(Streamed via Xumo)
Elena (Eva Allen) is a patient at the mysterious Arboria Institute. There, her creepy quack (Michael Rogers) keeps her under close surveillance. Mostly for his own amusement (I guess), he lets her out of her cell so she can discover her surroundings.
Beyond the Black Rainbow was written and directed by Panos (Mandy) Cosmatos, the son of Cobra director George P. Cosmatos. He exhibits heavy influences from Kubrick, Carpenter, Cronenberg, and Lynch, but is still able to make the mosaic feel weirdly original at the same time. While I am sure some viewers are bound to find it to be a marathon test of their patience, if you can get in tune with its bizarre wavelength, you should find yourself enjoying it as much as I did.
Remember a while back when I watched Ad Astra and it almost left me in a trance? This one just about did the same thing. From the warm, vibrant colors to the droning soundtrack, to the sparse monotone voices, Beyond the Black Rainbow lulls you in. Then… WHAM! It brings on a trippy black and white flashback that’s as weird as anything in Begotten.
Cosmatos gets a lot of mileage out of the lead performance by Rogers. Looking like a wax figure of Christian Bale that’s miraculously come to life, he emits a creepy vibe that works hand in hand with the world Cosmatos has created. (I especially liked the faux-vintage film strip for the Institute.) When Rogers goes nuts in the final act, he doubles-down on the oddball touches and really gets under your skin.
Beyond the Black Rainbow isn’t all sunshine and roses though. Did it really need to be close to two hours? Probably not. Is the ending anticlimactic and more than a bit lame? (The two random metalhead characters notwithstanding.) Kinda. Till then though, it’s a wild ride that any lover of offbeat cinema will surely enjoy taking.
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