Beyond the Darkness Blu-Ray

The deranged folks at Severin are at it again.  This time we are talking about Joe D'Amato's morbid classic, Buio Omega, more commonly known in English as Beyond the Darkness or the name I first saw it under on VHS many, many years ago: Buried Alive.


 


If you have not seen this film, it is a nasty one.  I think at least part of the film's intent was to make its audience sick.  It is gruesome and rather unpleasant in many places, featuring fairly lengthy sequences involving the disposal of a body, the embalming and dressing of another body, plus some good old gory violence.  Add in a classic Goblin score and you have yet another reason that Italian cinema was so wonderful.

I got my copy directly from Severin in the Necro Bundle, which features the Blu-Ray with a CD of Goblin's score, along with a reproduction of the theatrical poster Aquarius Releasing made for its release as Buried Alive, a t-shirt, an air freshener, and a pin.  It is a rather nice package, which is worth picking up if this kind of movie is your thing.

Enamel pin (left) and air freshener- ah, the smell of acidbath (right)
                                              


T-shirt design
                                                                                   


Reproduction of the U.S theatrical poster




For the extras on the disc, Severin didn't go overboard, but did include some good stuff instead of just cramming the disc full of filler.  There are interviews with cast members, a trailer, plus a lengthy piece about D'Amato.  The extra bit I was happiest about was the inclusion of the Goblin score CD (although this is only for the first batch, about 2,500 I believe).  I always enjoy having the scores for these movies, as they are almost universally great. And why shouldn't they be?  Italy is home to some of the greatest film composers who have ever lived: Riz Ortolani, Fabio Frizzi, Goblin, Nico Fidenco, plus so many others, including the nigh-untouchable Ennio Morricone.

As for the movie itself, this one deals with a man whose wife has just died.  He is a wealthy man whose hobby is taxidermy.  Once his wife has died, he is not able to let her go, so he snatches her body and injects it with chemicals to preserve her as best as possible. By this point, he is rather disturbed and takes up a new hobby: murder, or omicidio, if you prefer your Italian horror in Italian.  He has a housekeeper that assists in his murderous activities.  Things naturally escalate to quite a finish.  Check it out for yourself to see how it all goes down in the end.

 This is certainly a worthy addition to any Italian horror fan's collection and is definitely recommended.

 

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