“It’s easy to become…disillusioned.”

Drake’s rating: Expect a contact high

Drake’s review: “Serenity Through Technology” is the motto of the Arboria Institute, an association borne out of pharmacological experimentation in the 1960s. Founded by Dr. Mercurio Arboria (Scott Hylands), the Institute itself is seemingly now home to but a single patient: Elena (Eva Allan), a young woman possessed of amazing psychic abilities. But life for Elena is not one of peace and serenity. A veritable captive of Dr. Arboria’s protégé, Dr. Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers), she is cut off from humanity, kept in a cell, and forced to live a bleak existence as Nyle’s personal guinea pig.

But Elena knows there’s a whole world out there that she’s never seen, and she’s determined to escape Nyle’s clutches.

Written and directed by Panos Cosmatos, Beyond the Black Rainbow is a slow-burn throwback to the more esoteric scifi films of the 1970s and early ‘80s. Visually arresting, the film relies heavily on stylized cinematography and set design, as well as the constant hum of a techno score, to keep the viewer engaged. It almost works, and although that sounds like faint praise, Cosmatos never backs away from his core concepts. Instead, he relishes in them, presenting one scene after another as if they were a series of paintings rather than a film, each one a step further into a fragile reality that could be undone by any given misstep.

Nyle is the villain of the film, constantly poking away at Elena like an angry wasp. He is unlikable, certainly, but Rogers injects the character with just enough internal curiosity to make Nyle an interesting antagonist rather than a one-note monster. Elena, on the other hand, is enigmatic, a veritable puzzle that Nyle is either trying to put together or break apart. Allan plays her as vulnerable and wistful; in one scene she telekinetically changes the channels on the monitor in her room. Coming across a cartoon she is almost amused, but also sadly confused because of her inability to completely relate to the animated actions.

The conflict between Nyle and Elena is the heart of Beyond the Black Rainbow. It’s initially very one-sided, as the doctor has all the power and is able to manipulate events at will. But Nyle doesn’t have as much control as he thinks, and his cold arrogance masks a deep flaw which could very well be his undoing.

The two actors are outstanding in their individual roles, which is fortunate since there are only a few other characters in Beyond the Black Rainbow. This is obviously a low-budget affair, although whatever scant funding Cosmatos found was well-spent. The production design relies on a minimalist approach, and it works. The visual effects lean heavily on mood, with a harsh red light illuminating much of the movie until the very end, when things take a surprising turn.

The plot is light, and dialogue is minimal, but Beyond the Black Rainbow is far more interested in conveying its story through atmosphere. Overall, that works in the movie’s favor, but it does make it a difficult first time watch. I would argue that it’s a movie that improves on repeat viewings as, once you’ve accepted the fact that what you’re watching more resembles a bold experiment playing out in real time than a filmed narrative, then you can enjoy it for what it is rather than what you think it should be.

Which is really just my way of saying that this is very much a “love it or hate it” movie. Those that enjoy Beyond the Black Rainbow will dig deep into the weird visuals and be swept along on its strange ride through an early ‘80s setting made possible by a late ‘60s hallucinogenic experiment gone awry. Those that don’t like it will be wondering just where those 110 minutes went, and why they didn’t watch The Terminator instead. And although I’m in the former camp, I can totally dig where the latter are coming from. Beyond the Black Rainbow is not a crowd pleaser, but it does stay true to itself and is the end result of Panos Cosmatos’ very singular vision.

And since that vision also gave us an unhinged, chainsaw-wielding Nicolas Cage in Mandy, I’m curious as heck to see what Cosmatos will do next.

Intermission!

• Panos Cosmatos is the son of George P. Cosmatos, who himself directed stylistic films such as Cobra and Tombstone.
• The credits in the trailer include “Inspired by the book ‘Be Your Self’ by Mercurio Arboria.”
• As a youngster, Panos Cosmatos wasn’t old enough to rent many of the horror and cult films that he saw in the videos stores, but he imagined what they might be like from the cover art. Beyond the Black Rainbow was his attempt “to create a film that is a sort of imagining of an old film that doesn’t exist.”