Beyond the Grave

Occasionally I get the privilege of coming across a film and director the revitalizes my love of Indie cinema. "Beyond The Grave" is such a film and Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro is that director. The film is a beautiful fusion art-house action thrill ride with just the right mix of character exaggeration, melodrama, effects and story that totally flips a subgenre's often redundant script. "Beyond The Grave" follows a vengeful police officer, "Officer", who searches for a possessed serial killer in a battle of the not-so-good versus absolute evil, in a devastated post-apocalyptic world where the rules of reality are transformed by magic and madness. The film stars Rafael Tombini, Álvaro Rosa Costa, Ricardo Seffner, Amanda Lerias, Luciana Verch and Leandro Lefa.

The story takes an almost graphic novel's approach to creativity with the characters almost over-the-top, stoic personalities, a back drop of earthly chaotic badlands and plenty of adventurous bravado. Normally the subject matter explored in "Beyond The Grave" would come across as "been there-done that" however the visional brilliance of de Oliveira Pinheiro's way of telling the story makes everything seem fun and fresh. There are elements of Sergio Leone, Tarantino and Hong Kong influences within "Beyond The Grave", that are more atmospheric nods to other's in this subgenre of action/horror, but de Oliveira Pinheiro brings so much originality to this film that his unique talent cannot be denied. "Beyond The Grave" is just one of those films I feel in love with the minute I hit play! I am calling it neo-western/barrio.

The effects, style and soundtrack utilized in "Beyond The Grave" bring some lighter, black comedy and humor to the story that allows de Oliveira Pinheiro to tell such a strong, brutal tale of unforgiving life/death/hell in "Beyond The Grave" that otherwise would have been too intense for the average viewer. It all just comes together as some live action, thrill kill wasteland, graphic novel piece of awesome. The film is subtitled for English viewers so be warned if you go to watch the film (I personally love subtitles over voiceovers). "Beyond The Grave" really is a fun, off-beat, art-house film that showcases a true talent with Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro. This is cult cinema at it's future best and will go on to become a classic cult film-I just feel it with this film. Can't wait to see what else de Oliveira Pinheiro has in store.

I read that this was a "perfect late night crowd pleaser" when it was shown as part of a local film festival. So off I trotted to my local emporium, expecting something interesting, quirky, weird, that kind of thing. I wish I hadn't have bothered. This was properly dreadful.

I really can't even begin to deconstruct how bad this was - the person who introduced the movie said it was a "Brazilian Grindhouse" - well, the only exploitation going on here was in the £8.50 they took off the audience, all 10 or so of us. Nothing really happens, there are a couple of laughable zombies, there's some half-arsed story-line that plods along disjointedly, it was dull dull dull.

This should be put IN a grave, let alone beyond one. Avoid at all costs, useless tedious tosh essentially.

I've been waiting a long time to see this film. It was announced A LONG time ago as the first Brazilian zombie movie ever made (which was a flat out lie, since there were three zombie flicks from Brazil out already), and it's release was first announced in 2008! Anyway, I finally got to watch the premiere last September 9th on the festival "Cinefantasy". There was a big deal about it, the director was there, it was supposed to be a very exciting event, at least I thought so.

Talk about disappointment! The movie is sooooooo boring, the pacing is just beyond awful. No movie that involves zombies, satanism and a serial killer should make you yawn every 5 minutes. I saw many people taking a nap, others were texting, others simply left the room.

Let's get to the specifics (without spoilers):

THE GOOD:

• The Photography isn't bad. You can tell that some work was put into making this film look as less amateurish as possible.

• The audio is OK, although I'm completely against dubbing. Makes the movie sound very 60s. I much prefer direct sound.

• The main character is not a bad actor, he delivers his lines quite well, but whoever decided on his wardrobe should never work as a costume designer again. He needs to lose those glasses, cut that mullet, lose the lame suit, and also a few pounds.

THE BAD:

• Script: I don't know the exact budget for the movie, but I know it wasn't low enough to justify not hiring a professional to supervise the script. The dialogue is boring, arrogant, unjustified and simply very very very badly written. Honestly, it's really bad!

• Lockheart?? Is that really the best name for the lead character of a Brazilian movie?

• Focus: there is none here. As a zombie fan, I would have loved this to be another zombie flick for my collection, but it isn't. The movie tries to mash a bunch of different styles, sometimes it wants to be a satanic themed movie, sometimes it wants to be a western, a cop movie, a serial killer movie, and a zombie movie. It ends up being none of the above. It's just a messy, confusing, and most of all boring movie.The problem is actually pretty simple: bad directing.

• The movie has no sense of humor whatsoever. And it needed some. It's not even close to being good enough of a movie NOT to use some slapstick humor. Did the director or any of the producers ever seen the horror flicks Sam Raimi makes? They could have learned from them. The lack of humor in "Beyond the Grave" just makes the movie all the more tedious and arrogant.

• Makeup: OK at some points... atrocious in others (specially the zombies). come on people! If you're going to make a movie with zombies, at least do a respectable job with their make up! I won't get into the plot holes because I don't want to risk spoilers, I'll just say that there are many of them (plot holes that is).

Concluding, Brazil is not known for Its zombie movies. Filmmakers from around here are just starting to make those kinds of movies, and "Beyond the Grave" (although a good effort), is without a doubt the weakest one yet. I wouldn't even categorize it as a zombie movie, it's more like a boring and confusing movie that happens to contain a few zombies here and there.

The biggest flaw here is that the makers of the movie think that it's a work of art. The directors statements are very clear that he thinks his team has produced a revolutionary movie, when in fact, it's the most boring, and arrogant zombie related film ever to come out of Brazilian cinema.

I have all the sympathy in the world for independent films, but It's very difficult to recommend this one. If you are a true die-hard fan who thinks "The Stiknk of Flesh" (2005) is a masterpiece, than you might enjoy "Beyond the Grave".

2.5 out of 10 (at best!)

It's always a pleasure to review a film that delivers a genuinely fresh experience. It's an old cliché to say that a movie stays with you after the final credits have rolled but Beyond The Grave is a haunting tale of the occult.

I entered cold, not knowing what direction this Brazilian genre movie would take. Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro's tale starts like a homage to Italian crime thrillers, every frame oozing in style. There are angles and edits in the first few minutes that made me think I was watching an old giallo film, a high compliment to pay any modern offering. Dark humour precedes the beautiful opening credits, Davi De Oliveira Pinheiro giving Tarantino a run for his money.

It's clear, after a short while, that the viewer is in safe hands. This is going to be one hell of a dangerous and unpredictable road movie but you can tell that it's destined to be a memorable one. The coolest editing and stunning cinematography, combined with close-ups that rival Sergio Leone's, help deliver a sucker-punch to the audience.

I like to think of myself as an "old hand". It takes a lot to surprise me. However, this film sideswiped me a number of times, moving from thriller to zombie movie, to occult horror, seamlessly. Yet all the time, Beyond the Grave exudes a genuine '70s / early '80s vibe. The Dark Rider is a fantastic creation and its entrance had the hairs on the back of my neck standing erect (the last time this happened, I was enjoying A Field In England).

What I love (well, one of the many things in this tremendous indie offering) is how the movie treats the undead. These are zombies with a sprinkle of originality. We see, for example, zombies feeding each other and not always homing in for the kill. The child zombie, with its "knife face," is chilling and unique. Creepy stuff. Also worthy of a mention is Pinheiro's blind zombie. Yes, this is a film where you actually sympathise with one of the walkers!

Towards the end, I felt the imagery was reminiscent of a spaghetti western. The bars on the old school reminded me of a cell from the age of the cowboy. In a way, this is part western but I don't want to reveal too much.

I'm in severe danger of running out of superlatives but I love this film. The characters are solid, especially the cool centre of the movie, the umbrella-toting Franco (played by Alvaro Rosacosta) and the bespectacled but Mad Max-like hero (Rafael Tombini).

This is an unmissable film and an instant cult classic.

It's a strong and surprising little gem from Brazil, directed by Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro. In a unnamed land, unnamed characters struggle for their lives. Great locations, nice acting, wonderful sound and special effects made an oppressive and dreamy atmosphere for the officer's hunt for the magical serial killer. It's amazing how all the genres could be mixed so nicely and in so many reflexive, almost lyrical ways: drama, black magic, zombies, adventure, crime, western... It's all there! I'll not spoil anything. You have to see it. It's an poetical essay of death. Death and sadness. All that you can't expect from the genre cinema these days. Looking forward to new films from the creators of this one.