BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW

A strangely warped sci-fi fantasy seemingly unearthed from decades ago, Beyond the Black Rainbow is a singular, vividly imaginative debut feature from Canadian writer-director Panos Cosmatos. With a likely 2012 theatrical date from Magnet Releasing, the film is surely destined for further late-night festival screenings and substance-enhanced home viewing in ancillary, but box office potential is as uncertain as the film’s obscure plot.Initially set in 1983, a clever, retro-styled TV ad introduces Dr. Mercurio Arboria (Scott Hylands), the vaguely creepy research director of the Arboria Institute, which supposedly focuses on helping people achieve “serenity through technology” via naturopathic pharmaceuticals and emotional therapy. Shifting to 1989, the narrative catches up with Dr. Barry Nyle (Barry Nyle), a sinister-looking clinician at the isolated, mostly deserted institute who is treating Elena (Eva Allan), a near-catatonic young woman who appears to be under the influence of some serious medication. His one-sided interviews elicit little more than eye blinks from Elena, who moves like a somnambulist around her cell-like room. When Nyle returns to his darkened, claustrophobic home, he clashes with his wife Rosemary (Marilyn Norry), another apparently substance-reliant resident of the institute.