Buio Omega (Beyond the Darkness)

It was many years ago (back in '03) that I caught a trailer to Buio Omega (English title: Beyond the Darkness) on my dad's DVD of Zombi 3 and it intrigued me from the beginning. I spent years trying to find this film and then 5 years later the search ended when I stumbled upon it at Fry's Electronics.

I'll start this review off by asking this bizarre question, if someone near and dear to you dies... would you go as far as "preserving their memory," by means of taxidermy? Well apparently the main character is insane enough to do the unimaginable.




Buio Omega is a dark and twisted tale of bereavement gone over the edge. Frank Wyler had everything a women would desire; good looks, sensitivity and money. Unfortunately he has some deeply disturbing issues.



His girlfriend Anna has succumb to an unusual illness caused by voodoo magic. Unable to resist the unspeakable temptation, he exhumes his companion's corpse. After returning home, he removes her organs, sews her back up and keeps her around the house like a life size doll. With the assistance of his house keeper Iris, he disposes innocent young women who stumble upon his morbid secret.



There are very few movies that disturb me but Beyond the Darkness burrowed deep underneath my skin. It is a little weak in the plot department since there's not a lot of room to expand with a story like this. However what it lacks in substance it certainly makes up for in a creepy atmosphere and graphic images. The gore in this film appears so genuine, rumors sparked that real cadavers were utilized in this film.



Even if director Joe D'Amato denies the use of real corpses, I want to know how they made the gorrific effects appear so authentic. I couldn't help but be fascinated the cheesy, over the top acting from the cast. I was also captivated by Kieran Canter, the actor that portrayed Frank. He truly came off as a sexy yet sadistic bastard. It's a shame that his career didn't take off. With his sex appeal, he could have easily lived the life of a successful leading man.

Many of you may recognize the actress that played Anna and her sister Tiadore. Cinzia Monreale would later go on to star as Emily the blind girl in Lucio Fulci's gory masterpiece The Beyond.
Buio Omega had a great soundtrack performed by the incredible Italian rock band Goblin.

7/10

Deep Red (Profondo Rosso)

Three words come to mind when I think of Deep Red, bloody fucking brilliant! I understand the admiration for this gleaming jewel in the giallo treasure box. Deep Red (Profondo Rosso in Italian) is an incredible work of art filled with dark surrealism, driving characters and an unsettling atmosphere. The film starts of with an audience participated discussion with a German psychic named Helga. While in the middle of the lecture, Helga envisions a virulent presence in the auditorium. "You," she cries in distress, "Have killed... and you will kill again!" A few hours later, Helga is viciously attacked in her apartment by an unknown entity.



Marc, an English jazz musician and the protagonist of the film (played by David Hemmings), is walking home from a session when he notices Helga's attack. He immediately rushes up to her apartment and lifts her off of a broken fragment in the window. Unfortunately it was too late to save poor Helga's life. Hours later, Marc is interviewed by the police about the murder. Accompanied by a tenacious and perky reporter named Gianna (an unforgettable role from the beautiful and captivating Daria Nicolodi), Marc investigates a string of grisly homicides and gets tangled up in the killer's twisted mind.

Deep Red will leave you breathless, especially the ending. Besides the gruesome murders, this is the first Argento film I have seen in which it isn't serious all the time. There are scenes of great comic relief between Marc and Gianna. Plus these two characters have incredible chemistry. I would call David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi the Bogey/Bacall of Italian cinema.

Of course Argento is the mastermind of surreal and incredibly disturbing yet stunning imagery and Deep Red is certainly no exception. You get a sense that every shot, every scene is tied together in the film... and there are a lot of creepy images in this film. I normally don't scare that easily but Deep Red had me on edge and Jake can tell you that. So I will conclude this note by saying to check out Deep Red, you will not be disappointed. Oh and...





Thank you Mr. Argento for filling my head with nightmarish images of this ghastly looking doll.

Phenomena

I will start this off by expressing how much of an avid fan I am of Dario Argento. My first Argento experience was watching Suspiria at the age of 13 on the Sci-Fi channel back in 1995. Just last year I had the pleasure of viewing another stunning piece of work from one of Italy's greatest exports since Chianti, Argento's dark modern fairy tale Phenomena.




What a brilliant masterpiece this film is. As much as I love Dario Argento, his films tend to be on the incoherent side. Phenomena is one of the few films Argento has done that actually has an understandable plot.

Jennifer Corvino (played by the great Jennifer Connelly) is a teenage daughter of a famous movie star, who is transferred to a boarding school for girls in Switzerland. Jennifer is a shy, timid girl who possesses an extraordinary gift; the ability to telepathically communicate with insects. While residing at the school, Jennifer has to endure cruel ridicule from her peers and the headmistress particularly treats her with contempt and despise. Of course, teenage growing pains is the least of Jennifer's worries. There is a madman loose in the countryside who is murdering innocent young girls her age. Jennifer, with the help of Professor John McGregor (played by the late Donald Pleasance,) must use her power to stop the killer from striking again or she could be the next victim.

If you love horror/mystery movies, I would highly recommend viewing this gem. Phenomena truly is a remarkable dark fairy tale with a courageous heroine. Jennifer Connelly was only thirteen years old when starred in this film and I must say, she gave a spectacular performance for a girl her age. I'm not a pervert and I'm not a lesbian but Jennifer Connelly was absolutely stunning to look at in this film. She truly is the definition of a beautiful starlet. Of course Connelly wasn't the only great star power, strong performances were given by Donald Pleasance and Daria Nicolodi as well. Besides the visuals and storyline, Phenomena is incorporated with an incredible soundtrack by Goblin member Claudio Simonetti (along with tracks from Iron Maiden, Motorhead and Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones.)

4 out of 5.