aka Buio Omega
From the perverse mind of Joe D'Amato comes BEYOND THE DARKNESS aka BUIO OMEGA. D'Amato, for those of you that don't know, is mainly known for making schlock. He has some crappy films on his résumé, but the man is also known for having moments of greatness--this film is one of those moments. Arguably his best film, BTD is full of excellent gore, nudity, some cannibalism, a great score by Goblin, and an all around dark and surreal atmosphere. I'd even say that it could compete with the works of Fulci, Argento, and Deodato, just to name a few great Italian horror directors.
A young recluse named Frank, a taxidermist (aren't all taxidermists psycho?), is in love with a girl named, Anna. Anna dies from an illness in a hospital with the help of some hoodoo magic by a scary lady named Iris, who is also Frank's caregiver/nanny/maid(?). After Anna's death, Iris tells Frank that she will love and take care of him, and he suckles on her breast like an infant. Frank can't live on Iris’s tit lovin’ alone, so decides to dig up Anna, embalm and stuff her like he would a dead squirrel, and keep her like a necromantic sex doll. On his way back from the cemetery, he picks up an annoying hitchhiker, who passes out after smoking a blunt. He leaves her in the car, and takes Anna into his studio, and goes to work on her. We then get see every gruesome moment of the embalming (gorehounds rejoice). Of course the annoying hitchhiker walks in and freaks, so Frank has to kill her. Now, not only is he a deranged creep, but a murderer too. What a guy!
 |
 |
|---|
For a brief (very brief) moment you almost sympathize with Frank. He's a lonely, heartbroken guy that just wants his girl back, but once he removes Anna's heart, and takes a big bite out of it…well, now any redeemable qualities the guy may have had, just went out the window. Then he kills the hitchhiker, and he doesn't just kill her, but pulls her fingernails off with pliers first—while she’s alive--now the guy's the villain….wait, I thought Iris is the villain…whatever. Well, she's nutzoid too. Not only does Iris ‘not mind’ that Frank's a gravedigging necrophile, but she helps him dispose of the hitchhiker's body as well (in a tub filled with acid). You just can’t find good help like that these days.
All seems fine, Frank has his stuffed girlfriend, Iris has her Frankie, but then a detective starts looking for the missing hitchhiker. Does Frank lay low and wait for the heat to die down? Nope, he kills again. He invites a jogger back to his place, under the false pretense of helping her with her sprained ankle, and she willingly does the horizontal mambo with him…but he forgets to tell her that his dead girlfriend is in the bed next to them, making part of an icky Ménage à trios. When she sees Anna, she freaks out, and Frank rips her throat out with his teeth (It makes DeNiro's cheek bite in CAPE FEAR look like innocent foreplay). With the help of Iris (did I mention you can't find good help like that anymore?), they dispose of yet another body.
 |
 |
|---|
Things spiral out of control (no, really?), and the detective slowly starts putting clues together. Then a plot twist throws Franks world out of whack. I won't say what it is, but it's been done a thousand times on soap operas. Writing-wise, it's kind of a lame twist, but it makes for an excellent last scene, so I forgive it.
The one thing that really makes this movie worth viewing is the gore. I'd say it's a must-see for any gorehound. There is some gruesome stuff here, and you have to have the uncut version to see most of it. I believe I saw the edited version (BURIED ALIVE) back in the 90's, and don't remember it having as much graphic gore scenes. The scene where the hitchhiker gets cut up for the acid bath is gut wrenchingly realistic, as is her fingernail removal by pliers. The sound of bones crunching as he sticks tubes up Anna's nose for the embalming made me cringe. Any fan of Lucio Fulci's splatter era (late 70's/early 80's) movies should be in heaven.
Also, I chose to watch the movie in Italian w/subtitles. It made the film much more enjoyable. I clicked over for a minute to hear the dubbing, and it was atrocious, as I figured it would be. Bad dubbing can make an actor of average talent seem like a complete joke. In Italian, the acting was not that bad, but put some idiot in a studio, getting paid scale, talking for the actor, and it can be disastrous. If it's an option, I always choose subtitles.
 |
 |
|---|
I've seen quite a few of D'Amato's films, and I have to say this is his best movie, ANTHROPOPHAGUS coming in a close second. I never have high hopes when I watch D’Amato movies, and this one really surprised me…I'd even recommend it! Wow! There is a reason a director would go from making “serious” films to porn…he sucks! That being said, D’Amato has never claimed to be great and I respect him for that. Like Jess Franco, who has also surprised me with moments of greatness, it makes me wonder…how come they couldn't pull this off more? D'Amato had made over 25 films before BEYOND THE DARKNESS, that's a lot of training. He made a couple good flicks in the early 80's and then went on to make mostly porn. What the fuck?
Then there's the other side of me that likes shitty movies, and that's why I still have love for the man. His Emanuelle movies are among my favorite sexploitation flicks of the 70's. The man is good at being bad, and he's even better at being sleazy. For that, his movies are welcome in my DVD player anytime. Bravo D'Amato, bravo.
BEYOND THE DARKNESS trailer