Customer Reviews

Beyond the Darkness - Buio Omega [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Joe D'Amato has directed like over 100 films, everything from hard core porn to hard core gore and sometimes even both in the same movie. In numerous interviews he has stated that this film is one of his very favourites and it is easily a classic of European horror.

The story isn't very complicated, the main character has a beautiful fiancee who dies tragicly and he also practices taxidermy as a hobby, need I say more. Everything one could possibly want from a film of this genre is here, it's heavy on style , there are some great gore scenes and of course nudity. What sets this film apart though is the scene in which the girls body is being enbalmed. This is filmed with some genuinely great effects and a good eye for realism leading many to wrongfully beleive that real cadavers were used during filming.

The DVD is outstanding, the picture and sound quality are great. I especially liked an interview which comes as a special feature on the disc with actress Cinzia Monreale who also played Emily in 'the Beyond' and spends most of her time on screen in this film playing a corpse, including a long scene of being naked and disected on a table. It's cool cos she is still amazingly beautiful and energecticly funny during the interview (despite some very unimaginative questions from the interviewer) as she reveals that she actually dislikes horror films and also says that she has no problem with being naked on camera :)

Overall this is a solid DVD presentation of a film any true Euro-horror fan will love.

Roughly twelve years ago I found myself morosely ambling through the aisles of a local video store, grumbling about the generally poor selection of the types of films I love to watch. Which films are those, you ask? Just your average, everyday gory unrated and uncut pukers. Well, you won't find many of these, films like "Cannibal Holocaust," the unrated version of "Dead Alive," or a number of other highly memorable gore movies at any mainstream video outlet. And finding them a decade ago? Forget about it. Before DVD you considered yourself lucky to find anything more than the standard "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween" style slasher films on the shelf. Sometimes the good old days weren't that great. Anyway, my eyes fell on a cheesy looking VHS box for a film called "Buried Alive." I had walked by this movie a dozen times before without giving it much thought; the lackluster cover art wasn't exactly a big selling point. This time, however, I decided to give it a shot. I was glad I did! It turned out that "Buried Alive" was none other than an uncut and unedited version of goremeister Joe D'Amato's epic "Beyond the Darkness" aka "Buio Omega."

Frank (Kieran Canter) is a taxidermist living off the wealth of his deceased parents whose world falls to pieces when his beautiful young girlfriend Anna (Cinzia Monreale) expires in the hospital after an extended illness. Frank falls to pieces soon after as well, evidenced by his return to the graveyard after the burial services in order to exhume the body of his beloved. Our hero returns home with Anna and immediately sets to work in a scene that has since gained well-deserved notoriety with gorehounds the world over. Frank carefully removes the pertinent pieces of the late Anna, revealed to us in grisly close up, and successfully turns her into his latest objet d'art. Instead of sitting his gal on a shelf alongside the various animals he works on, however, Frank installs her in a bed on the upper level of his spacious home. Throughout the film our taxidermist will occasionally pay her a visit in order to profess his undying love. Charming. In the meantime, he must deal with his evil housekeeper Iris (Franca Stoppi), a woman suffering under the burden of her own various depravities. As Frank's mental condition continues to deteriorate, Iris will help her employer clean up various gory messes as well as provide him much needed alibis. She also makes a mean porridge/stew dish that would turn even the most cast iron of stomachs.

Frank's problems emerge soon after he absconds with Anna's cadaver. But don't they always? One big difficulty arises in the form of an addled female hitchhiker who insists on forcing the deranged taxidermist to give her a ride. Much to her everlasting regret she falls asleep, and discovers what Frank is up to upon waking. Big mistake. Our man savagely attacks her, and in the process gives the term "manicure" a whole new meaning. Iris and Frank dispose of the hitchhiker with the help of some sharp tools and a bathtub full of acid. You would think at this point that these two might begin to question their motivations. Instead, Frank continues to strike up relations with lovely ladies and Iris helps clean up the aftermath. The disappearance of a female jogger soon brings the local constabulary to the doorstep, a close call indeed considering one of the gal's shoes sits within view of the officers, but a deft move by Iris saves the day for the moment. But others have taken notice of the odd goings on at this charnel house, and it won't be too long before a surprising visitor turns up at the front door, a visitor that finally sends Frank over the precipice. The movie concludes, literally, with a scream.

D'Amato's magnum opus isn't about great acting or expensive production values, neither of which this film possesses in any measurable way. What is important is that "Beyond the Darkness" ranks as one of the sickest films ever put to celluloid, a movie so reprehensible in its myriad depictions of taboo behaviors that I still can't believe I found an uncut copy at the video store. D'Amato and company present us with scene after scene of stomach churning gore, everything from throat tearing to fingernail ripping to other gooey stuff I won't mention here. A fan of horror films, upon hearing me make a reference to what Frank does to the hitchhiker, dryly remarked, "Yes, you can hear the Velcro tearing." Maybe so, but the heartless way in which the scene unfolds, along with its length (it goes on for what feels like forever), goes for the throat in terms of the cringe factor. So does the operation on Anna, a grueling sequence that fueled speculation concerning whether the filmmakers used a real body or not. If you haven't caught on by now, let me say it again: "Beyond the Darkness" is one of the sickest films ever put to film. D'Amato's film goes so far over the top that it's easy to forget that none other than Goblin--of Dario Argento fame--composed the musical score.

Joe D'Amato films usually merit a plethora of extras on their DVD version, and the disc for "Buio Omega" is no exception. A short commentary with crew member Donatella Donati, slides, an easter egg featuring many posters for D'Amato's adult films, trailers for "Whatever Happened to Solange," "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids," "Buio Omega," "House on the Edge of the Park", and a fun interview with a still gorgeous Cinzia Monreale provide plenty of extra punch for the buck. "Beyond the Darkness" is a must see for fans of extreme cinema, and it's great to see it finally out on DVD.

I have been looking forever for a copy of this film , and especially on Amazon and had not been able to find it...the reason is because for some strange reason this film is being released under it's original Italian title Buio Omega ( Blue Holocaust) . This is actually nonother than most true horror fans and fans of Joe D'Amato (Aristide Massaccesi) know this film as Buried Alive. The re-titling had caused quite a bit of confusion because the movie itself was available but those checking this review out thinking it's one you've never seen it's BURIED ALIVE (1979)

The story is this and it's quite sick as this being next to Cannibal Ferox (Make Them Die Slowly) the most revolting disgusting piece of filmmaking ever captured on screen , and I have a strong stomache too but was unable to stomache the atrocities in this film ...so thats why it has a special place in my heart.

It involves a taxidermist with a messed up childhood who enjoys the pleasures of a cold blue dead body...enough said

If you want to go on a diet ..I guarantee 1 viewing of this film will make it so you never eat anything again

Highly recommended

Have you ever fallen hopelessly in love and found that fate wasn't with you? Well, Francesco, the focal point of this movie, finds himself in that boat. Instead of the atypical relationship woes, however, his beloved dies, leaving him alone to try and quench love's eternal flames. He finds this hard to do, though, and decides that he needs his wife with his forever. So, after exhuming her body, Francesco decides to use some well-placed taxidermy skills to keep love by his side (or in his bed, hidden in a closet, etc.). Unfortunately for him - or maybe for them, some people don't seem to take kindly to finding out his secret obsession and oftentimes panic at the sight of his paler-than-normal bride. This, of course, leads to wonderful fingernail-removing dilemmas, plus more "moving" scenes forged in the fires of love.
I would have to say that this movie is really good, but I also have to go on the record as saying that it wasn't really as "insane" as people had stated. In fact, after reading some of the reviews here, I was severely disappointed in what I found. Being a fan of "shock cinema," I was looking forward to insinuated necrophilia, oceans of gore, the horror aspects, plus all the other "holy grails" this movie seemingly offered. Instead, I should have listened to the disclaimer on the movie that stated a bit fewer depictions of graphic yumminess. In truth, I thought the movie was a little gory, a little violent, entertaining, but ultimately a bit tame. That said, the movie is worth watching and horror buffs will still enjoy themselves.

Joe D'Amato ventured into the realm of horror on several occasions, and it's too bad he didn't make more than he did in the genre. Anthropophagous (The Beast) may be his best known horror entry, but for 'over-the-top' gross-out effects and storyline, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, comes close to the sickness/depravity displayed in this movie. Don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of gross-out movies out there -- but this one is sooooo special! Joe makes maximum use of his actors, his sets, his effects, and the story to bring us a true classic in every sense of the word. It's reported that rumors abounded, after the making of this movie, that real dead bodies were used in several scenes. D'Amato denied it to his dying day, but watch the movie and YOU be the judge ;) ......
I can't rate this movie high enough because I really, really like it. If you want to have a blast, just invite some friends over for pizza and brew...pop in this movie...then stand back and pass out the paperbags...hehehe!

Beyond the Darkness is a pretty far-out gore movie, and it has attracted a hefty amount of criticism. My first viewing of it left me unimpressed (strangely), but on reflection, I realised...hey-this movie has EVERYTHING, so I sought out the DVD and re-appraised it. Now I think it's one of the quintessential Italian splatter movies of the 1980's, and even by today's standards, it still packs a punch. Be warned, there are scenes in this movie that will definitely make the squeamish want to leave the room. The plot opens with a young man called Frank, distraught over the death of his fiancee, Anna. His way of coping with it? To steal the dead body from the morgue and keep the corpse preserved in his house. Luckily, the young man practises taxidermy, so cue the first long gore scene as he strips, disembowels, drains and rebuilds the corpse of his beloved (played by a very patient and unselfconscious Cinzia Monreale). But things don't go smoothly for the lovelorn hero, most notably because of the constant meddling by his housekeeper/lover, Iris. This bizarre character seems to constantly switch between chiding and helping Frank, most notably doing so when they have to dispose of a hitch-hiker that has stumbled across the hideous secret of Frank's charnel house. Probably topping the embalming scene in terms of repulsive detail, this lengthy sequence lets us watch Frank and Iris as they chop up the body and drop it chunk by chuck into an acid bath, which eventually gets flung into the garden, which show nicely how the body had been reduced to lumps of gristle and the odd bone...mmm.
Those are just the highlights, there's a whole catalogue of smaller atrocities on display as the mis-matched pair attempt to live normal (!) lives with the corpse of Anna upstairs in the spare bed. If this kind of thing is what you want from a horror film, then be assured, you don't get short changed in Beyond The Darkness. Sadly the script, photography, direction and acting are pretty under-whelming, plus the dubbing is awful (you'll be reaching for earplugs each time the doomed hitch-hiker opens her mouth - she has a hideous "Dick Van Dyke" style cockney accent), but lets face it, this is splatter cinema, not Orson Welles. Its definitely one for the gore market, and it ambles along well enough with enough, even throwing in a surprise ending of sorts. This DVD presentation is the definitive way to see the movie, uncut and vividly coloured. It's most certainly for a niche market audience, but if you want to have something seriously notorious in your DVD collection to shock your friends with, you will be wanting this.

Beyond the Darkness (a.k.a. Buio Omega) has been renowned as being one of the most graphic films ever made and with very good reason - blending rank sadism, cannibalism and necrophilia among other things into a startlingly intelligent film.

I must confess after watching it on this DVD version, I felt compelled to write - not because of the film which more than speaks for its self, but the sheer quality of the disc. The picture is immaculate, colours vibrant and there's even a trailer, commentary and interview thrown in! Fantastic work for such a difficult and old film.

Trust me folks - if you do want to see this film and I strongly urge those interested in extreme cinema to take a look, then this is the only way to watch it outside of a cinema! Finally, a DVD worthy of the film!

Despite it's difficult themes, I must confess I really quite like this film. This is truly one of the most transgressive horror films ever made and, surprisingly, I found it to be a far more coherent and intelligent film than I had ever imagined. The DVD transfer is excellent, and I find myself constantly impressed by American DVD companies, who go out of their way to find relevant interviews and extras to go with the movie. My opinion of Joe D'Amato has increased immeasurably after watching this film. Italian cinema in the late seventies/early eighties left no taboo untouched and Buio Omega is a fine example of this creative freedom.

This has always been one of those few movies that always stayed with me. Saw as a kid and have been looking for it for yrs. It went by buried alive back then and I got it off of ebay under "beyond the darkness", I cant understand why they would change the name like that when most of us know it by "buried alive". the title itself has always perplexed me, it really has nothing to do with anyone being buried alive. This is an italian movie directed by joe d'mato who from what i have heard is more of a porn director. No big name actors or anything. the lead character 'frank" is a pretty boy type and is pretty convincing in this role. Im not big on giving a long drawn out plot detail but its basically about franks fiance who is dying. His love for her is so strong that when she does die he digs up her body and pretty much stuffs it!(by the way, he is a taxedermist) He keeps her around his mansion that he shares with some very creepy looking woman who i assume is the maid. He eventually, and not really on purpose ends up finding young female victims he kills in a pretty gruesome manner. His maid helps him in all of this. Some guy who we never really know who he is kind of suspects something is "up" with this guy and is snooping around his place. His love for his fiance is so strong that he brings some of his victims right on the bed where she is laying and looks at her while he is about to kill his victim. I'm not going to give anymore away but I'm tellin ya now that the ending is terrible. If the ending had been at least half way coherent it would be a 5 star film. the acting is pretty good but the dubbing is terrible! As bad as those old kung fu movies..lol. Very good gore but not as gory as others have bosted. The gore is very well done and really shocks for the most part. decent score and the location is beautiful! I would love to visit where this film was made. Lots of nudity and sexual situations. This movie has always stuck with me and is one of my top 5 of all time for sure. Love it or hate it...you wont forget this film thats for sure. One of the most shocking films ever made in my opinion. Up there with "I spit on your grave" but 2 different types of films. As i stated earlier, this film was once called buried alive but you will not be able to find it under that name anymore i dont believe. Look for "beyond the darkness" or the title listed here. You wont be disappointed thats for sure.

A film by Joe d'Amato, who mostly made horror and porn films, but who recklessly spoke the truth. One can either have nothing to do with the commercial world, and attack and reject it, or, like d'Amato, swim so low in the commercial sink, with so little to play for, that one gains a strange sort of freedom. A freedom, like a child, to see his dreams through to their logical conclusions, without diversions or dishonesty.

This film is about a man in love with his dead wife, who like a lot of men prefers her to be dead. The film is seen through the eyes of that woman, and asks what it means to be desired by a man. Buio Omega has been criticised for lacking poetry, for being cheaply shot, for smothering everything with vulgar blood and entrails, and it is a very vulgar film. But that is a function of its peasant honesty and its materialism - no gauze and dry ice in a d'Amato film to mask what lies underneath desires and dreams: we're made of flesh and bone, not poetry.

There is a lovely satirical scene at the engagement lunch - d'Amato is very fond of his grotesques. Is it well-acted or not? Is it well-paced and structured? It doesn't matter. Joe d'Amato is too honest to care much about such things, and besides he has a child-like love of the forbidden - like shooting a scene with the sun in front of the camera, he never tires of that. His films are not well-made or well-furnished; they are better than that. His Buio Omega and Emanuelle in America together say everything Eyes Wide Shut could not, for all Kubrick's formal ingenuity. The only subject that film has left is its own remoteness and the emptiness of its fantasies.

But as d'Amato knew, there are always suffering, material people beneath the surface sheen. But as a maker of Z-grade films, he speaks from a truly abject artistic position - even the horror fans are a cut above watching a d'Amato pic. His films should have died in the year they were made, but they still persist, and in spite of themselves people still find a reckless, humiliating truth in them which no other films quite provide.