Starring - Gene LeBrock (Night of the Beast, Arctic Warriors), David Brandon (Delirium, StageFright), and Barbara Bingham (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Terror at London Bridge)
Release Date - 1990
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The evil one has come to take the souls of the young"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
I get quite a bit of movies in to review and most have the typical back story. They are either indie productions made by genre fans wanting to contribute to the genre they love or they are re-releases of films from several decades ago looking for a new generation of admirers. However, there is the occasional release that has some interesting story. A few weeks back Severin Films and MVD sent over the 1990 Italian horror film Beyond Darkness to review. This is a movie that I had always been interested in but never had the chance to see it. What makes this film so interesting is how it was marketed upon it's release. The film was billed as House 5, Ghosthouse 6, and even Evil Dead 5. It's obvious that the film has nothing to do with the franchises it's trying to capitalize on but it's intriguing nonetheless that the film was released under these titles. I want to thank Severin and MVD for once again providing Horror Society with a review copy of the film.
The film follows a priest, his wife, and his two children as they move into an old home. Strange things begin to happen and soon they discover that the home is possessed by an evil that wants to claim their two children. A former priest, who is now suffering from a mental breakdown, tries to help the family but the church shuns him thinking he's crazy. This doesn't stop him as he tries to save the family before it's too late.
I wasn't expecting an unforgettable film especially when you consider how it was shoehorned into several different franchises. That immediately let me know that the story was going to be a little messy but that didn't stop me from wanting to watch it. I knew it was going to be fun. The acting in this one is a little flat but it wasn't bad. The characters are very generic and lacked any distinguishable features. In fact, there was several scenes where the cast blended in with the background while the story took over. The film would have benefited with having a cast with a little more energy and characters with memorable personalities. The story for this one is a mash up of religious horror and a haunted house tale. It felt like Poltergeist meets The Exorcist with a little bit of House spread throughout. I liked the dark presence after the children but the film started to lose me with the Exorcist rip off along with the repetitive scenes of the former priest questioning his sanity. Some parts of the story are expressed on screen several times which was redundant and slightly boring. If the film would have focused more on the presence in the house and the horror the family faced it would have been far more enjoyable. The pacing is off especially for the later scenes but it's still worth watching. Finally, the film has several fun moments with make-up effects. I liked the look of the demons in the home and when the son becomes possessed I really liked the look he had. It's not a bloody or gory film that you would expect from an Italian horror flick but it's still enjoyable. Overall, Beyond Darkness is a forgettable film but it's still enjoyable. I would highly recommend checking it out late at night and with some other Italian classics. It's just as fun as it is flawed and the Severin blu is great.
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