MC
Marco Castellini
•Baghdad, late fifteenth century: the philosopher Al Caleb was commissioned by Dr. John Dee to translate from ancient Arabic some pages belonging to a sacrilegious text known as the Necronomicon. Five hundred years later, in Arkham, a copy of the Necronomicon, the terrible book written by Abdul Alhazred capable of opening the gates of the Beyond and releasing the creatures of darkness, is still in the hands of men. The survivors of the human race, on the verge of extinction, are waging a timeless war against these creatures, embodied in their own deceased companions. It must be premised that the film is the result of an independent production, with limited budget, and performed, for the most part, by semi-professional actors. That said, «The Beyond» has more than one reason to be appreciated: original story (freely based on the «Writings on the Necronomicon» by H.P. Lovecraft), excellent photography, and some sequences on the edge of splatter, all directed with rather steady hand by the debuting young director Ivan Zuccon. Against these positive elements, there are also some evident limits: starting from the precarious performances of part of the cast (even if this is more than forgivable being for the most part non-professional actors), or the dialogues too often «flat» and unrefined. Even the aspect that most affects the quality of the film is a confusing screenplay, which makes the development of the story unclear from the start, to the point that one risks reaching the end of the film without having fully understood the plot. «The Beyond» works rather well if taken scene by scene, but it lacks the overall vision, the narrative thread. However, it is worth appreciating, if nothing else, the attempt to create something new and to «wake up» from its slumber Italian horror.
