The R-Rated Sci-Fi That Stranger Things Claims It Did Not Rip Off

Some of my favorite movies lean heavily on vibe, color, and a musical score that evokes a pure sense of dread. Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy (2018) rips through your consciousness like shattered glass through wet tissue paper with its hallucinogenic, magenta-tinted Nicolas Cage rampage, and it’s such a cathartic film because the visuals and sound design come together in such an enthralling way. Cosmatos’ first film, 2010’s Beyond the Black Rainbow, has all the elements I love about Mandy, but its journey is an inward one that sinks deep into the subconscious.

If I had to compare the film’s aesthetic and setting to other well-known properties for context, it would be the first season of Stranger Things crossed with 1980’s Altered States. Ironically, the Duffer Brothers, who through interviews have made it increasingly apparent that they somehow became wildly successful in spite of their own creative instincts, deny any connection between their hit Netflix series and Beyond the Black Rainbow. For what it’s worth, I made this connection going in blind, before even checking the Wikipedia page.

That same Wikipedia page cites an article from The Hollywood Reporter in which Matt Duffer was outraged over allegations of taking inspiration from Beyond the Black Rainbow, while Ross admitted to seeing “a little bit” of it. So maybe it’s just a coincidence that half of the duo behind Hawkins Lab is at least aware of the film’s aesthetic. If only Lucas Sinclair didn’t believe in coincidences anymore, but I digress.

Let’s Not Get Into The Nitty Gritty Details Here

I love a good plot rundown. I don’t care about spoilers. You could tell me every twist ending ahead of time and it wouldn’t bother me. That just means I can look for clues on my first viewing and try connecting the dots. For some reason, and I know I’m in the minority here, spoilers can make movies better because you’re free to just watch and appreciate what’s happening.

That said, you really don’t have to know much about Beyond the Black Rainbow to enjoy it. There’s a definitive plot, protagonist, antagonist, and existential dilemma, but watching this movie is more of a cathartic, audiovisual experience than a narrative one.

We’re introduced to the head of research at the Arboria Institute, Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers). The institute, like I said, bears a striking resemblance to the Hawkins National Laboratory depicted in Stranger Things, where mind-control experiments are conducted on children. That could be coincidence, as both seem heavily influenced by the Montauk Project conspiracy theory. Living in captivity at the institute is Eleven… er, sorry, Elena (Eva Bourne), who has psychic powers kept in check by a powerful glowing prism.

The facility itself was founded by Mercurio Arboria (Scott Hylands), a drug-addicted recluse who Barry occasionally reports to, despite their strained relationship. Through hypnotic, drug-addled sequences, we learn that Barry is sexually obsessed with Elena and is also connected to her mother through his work, though he never fully discloses how right off the rip. Elena, when she’s not subdued by a cocktail of drugs or the prism dulling her powers, has a lethal mind that requires constant monitoring from staff like Nurse Margo (Rondel Reynoldson), along with guards known as Sentionauts, who can subdue her with injections if she gets too feisty after being mentally tortured all day.

Watch It With Headphones

Beyond the Black Rainbow is all about mind control, hallucinations, and sinking deep into your subconscious while experiencing a spiritual awakening under hostile, controlled conditions. The best way to watch this film is with your full attention. Not to catch Easter eggs or subtle clues, though there are plenty, but because of how immersive it is. If there’s a single movie you could describe as a fever dream, it’s this one. Lights and sounds throb in lockstep as your entire being gets assaulted by neon flickers that make you feel like you’re being pulled into a trance against your will.

If you lock into Beyond the Black Rainbow just right, it barely feels like a movie. It establishes a vibe that pulls you in, and you just exist with these characters for 109 minutes straight. Voices distort, scenes and faces melt from one frame to the next, and the whole experience is dizzying and disorienting from start to finish. If I had to sum it up in two words, they’d be “viscerally upsetting,” and I mean that as a compliment of the highest order.

Panos Cosmatos set out to make viewers uncomfortable with his debut, and he succeeds in every conceivable way. There are layers of meaning and consciousness throughout, but it’s best to go in and let them reveal themselves. I can’t say I’ll be throwing this into regular rotation, but once every couple of years, when I’m feeling a disproportionate amount of existential dread and want to sink into an audiovisual representation of that feeling, Beyond the Black Rainbow is the kind of soul ripper that pushes you straight through your own ego death as the inhabitants of the Arboria Institute pry open their third eyes and bleed into the ether.

As of this writing, Beyond the Black Rainbow is streaming for free on Tubi.