Synopsis: The girlfriend of a young taxidermist unexpectedly dies. In a fit of grief he exhumes her body to take back to his villa so he can preserve her. As he slowly goes mad, the bodies start to pile up. With the help of his housekeeper he’s able to cover up his crimes before people become suspicious.
For day 3 I decided to keep it in the 70’s with this Joe D’Amato classic Beyond the Darkness. For those unfamiliar, D’Amato was known for dabbling in pretty much every genre from westerns to erotic thrillers. What he’s really remembered for though is his stretch of horror and straight up hardcore pornography during the 70’s and early 80’s. Beyond the Darkness preceded his other noted work Antropophagus and is arguably the best he’s done in the horror/gore genre.
Where do I begin with this piece of film? When I say it’s the best of HIS work, I mean that. I mean that in the sense that it is a masterpiece of intense shock and some gruesomely realistic gore. There are honestly a few scenes in which if it wasn’t for the bright red blood (an Italian staple) you would be almost convinced you’re watching some kind of snuff tape you found in the back of a shady secondhand shop. The autopsy/prep scene gave me pause but the scene featuring the dismemberment and subsequent acid bath for the deceased hitchhiker…chef’s kiss. This one stands out in an era of extreme exploitation and visceral gore. For those familiar with Italian horror, you know what I’m talking about.
You have the creepy housekeeper Iris (Franca Stoppi) performing a voodoo ritual. Flash to the hospital where Elana (Cinzia Monreale) is hooked up to a hospital bed on the verge of death. In comes Frank (Kieran Canter) and Elana dies in his arms. Wracked with grief, he exhumes her body. Under the cover of night he takes her back to his spatial villa bequeathed to him by his deceased parents. On the way back he unwittingly picks up a hitchhiker who passes out in his van. She comes too in the garage where he is performing an embalming procedure on his dear Elana. From there things get progressively crazier. Oh and did I mention Elana’s parents paid a priest to watch her body because they feared Frank would do exactly what he did?
Leave it to D’Amato to throw a little mystery side story amongst some of the most horrific, gore filled vignettes. The effects are very well done and had me rewinding multiple times to watch. It’s a D’Amato film so there are buckets of blood & viscera, there is nudity, there are badly dubbed Italian actors and one strange jarring accent (when you see it, you’ll know what I mean). This is what I’ve come to expect from this director and expect nothing less.
Let’s just say, Beyond the Darkness isn’t for the faint of heart and definitely not for the kiddos. This film will leave most scratching their heads and fighting to keep their stomach contents in check. For the grizzled exploitation/gore/splatter fans this will be just another entry in the vast pool of Italian film of the era. As for me, it was an above average film from an average director in an era when everyone was trying to outdo the other. There are some scenes of note that will have you wondering what it has to do with the rest of the film but that is part of the charm of 70’s horror. If you’re up for it, this is worth the watch but nothing to go out of your way for. I found this one streaming on the horror goldmine that is Tubi.
3 out of 5
Grab your popcorn, kill the lights and join me again tomorrow as we continue our journey on this strange little trip down the 31 Days of Horror rabbit hole. See you soon…
