Buio Omega

Out of the handful of horror pictures that the legendary exploitation director made, this has got to be the best in terms of general nastiness. In fact, it's more than nasty, it's downright disturbing at times. The performances are quite good, and D'Amato treats his subjects and his main character with some sensitivity. As mad as he is, one can't help but feel a degree of sympathy for our tormented lead. As a prominent theme here is that of being unable to let go and move on, we can understand how he feels. Yet, of course, we still gape at the deeds that are committed.

Handsome Kieran Canter stars as Frank Wyler, a young man who simply can't deal with the death of his beloved girlfriend Anna (Cinzia Monreale). It gets to the point where he steals her corpse and brings it back to his villa. He preserves her body to the best of his ability, while all this time his devilish housekeeper Iris (Franca Stoppi) helps him without batting an eye. She's *very* devoted to him, you see. Unfortunately, Franks' rage compels him to kill young women who are either in his vicinity or just get in his way.

Supplemented by a very catchy score by Goblin that has its beautiful moments as well, "Buio Omega" has some very good gore. The acid bath sequence is memorable, as is the moment where an unfortunate victims' fingernails are forcibly removed with pliers. Fans of trashy Italian cinema will also love seeing Frank actually suck from Iris's breasts. Canter does a fine job in the lead, and the lovely Monreale ends up getting to play a dual role (she went on to act in Lucio Fulcis' renowned "The Beyond"). The real scene stealer of this film is Stoppi, who's deliciously unhinged. D'Amato also shot the film himself, using his real name of Aristide Massaccesi.

Somber and depraved, Italian horror lovers generally consider this to be D'Amatos' best genre effort.

Seven out of 10.

Murder, mayhem and mutilation…shown in all its pride and glory! Buio Omega a.k.a Buried Alive a.k.a Beyond the Darkness is a finger-licking and ultra-gory sleazefest. D'Amato's film certainly is a landmark in the Italian shlock/sick cinema as it contains some of the grossest and explicit nauseating sequences ever shot on film. The young and introvert Frank cannot live without his recently deceased girlfriend Anna, so he digs up her corpse, embalms her and keeps her around his mansion. After this, he descents further into madness and starts to kill girls randomly and his freaky housekeeper Iris assists him. Now, Frank is pretty messed up in the head but Iris is just downright insane!! She makes a hobby out of dismembering dead bodies and she breastfeeds the 22-year-old Frank! The first half hour may seem a little lame and low on bloodshed but, as soon as the gore kicks in, it doesn't stop till the end credits role and it becomes more and more repulsive by the minute! D'Amato servers a disturbingly realistic embalming-process along with some detailed torturing scenes, dissections and gruesome butchering! Of course, like it should in Italian's nastiest, there are a lot of perversely orientated undertones present such as necrophilia, cannibalism and even a variant on the ‘Oedipus'-theme!

Joe d'Amato never was world's most brilliant director. That's okay, since he never claimed to be and he always clearly mentioned his influences. He's more like a businessman with more adult films on his repertoire…The horror films he made are vicious but technically weak, all together! Nonetheless, Buio Omega is an exception! Unlike his other horror films, Buried Alive has tension, a great soundtrack, a constant morbid atmosphere and even a bit of surprisingly good acting! Cinzia Monreale, who plays the dead love-interest Anna, became more famous after starring in Fulci's masterpiece the Beyond and the creepy aunt Iris also starred in a few delightful `babes behind bars' flicks. The circle of fans that likes this kind of films is rather small…but they're very devoted. For them, Buio Omega is a must see!

This has to be the best Joe d'amato film I've seen. The gore was extremely realistic and graphic which might turn some viewers off. In fact this has got to be one of the grisliest films I've seen. They are quite meticulous with the gore sequences here that even the most jaded viewers ( like myself )will cringe. At times during the movie I thought I was watching a Jeffrey Damner film. The sequence in which the hitchhiker becomes disemboweled and her body parts become the ingredients in an acid bath has got to be one of the most gruesome killings I've ever seen. It's too bad they don't make films like this anymore. Terrific.

Beyond the Darkness (or Buio Omega) might be low on plot and complex characters, but the gore quotient is off the charts and some of the effects will churn the stomachs of even the most hardcore horror fans. If they were passing out medals for that, it would win hands down. While the script isn't the best, there's an engrossing "car crash" quality to the film that keeps you invested.

When the wealthy orphan taxidermist Frank Wyler (Kieran Canter) loses his beloved fiancée Anna Völkl (Cinzia Monreale), victim of voodoo conducted by his jealous housemaid Iris (Franca Stoppi), he robs her corpse, embalms and brings to the bed in his room. He does not overcome his feelings for her, killing every woman he has some involvement. Meanwhile Iris wants to marry Frank and helps him to dispose the bodies.

The sick, twisted and kinky "Buio Omega" has all sort of perversions and disgusting scenes, with sequences of necrophilia, mutilation, torture and embalming. However, the characters are awfully developed, and the viewer never knows, for example, whether Frank changed his behavior after the death of Anna, or he was indeed a twisted character. The weird Iris is also badly developed. The graphic and gore scenes are among the nastiest I have ever seen in a film. My vote is six.

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