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Beyond The Darkness
AKA Buio Omega
Directed By Joe D’Amato
Released: 1979
Starring: Kieran Canter, Cinzia Monreale, and Franca Stoppi
Running Time: 94 minutes
Frank Wyler (played by Kieran Canter) is pretty broken up about the death
of his girlfriend, Anna (Cinzia Monreale). So broken up, in fact, that he
steals her body from the grave and takes it back to his house. Using his
taxidermy skills, Frank preserves Anna so that she will remain with him
“forever”. Frank’s housekeeper, Iris (Franca Stoppi), helps him to cover
up this and the fact that he murders nearly every attractive woman that
crosses his path. The controlling (and very psychotic) Iris has always
been in love with Frank and is willing to put up with almost anything if
Frank will concede to marry her. Things go terribly wrong when Frank finds
a living replacement for Anna and Iris isn’t willing to give up her place
in Frank’s heart.
Joe D’Amato (Anthropophagus – The Grim Reaper) directs this
disturbing and gruesome horror film which is considered by some fans to be
his best. For me, the jury is still out. With a moody soundtrack by Goblin
(Suspiria, Phenomena), excellent lighting, no
frills cinematography, and well chosen sets, Beyond The Darkness
is quite the lovingly made sleazy Italian gorefest. Strangely enough, the
film only has a few flaws to keep it from being a masterpiece of the
genre.
Leading man, Kieran Canter, makes Frank Wyler into one of the least
frightening killers in all of horror filmdom. What works is that Frank’s
quiet nature and good looks (I guess) make it all the more disturbing as
he commits these horrible acts of violence. He does rise to the task
occasionally to make Frank at least an interesting character to watch.
Canter’s unpredictability (ripping out someone’s fingernails!) and
oddly helpless behavior (nearly fainting while Iris helps him dispose
of a body) keep his performance afloat but he just isn’t menacing enough.
On the opposite side of the acting spectrum is Franca Stoppi (The
Other Hell) who really delivers as the sick and twisted, Iris.
There isn’t a moment during her screen-time where Stoppi’s sharp features
and piercing gaze aren’t the center of attention. And a major plus comes
from the fact that she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Whether it’s
vilely munching on some stew made from tenderized tourist, encouraging
Frank to breastfeed from her own bosom, or hacking up the spurting limbs
of a corpse, Iris is one hell of a woman. Honorable mention goes to the
wispy Cinzia Monreale (The Beyond) who plays a dual role
here. When she’s not screaming in abject terror, she plays a corpse the
likes of which I’ve never seen. Just wait for Anna to blink, twitch, or
breathe. She never does.
Other than the ladies that get in Frank's way, logic is the real victim in
Beyond The Darkness as nothing more than luck and Iris’s
quick thinking keep Frank from getting caught every five minutes. Also
Frank’s motives are completely out the window. It comes off as one of
those all too familiar cases of “he murders because he’s crazy” although
I’m sure there’s more to it. Was Frank simply driven to do all of these
things after Anna’s death? And what’s with Iris? Is she that willing to
cover up the murders and live with the preserved corpse of Anna just
because she loves Frank so much? Eh, before the end of the film, dedicated
viewers will probably care about as much as I do about what drives these
freaks to do what they do. Which (big surprise) is not at all.
For the confounded viewers out there, let me just say that Beyond
The Darkness definitely improves with multiple viewings This
nearly logic-free film tries so hard to offend and nauseate that it just
charms the pants off of any Eurosleaze veteran or gore enthusiast. While
the intestines and severed limbs go a-flyin’, the sadism and the
ghoulishness are doubly amplified by D’Amato’s clinical direction. What
starts as a quiet film with some eye-rolling sentimentality ends in a
horrific showdown between two disturbed souls. Yeah sure, I love it but I
must warn casual viewers to proceed with extreme caution as most folks
will (and probably should) be simply repulsed by Beyond The Darkness.
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