Beyond the Limits

"Beyond the Limits" was a big surprise for me since I am very disappointed in the latest movies concerning the special effects because I hate those cartoon-like computer effects. Olaf Ittenbach is absolutely fabulous as the gore master from Germany because he likes to do the FX the classic way without the help of computer animation.

The movie is composed of two "Tales from the Crypt"-like stories and the main subject is the trip of the "eternal heart" through time, from the alchemistic Middle Age to present days, causing a gore marathon on its way.

The main characters are sadistic psychos who really enjoy to torture and kill their victims in the most gory way someone could imagine. The acting is quite good and impressive for this kind of movie because it makes you really feel the terror and pain of the victims.

This is not a scary movie, it's just a very well done splatter horror from Europe, much better then many Hollywood movies of the genre.

I give it a 10 out of 10 because Olaf Ittenbach rules!

Having read a lot about Premutos (another Olaf Ittenbach movie, often mentioned in the 'goriest horror of all time' debate), but unable to get hold of a copy cheaply enough, I opted instead for Beyond the Limits, a movie which might not have got such great reviews, but also promised to deliver its fair share of splattery delights.

And boy, does the blood flow in this one. Ittenbach and his crew have created a gore drenched anthology-style movie with some of the most brutal scenes I have seen in a long time. In the wraparound story, a young female journalist interviews a cemetery caretaker for her newspaper; he tells her the shocking tale behind one of his recent 'customers' and then follows that up with another set in medieval times.

The first story has a dinner party (attended by a group of mobsters and their wives) interrupted by a pair of ruthless killers. The sadistic assassins, hired by a man seeking vengeance for the death of his wife, set about slaughtering the party guests. But all is not as it first seems...

The second sees a bloodthirsty inquisitor and his henchmen slaughtering innocent people in a quest to revive an ancient demon. Chock full of torture and gruesome deaths, this is definitely not for the squeamish.

Ittenbach handles the direction confidently and there are some well filmed action scenes and great use of scenery and lighting. Unfortunately, he does also succumb to the use of annoying visual trickery and unnecessary MTV style editing (a particular bugbear of mine). The quality of acting varies from reasonable to very bad, but let's face it—it's the gore that really counts, and that is of a very high standard indeed: vicious, unrelenting and downright unpleasant, but very convincing.

Beyond the Limits is not a film that should be watched by casual horror fans (it's way too disturbing for most viewers, I fear), but those who enjoy 'extreme' movie-making should be more than happy with the tour de force of revolting effects that splash across the screen.

As far as i know potatoes were brought to europe in 1493....... Then how is it possible that they were SLICING potatoes in 1452?????

Anyway nice blood

this film has to be seen to be believed!

i was in tears of laughter yet pain at the same time if you imagine a bad cheap porn film script and then forget to add any sex in it what so ever then this is the film you would end up with. it even manages to change style completely half way through starting as a modern day gunfest and yet changing into a medieval swordfest without any explanation at all. a great film for watching with friends whilst drunk or lending to people you detest with every fibre of your body.

absolutely the worst film i have ever endured.

PLOT

A young female journalist Vivian comes to the Cemetery to get an interview from its keeper , a creepy looking guy named Frederick. Frederick tells her two strange stories that lead to an unspeakable and mystery secret.

COMMENTS

A few options I would like to comment :

1. Acting. Acting is actually poor except for a few people that can actually act so you can believe them. The Director Olaf Ittenbach has a cameo appearance in the beginning of the movie. Among actors , Darren Shahlavi looks really solid and shows good martial art skills. Those of you who seen 'Bad Moon' with Gary Daniels and Shahlavi , will probably agree with me. Another martial art specialist , Matthias Hues appears in the end of the movie as one of the bad guys. Other actors look really poor , and almost all of them have an accent (no clean English , whatsoever). But in this kind of movie you don't expect great acting at all.

2. Gore. Ittenbach does a great job here with all the SFX , gore effects. As usual , in Ittenbach's movies there's a lot of gore, tons of blood , people get slaughtered , cut into pieces , and tortured in very disturbing manner. Everything looks real , what is a big plus for this kind of movie. Its not as gory as Ittenbach's earlier movies "Premutos (1997)" and "Burning Moon (1992)" but there's enough of it to satisfy a gore fan ,believe me. Also with all the gore ,the movie is extremely violent.

3. Plot. I started getting the plot with about 3-4 minutes left till the end. First story told by Frederick is about a bunch of guys who get involved in to this usual 'money-drugs' thing , and in the end they all get slaughtered like animals , in very violent ways. Second story takes place , probably in medieval Europe. A demented inquisitor is searching ancient writings which can make him eternal and give unrestricted power.By searching he tortures and kills people who don't obey him, in very gruesome ways. Both stories lead to Fredericks's own secret. But when Vivian realizes that , it's just too late…..

OVERALL

Recommended to Olaf Ittenbach's fans only. Fans of gory movies will be satisfied as well. For those of you expecting acting , plot or anything else except gore…..keep searching. Would I recommend this movie ? Watch for yourself people… I did like the violence and gore....everything else in this movie just doesn't worth it.