Beyond the Darkness aka Blue Holocaust

Buio Omega – aka Beyond the Darkness, Buried Alive and Blue Holocaust – is a 1979 Italian horror/exploitation film directed by Joe D’Amato [Aristide Massacessi] from a screenplay by Ottavio Fabbri based on a storyline by Giacomo Guerrini.

The film stars Kieran Canter, Cinzia Monreale (The Beyond; The Sweet House of Horrors; The Stendhal Syndrome), Franca Stoppi (The Other Hell), Sam Modesto, Anna Cardini and Lucia D’Elia. The score is by Goblin (credited as The Goblins).

The film remains controversial in many countries, even today, notably Australia, where it has been banned since 1992 due to very high impact violence throughout. Buio Omega remains banned in several other countries to this day although a quick internet search means you can watch it fully uncut online.

Plot teaser:

On a luxurious estate in the Italian countryside, Francesco mourns his deceased lover. Soon pain and loss turn to madness and violence, as this troubled young man decides he cannot part with his love just yet. Excavating her corpse, he preserves her body with excruciating attention to detail. That, however, is only the beginning. Soon he is overcome with rage, murdering innocent young women and anyone else who infringes on the privacy of his estate…

It has been rumoured that D’Amato used actual cadavers in some of the autopsy scenes and during the attack on the hitchhiker. The presence of pretty obvious prosthetics makes this highly unlikely. A goregrind metal band named themselves after the film.

Buy Beyond the Darkness on DVD from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Reviews:

‘Despite a couple of mis-steps here and there, D’Amato’s movie is capped off with a nifty little shock moment that is a fitting end to an already intriguing, lunch launching little movie. Beyond the Darkness is still a strong feature all these years later and a shining, if highly repugnant example of extreme Italian horror.’ Cool Ass Cinema

‘Despite its shortcomings, Beyond the Darkness has some truly classic scenes that could potentially stick in the viewer’s mind forever. A must for all fans of Italian horror cinema, Beyond the Darkness could well be D’Amato’s best movie.’ The Spinning Image

‘Unfortunately, Massacessi’s approach is cheaply realist, trying to shock by unimaginatively filming butchery and cruelty. The potential poetry of a mad, necrophiliac passion that animates, for instance, Bava’s Lisa e il Diavolo (1972) is kept at bay by the crudely exploitative approach…’ Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia

‘Beyond the Darkness is a great movie; gory, kinky and surreal in a way that only D’Amato could deliver it. His cinematography leaves nothing to complain about, he knows what he wants from his compositions and that’s what we get. Ornella Micheli’s editing is perfect once again, and then there’s that excellent soundtrack by Goblin, that constantly keeps the movie moving along with their progressive rhythms … although not as violent and aggressive as Anthropophagus: or Absurd is possibly Joe D’Amato’s finest hour as a horror director.’ CiNEZiLLA

Also Known As:

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image thanks: Wrong Side of the Art

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