboria (Scott Hylands), the man responsible for Nyle’s psychosis and instability due to experiments with the aim of transcendence, lays dying... Elena (Eva Bourne), daughter of Mercurio and Anna Arboria (Sara Stockstad), is captive to Nyle and a pyramid shaped object he uses to quell her dangerous psychic abilities... and that barely pierces the veil of secrets and experiments within the institute.  As Nyle learns more about Elena and her powers at the expense of nurse Margo (Rondel Reynoldson), he experiences an awakening that puts the two on a course that points equally towards freedom and self-destruction.

The purposefully old school look of this film immediately puts viewers in the perfect state of mind to absorb a movie of this nature.  The desaturated color that dominates the look, uses of rear projection, the synthesizer heavy score and the post-modern set designs really echo to a distinct era of filmmaking, at once playing as homage and participant in the lineage.  Things really get going when the desaturated and academic look suddenly switches to a much more expressive color palette, however.

The extreme washes of color are extremely informative in terms of emotional mindstate.  The confrontations between Nyle and Elena are dominated by the color red, creating a natural tension and sense of anger... Elena’s isolation is often drenched in either mind-numbing white or blue sadness... Nyle and his final confrontation with his old mentor is awash in the green of envy, jealousy and resentment over the control exerted on his life.  The symbology used throughout the film is extremely strong as well.  The mind controlling aspects of television and medication are represented quite well in their roles as story elements.  The pyramid and it’s historical significance, as well as the scientific study and lore that surround it, make it the perfect controlling tool that limits Elena’s abilities.  The entire film feels like a wonderful version of Cronenberg meets Argento.

The real story going on is played out in several cat and mouse games that run on different levels and aspects of control systems.  The overarching narrative is an allegory on finding the ‘absolute self’, and whether mind expansion or extreme discipline and focus are the correct route towards pure enlightenment.  On a more personal level, the control exerted by Mercurio Arboria over Nyles, or even the much more subtle control Nyles exerts over his wife Rosemary (Marily Norry), hits home because of the way that closeness and trust can sometimes be a tug of war.

Michael Rogers is wonderfully intense and unsettling in his antagonist role, playing just as captivating as he is intimidating.  Eva Bourne brings a true sense of innocence and wonder to her acceptance of great power, harnessing a majestic sense of control that makes her frightening despite her calm.  Scott Hylands plays bigger than life, literally serving as a living deity to most of the characters in a sense, with his despicable actions not being enough to break the reverence given to him.  Marilyn Norry mirrors the captivity of Elena in a pitch perfect manner, with her walls of captivity being more so emotional than literal.  Rondel Reynoldson embodies the 1980′s wonderfully in her portrayal of the nurse.  Gerry South and Chris Gauthier help bring a bit of levity into the film, while also serving to raise the stakes near the climax. 

The last few years have really found me a heavy supporter of what has been deemed a horror revival.  Beyond the Black Rainbow not only works on that level, it hits all my buttons in terms of movies that mess with your mind, both aesthetically and in terms of the impressions they leave.  I know for a fact that this film will be one that I highly recommend from this day forward.

[thebabysittersguidetoexorcisms]