Beyond The Black Rainbow

2012

Beyond The Black Rainbow

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

58%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 33

52%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 3,323
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Movie Info

Set in the strange and oppressive emotional landscape of the year 1983, Beyond the Black Rainbow is a Reagan-era fever dream inspired by hazy childhood memories of midnight movies and Saturday morning cartoons. From the producer of "Machotaildrop," Rainbow is the outlandish feature film debut of writer and director Panos Cosmatos. Featuring a hypnotic analog synthesizer score by Jeremy Schmidt of "Sinoia Caves" and "Black Mountain," Rainbow is a film experience for the senses. -- (C) Magnet
  • Rating:
    R (for some bloody violence, disturbing images, a graphic sexual illustration, language and drug content)
  • Genre:
    Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • Directed By:
    Panos Cosmatos
  • Written By:
    Panos Cosmatos
  • In Theaters:
     limited
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Box Office:
    $56,129
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Magnolia Pictures

Cast

Michael Rogers
as Barry Nyle
Eva Allan
as Elena
Scott Hylands
as Mercurio Arboria
Marilyn Norry
as Rosemary Nyle
Rondel Reynoldson
as Margo
Geoffrey Condor
as Mutant
Chris Gauthier
as Fat Hesher
Gerry South
as Skinny Hesher
Roy Campsall
as Sentionauts
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Critic Reviews for Beyond The Black Rainbow

All Critics (33) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (14)

  • There's much to admire about Panos Cosmatos' directorial debut, but the end result is admittedly not for all tastes.

    Mar 21, 2013 | Full Review…

    William Goss

    MSN Movies
    Top Critic

  • The movie looks like it was lit by lava lamps, scored on Moog synthesizers, written between bong hits and acted underwater. None of this is meant as praise.

    Jul 26, 2012 | Rating: 1/4

    Rene Rodriguez

    Miami Herald
    Top Critic

  • "Beyond the Black Rainbow" has a doomy, dreamy, druggy, draggy feel that's impressively sustained - until it becomes oppressive, then pointless, then laughable.

    Jun 7, 2012 | Rating: 1.5/4 | Full Review…

    Mark Feeney

    Boston Globe
    Top Critic

  • Much of the time, watching Beyond the Black Rainbow is accompanied by head scratching, but perhaps that's the point of this trippy outing.

    Jun 7, 2012 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

    Linda Barnard

    Toronto Star
    Top Critic

  • Close-ups of a needle penetrating gnarled toes and a mutant slathered in what I choose to believe is bittersweet chocolate make as much sense as the scary drawings of angry vulvas hiding in a drawer.

    May 18, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/5

    Jeannette Catsoulis

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • This would-be cult classic is the movie equivalent of gazing at a lava lamp for nearly two hours.

    May 18, 2012 | Rating: 0.5/4 | Full Review…

    Lou Lumenick

    New York Post
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (33)

Audience Reviews for Beyond The Black Rainbow

  • Sep 28, 2015
    Beyond the Black Rainbow is a B-movie with great visual style and synth scoring. I wanted to rate it up for those alone, but still it is a B-movie and it shows. The film lacks in plot and acting. My advice is to watch the trailer and if it is something you'd like to look at and listen to then queue up the movie, but do so without expectation that you will get something of cinematic substance.
    Robert B Super Reviewer
  • Oct 11, 2013
    When "Beyond the Black Rainbow" was released last year, I was intrigued because the critics were saying that it was weird. But they could not articulate exactly what kind of weird, so I passed at the time. Now, after seeing the movie for myself, I understand why since even with an abdundance of disturbing imagery, it does not mean anything without any kind of context, putting it in the general neighborhood of amateur hour Cronenberg. The story such as it is concerns a clinic run by Mercurio Arboria(Scott Hylands) where Barry Nyle(Michael Rogers), a mad scientist, is performing unhealthy looking experiments on Elena(Eva Allan), a patient. Overall, the movie looks like what somebody in 1966 would think 1983 will look like.(The only cultural difference the movie points out is people being able to smoke indoors back then.) And I think I might have gone with that if not for one nightmarish image. That sole image might tie in with the movie's possible theme of the vast potential of the 60's giving way to the abyss of the 80's. Or maybe it's all about evolution. Who knows?
    Walter M Super Reviewer
  • Jan 14, 2013
    A mute telepathic woman is kept prisoner in a mysterious pyramid-power institute in the Reagan era in this slow paced, visually trippy pseudo-surreal sci-fi effort. The style over substance aesthetic wears a little thin by the end, but every year should feature a film explicitly designed to accompany an acid trip, and this was 2012s best option.
    Greg S Super Reviewer
  • Oct 16, 2012
    Like a wet dream of Jodorowski, Cronenberg, Lynch and Kubrick's 2001 combined into one, with a distinctive creepy sci-fi movie vibe hailing from the 70s Russia. It's pretty wonderful to look and listen to while it lasts and has a creepy aura surrounding the odd narrative but I'd be lying if once the novelty is gone, it overstay's it's welcome. And how soon the novelty will start to disappear will depend a lot on the type of viewer for sure.
    Francisco G Super Reviewer
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