Watch This Trailer: "Beyond the Black Rainbow" Takes Us to a Psychedelic Retro Future That's Positively Horrifying
Posted by Chris_OCoin on Friday, Feb 17, 2012
I remember being scared shitless when I stumbled across shows like Twin Peaks and movies like Videodrome when I was a kid. Something about their quiet, composed weirdness along with their hyper-conscious, hazy, angular, grain-filled cinematography and haunting dark synth soundtracks always left me deeply unsettled in a wonderful way.
So when I stumbled across the trailer for “Beyond The Black Rainbow” I was sold almost immediately. Canadian director Panos Cosmatos’ vision of sci-fi horror looks like a cross between Cronenberg and Jadorowsky with a hint of Argento thrown in for good measure. Its VHS-meets-16mm aesthetic is one of the most immediately appealing visual styles I’ve seen in a while. From distributor Magnet Releasing:
Set in the strange and oppressive emotional landscape of the year 1983, Beyond The Black Rainbow is a Reagan-era fever dream inspired by hazy childhood memories of midnight movies and Saturday morning cartoons. From the producer of Machotaildrop, Rainbow is the outlandish feature film debut of writer and director Panos Cosmatos. Featuring a hypnotic analog synthesizer score by Jeremy Schmidt of Sinoia Caves and Black Mountain.
This trailer (more of a teaser really) is very different from the previous one, but equally as haunting. I suggest watching both. You may notice after watching this teaser that in the previously posted trailer they’ve gone to the trouble of recropping the opening images to make them appear more in tune with the standard 4:3 aspect ratio of VHS within the film’s 2:1 aspect ratio. Subtle. Classy. Bravo.
“Beyond the Black Rainbow” looks trippy as hell, and that’s why I want to see it, even if I’m not sure how I’ll come out on the other end. When you’re done with this experience, I’d recommend taking some B-12, drinking lots of water, finding a quiet place, and assuring yourself that it will all be over in a few hours.
Watch This Trailer is an ongoing series meant to draw Motherboard readers’ attention to the art of film advertising. For better or for worse. Previously on Watch This Trailer: ‘Iron Sky’ Brings Space Nazis Down to Earth.
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