Beyond the Grave

In a post-apocalyptic world where the rules of reality are transformed by magic and madness, an unnamed police officer (Rafael Tombini) searches for a possessed serial killer who travels with the undead through time and worlds in the ultimate bid for vengeance.

 

His search for ‘The Dark Rider’ sees him cross paths with two survivors (Ricardo Sefner and Amanda Grimaldi) who in turn are in search of the rider. Untrained in weapons and violence, the unnamed takes them under his wing and in a rather cool training montage sees them wielding ammoless guns with bullets. Armed in magic and vengeance, their ultimate clash with the rider will first need to precede numerous waves of the undead.

 

It may be made in Brazil but ‘Beyond the Grave’ shares more in common with the giallo days of Italy. The cheap practical effects, the use of close up camera angles and the dubbed sound all make a modern low budget chiller appear to be from the golden days of schlock horror.

 

At times, the budget limitations show with some of the second line actors coming across very amateaur ad while even though the zombies may appear lifeless, their craving for blood could at least come across more threatening.

 

However, Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro has succeeded in making a film that somehow takes from the genres cheapest tricks to come out with an enjoyably gory yet much deeper layered tale of the undead and magic. Two sub genres that aren’t usually associated and mix with that the western feel of the lone gunslinger and you have a revenge thriller that is both violent and cool.

 

This certainly is not your usual post-apocalyptic zombie fest as the unnamed shares more resemblance to Clint Eastwood than Ken Foree as his broody mystique paired with the innocence of Atirador and Nina is brilliantly played. For those seeking full on zombie outbursts can wait for the next uprising but those looking for a new take on the genre with the visual style of Argento and Fulci then ‘Beyond the Grave’ is the perfect saturday afternoon flick.