Beyond

Haunted by a case from his past an Alaskan detective due for retirement must find a kidnapped girl and reluctantly enlists the help of a psychic who is also a prime-suspect.

It's nice to see John Voight in a lead role where he belongs instead of a supporting cast player. Voight effortlessly carries the film on has shoulders. Director Josef Rusnak's Beyond while not as atmospheric as Insomnia (2002) or as stylish as his own Thirteenth Floor (1999) presents an entertaining mystery/thriller with a psychic element. The supporting cast are a mixed bag (some oddly misplaced and awful) but thankfully Jodie Foster-like Teri Polo and Dermot Mulroney as Jack Musker are reliable and solid.

It's well filmed, competently put together with writer Gregory Gierasa putting forward an interesting premise, even if it loses it gust slightly in the closing act especially in the reveal. Nevertheless, its satisfying enough thanks to Voight's principle role as Jon Koski.

In Alaska, the veteran police detective Jon Koski (Jon Voight) is near retirement and is a specialist in missing children. Koski is troubled by a failure in his past and is haunted by nightmares with a woman and the little girl Aurora. When the seven year-old girl Amy Noble (Chloe Lesslie) is abducted, Koski is assigned to the case by his chief Jack Musker (Dermot Mulroney), who is the uncle of the child. Amy lives with her parents, Musker's sister Sarah Noble (Teri Polo) and her estranged husband Jim Noble (Ben Crowley), who is an executive in oil business and former DA, and had an affair with his secretary seven years ago. Koski interrogates Amy's nanny Megan (Skyler Shaye) and she presents the psychic Farley Connors (Julian Morris) that is the host of the TV show Beyond to Sarah. Farley becomes Koski's prime suspect but soon they team up to resolve the case.

"Beyond" is an average supernatural movie with the usual clichés of the genre. Jon Voight has a good performance, Teri Polo is still a very beautiful woman and the landscapes in Alaska are wonderful. However the lame and unconvincing story associated to the wooden performances of Ben Crowley and Skyler Shaye ruin this forgettable movie. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Do Além" ("From Beyond")

If you enjoy interesting locations, want to feel like you've been to Alaska, and appreciate uncomplicated mysteries with good actors, give Beyond a peek.

The direction and script could have been better. Veteran John Voight carries the story. There's enough drama to keep you guessing, even if you think you know the end.

I loved seeing the chilliness of Alaska on a hot summer night. Many of the scenes were too dark to see well. I expected more emotion from the parents and thought the babysitter character could have either been left out or developed more.

It's better than reality TV, but not a film you will remember.

BEYOND is a supernatural thriller / police procedural film set in Alaska. When a little girl goes missing, the police bring in an expert in such cases (Jon Voight). Things get interesting when a radio / TV psychic gets involved.

Unexplainable events occur indicating possible paranormal activity.

While the story is decent, what makes this movie watchable is Voight. He soars above the material. Otherwise, it would be just another run-of-the-mill, PG-13 spooker...

*** EDIT (2016-11-10) I happened to be re-reading about this film and I saw my review here and that it had a rather poor 6/12 rating with readers. Heh... they were bloody right! Gawd-awful review, sorry about that... So, I amended it and tried to improve it so that HOPEFULLY it might actually be of some help to those who want to know more about the movie.

***

I REALLY like the director's film 'THE 13TH FLOOR'; I thought it was beautifully done, the story was very engaging, and it was extremely entertaining, especially if you like Science Fiction. However, I get the feeling that his heart just was not completely in this one.

The scenery and photography are breathtaking; Alaska is truly a beautiful place! I do fully agree with the other reviewer here who stated that the principle actors did a decent job while the supporting ones were pretty cringe-worthy. I DID think that the psychic guy was okay; maybe I just liked his accent... BUT... the 'baby-sitter' and the husband were clearly blowing SOMEBODY because I cannot for the life of me imagine why they would ever, EVER be considered as serious actors in any film...

Probably, due to the established talent of the director, the movie technically was done in a fairly competent way. If you are not terribly demanding, and I mean really NOT demanding at all, then it is possible that you might actually find something to enjoy in this movie....

It is quite sad I think to see a great actor like Jon Voight looking so rough in his older years, especially when he was so good looking when he was younger; and he's not even really that old. But, that is the way it is with some people, I guess. Just kind of sad, that's all...

Anyway, sorry to digress... But, there's nothing really to get very excited about here. Unless of course the 'babysitter' goes back to doing porn like she was clearly born and bred for... : )

Seriously though, the film makes a moderately decent effort, but sadly it just doesn't seem to have the substance or quality that that the director has clearly demonstrated in the past...