Beyond the Black Rainbow
A captive psychic becomes the focus of a drug-dependent psychiatrist's sinister experiments inside a sterile New Age research commune.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Brutal
- surreal
- oppressive
- hypnotic
- late night viewing
- cult cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized the film's hypnotic retro-futurist visuals, synth-driven atmosphere, and ambitious surrealism while finding its sparse exposition and imitation of older cult science fiction frustrating.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Arboria Institute combines sterile laboratories, CRT imagery, analog technology, and an icy early-1980s aesthetic.
Dr Barry Nyle keeps Elena sedated and catatonic while investigating her telekinetic and telepathic powers.
The institute's history, doctrine, and Nyle's intentions are revealed obliquely through sparse dialogue, imagery, and fragmented chronology.
The New Age commune and research facility promote Arboria's doctrine while subjecting Elena to sedation, isolation, and experimentation.
Films like Beyond the Black Rainbow, and why
THX 1138
shared retro-futurist science fiction, sterile institutional spaces, and oppressive psychological atmosphere
Solaris
shared surreal science fiction, abstract storytelling, and hypnotic visual design
Altered States
shared cult science fiction sensibility, psychedelic imagery, and institutional alienation
The Quiet Earth
shared minimalist dystopian production design, enigmatic technology, and experimental pacing
Movie Details
- Director
- Panos Cosmatos
- Release Date
- 2010-12-03
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (425)
Cast
- Michael J. Rogers
- Eva Bourne
- Scott Hylands
- Marilyn Norry
- Rondel Reynoldson
- Ryley Zinger
- Gerry South
- Chris Gauthier
- Geoffrey Conder
- Ronald Reagan
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Beyond the Black Rainbow about?
- A captive psychic becomes the focus of a drug-dependent psychiatrist's sinister experiments inside a sterile New Age research commune.
- What is Beyond the Black Rainbow like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Beyond the Black Rainbow as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Beyond the Black Rainbow violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Beyond the Black Rainbow as brutal.
- What did critics think of Beyond the Black Rainbow?
- Critics broadly recognized the film's hypnotic retro-futurist visuals, synth-driven atmosphere, and ambitious surrealism while finding its sparse exposition and imitation of older cult science fiction frustrating.
- Which films are like Beyond the Black Rainbow?
- Films with a similar feel include THX 1138, Solaris, Altered States, and The Quiet Earth.
- How long is Beyond the Black Rainbow?
- Beyond the Black Rainbow runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Beyond the Black Rainbow?
- In United States, Beyond the Black Rainbow streams on fuboTV, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel.
