BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW BY PANOS COSMOTOS IS A PSYCHEDELIC HORROR MOVIE RELEASED IN 2010. PRAISED FOR ITS UNIQUE CINEMATOGRAPHY AND UNSETTLING USE PSYCHEDELIC IMAGERY, THE VISUALS AND SCORE OF BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW ARE ABLE TO PERMEATE THE SKIN OF THE VIEWER THAT LEAVES A FEELING OF DISCOMFORT AND DYSPHORIA. THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK CREATED BY U.S BASED ARTIST SINIOA CAVES IS A JOURNEY OF PROGRESSIVE SYNTH-WAVE AND DARK AMBIENCE THAT FRAMES THE 1980’S PERIOD.

THERE’S A SENSE OF PARANOIA IN SINIOA’S WORK FOR BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW, MOST POTENTLY IN THE MOVIES MOST VISCERAL SCENE INVOLVING THE FILMS VILLAIN BARRY. A CULT LIKE INITIATION THROUGH THE USE OF WHAT SEEMS TO BE LSD BEGINS THE PROCESS OF RUPTURE WITHIN THE MOVIE, A START CONTRAST TO MOST THE FILMS CLINICAL SETTING. SLOW PULSES OF ANALOGUE TIMBRES BEGIN THE RISE SLOWLY TO THE FOREFRONT AS BARRY IS BEGINNING A PROCESS OF CHANGE. THE SOUND IS NOT CONSTANTLY PRESENT, MOMENTS OF SILENCE SERVE AS A SIGNIFIER OF CALM BEFORE A STORM, ACTING AS A NARRATIVE CUE FOR WHAT IS ABOUT TO UNFOLD. SLOW PROGRESSIONS AND TEXTURE AND BASS SWELLS EVOKE FEELINGS OF LOSS OF CONTROL, THE SOUND BECOMING THE GUIDE THROUGH THE ABSTRACT.

THE CONTINUITY OF THE SCORE THROUGH THE SCENES OF SURREAL IMAGERY SERVES AS A BOND BETWEEN SOUND AND VISUALS, CREATING A SENSE OF UNITY THROUGH PROGRESSION, REPETITION, CONTRAST AND RETURN, COMPLETING THE TRANSFORMATION OF BARRY. THE SYNCHRESIS HERE IS NOT RANDOM BUT EXTREMELY PURPOSEFUL AND FUNDAMENTAL. ITS BREAKS THE BOUNDARIES OF SOUND AND VISUAL BEING SEPARATE ENTITIES AND CREATES A HARMONY THAT RESULTS IN A VERY DISSONANT BUT REALISTIC ADAPTION OF A PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE.