Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)

Flat, Meaningless, Pretentious. - Beyond the Black Rainbow review by griggs

Beyond the Black Rainbow postures as a reverent tribute to 1970s cult sci-fi, but quickly reveals itself as an exercise in imitation rather than inspiration. Instead of channelling the essence of THX 1138, Dark Star, Silent Running, or Solaris, it appears to lift entire stylistic elements wholesale, without understanding what made those films resonate. Though drenched in an icy 1980s aesthetic—with CRT fuzz, sterile corridors, and a heavy synth score—the film offers little more than visual mimicry. An early sequence cuts from Ronald Reagan archival footage to a suit carrier marked “Noriega,” a clumsy nod to the CIA-backed Panamanian dictator famously driven out by the sonic assault of Van Halen. Had this film’s soundtrack been used instead, he’d have surrendered within a day—not out of defeat, but sheer boredom.

Every scene fades to black before the next begins, as if grasping for meaning that never materialises. Characters barely exist, speaking in cryptic, stilted lines that suggest depth but carry none. The dialogue is not just bad—it’s empty. There is no plot to follow, no emotional core, and no real point beyond the surface-level visuals. What’s left is an art installation masquerading as cinema: flat, meaningless, pretentious.