Under the Rainbow

Director - Luke Ramer (The White Faced Man)
Starring - Brian Dibonaventure (The Secret Door), Rae Labadie, and Gerald Prince (The White Faced Man)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Fantasy
Tagline - "Welcome to Hell's waiting room"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Fantasy and horror can mix but usually doesn't due to budgetary restraints.  Fantasy films are hard to make due to the possibilities of everything that can take place in the stories.  This is something those of us that grew up in the 80s know all too well.  When the 80s rolled around we were getting the amazing Conan films along with the late night showings of the classic Ray Harryhousen along with Red Sonja, Dragonslayer, Beastmaster, and so many more.  Sadly, modern horror rarely ventures into the fantasy realm and that is a damn shame.  Recently, I was able to review the short The White Faced Man which added a small amount of fantasy to the story.  That short was directed by Luke Ramer who just released a feature film Under the Rainbow.  Luke was kind enough to send me over a review copy .  Thanks Luke!

     The film follows a female adolescent junkie who does not care about anyone in her life and puts getting high over everything else.  Her friend leaves her after the two unsuccessfully attempt to rob a drug dealer.  She heads out to walk the train tracks alone when a stranger approaches her and offers her an escape from reality with a new drug called Rainbow.  She takes it and awakes in a wooded area with someone approaching.  Before he can reach her, another man shows up and scares him off before grabbing her and getting her to safety.  He takes the young girl back to his girlfriend where he tells her that the Jester was there to take the girl to the Queen for an unknown reason.  It is then that we learn that they are all in Under the Rainbow which is Hell's waiting room for those that killed themselves.  Eventually news of her arrival reaches the queen and she forces the jester to bring her back at all costs.  He kills the man's girlfriend forcing him to fight back where he kills the Jester and the young woman is able to make her way to the queen where she learns they are sister's and the young man that gave her the rainbow drug was her brother.  They kill her brother and the young girl is able to escape back to Earth where she is followed by the queen who then kills her friend and her uncle.  She kills the queen and goes back to Under the Rainbow to be it's ruler with her friend now taking over the role of the jester.  

     The White Faced Man was a fun short that mixed some fantasy elements with a little horror and it worked surprisingly well.  This made me wonder how Luke and company would combine the two in Under the Rainbow which makes you think it has very little horror from just looking at the title and cover art.  However,  The film is a horror film that will satisfy the typical horror fan.  The acting in this one is on the same caliber as The White Faced Man.  The cast shows a tremendous amount of talent but their on screen experience is limited and it shows.  They have a hard time interacting fluidly at first but as the film progresses they find their groove and the scenes become natural.  The story for this one is a unique blend of a Alice in Wonderland type story that turns bloody at the very end.  This gives the first portion of the film a grand scope where the character are transported between worlds.  Sadly, this is about as far as the fantasy portion of the film goes.  This was a wasted opportunity but understandable due to budget.  The film then turns into a standard horror film full of hate and blood when the sister starts murdering everyone she loves.  Finally, the film does have a few on screen kills but they are just typical stabbings that offer up nothing new or original.  The practical effects for these are solid and work just enough to pull the gag off.  We also get a good scalping which is something I haven't seen in a long ass time.  It was fun and the effects for it look great as well.   Overall, Under the Rainbow is another unique film from the mind of Luke Ramer.  The film takes the viewer on a wild ride and then shows the blood.  Check this one out!