"Beyond the Black Rainbow" wasn't made for me, and it wasn't made for you, either, unless you attend movies under the influence.
Writer/director Panos Cosmatos is making his feature film debut with "Rainbow." His lack of experience shows.
Cosmatos relies on such cheesy visual effects as red screens to indicate what he thinks are emotional high points, and his soundtrack screams of "important" moments.
If that weren't enough, we get extra sound effects, with frequent synthesized bwaaahhh, bwaaahhhs. It's almost like watching a bad sci-fi B movie from the 1950s or 60s.
And then there's the set design, which consists of stark rooms and an odd pyramid that seems to ooze telekinetic energy. Bwaaahhh, bwaaahhh, again.
The plot is almost nonexistent. But it consists of a young, silent woman (Eva Allan, as Elana) who apparently is being observed, for psychiatric reasons, by a sinister doctor (Michael Rogers, as Barry). He talks. She listens.
Sometimes she vibrates. And it looks like she might be able to make things explode.
Naturally, she wants to get out of the sterile environment. And that's about it, except for a few silly scenes involving a smoking nurse and an old man who wants a shot between his toes.
Some critics have tried to aestheticize such silliness and make "Beyond the Black Rainbow" more than it really is. It has played at several festivals, including Austin's Fantastic Fest, Tribeca in New York and Fantasia in Montreal. So it's clear that the movie will draw a wide variety of responses.
For me, it's just boring and banal.