Beyond the Limits

I went into this expecting another low budget horror effort but have walked away pleasantly surprised.

Beyond the Limits is a German made horror anthology consisting of two stories and a wrap around which are all connected.

The first thing I noticed is how good it all looks, fans of gore will love this as its one of the most brutal movies I've seen in years. Gory, horrifically violent and merciless but with a story to justify it.

From a gangsters dinner gone wrong to Christians killing off heretics to a mysterious graveyard caretaker with a nasty secret.

I enjoyed this though the whole thing doesn't come together as well as I'd hoped. Take each story as separate and it's more entertaining that way.

Beyond the Limits isn't for the faint of heart and I'm not exaggerating when I say this is hardcore stuff, if you're up for it and like that sort of thing then you can do a lot worse than this.

The Good:

First story was fantastically sadistic

Great sfx

Horrifically violent

The Bad:

Doesn't all connect as well as it should have

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I don't remember Rick & Morty being like that in the cartoon!

About an hour in was a fantastic example of old school Christian "Love"

The rookie journalist Vivian (Kimberly Liebe) seeks Frederick (Christopher Kriesa), the caretaker of the oldest cemetery in an undefined country, asking for an interview and the old man tells the story of two "costumers" and both connected by a mysterious secret. The powerful gangster Jimmie Levinson (James Matthew-Pyecha) accuses his former partner Paul Pattuchi (Joe Cook) of stealing a load of cocaine and orders to kill his beloved girlfriend Clarice (Xenia Seeberg). Paul is found dead later in a cottage, and Jimmie and his friends and girlfriends are visited during a dinner party by Robert Downing (Daryl Jackson) first and then by the sadistic Mortimer (Simon Newby) and his partner Rick (Thomas Reitmair) seeking the truth about Paul and a suitcase with a mysterious relic. The second story takes place in the Middle Ages, where the cruel David Deming (David Creedon) and his minion Tom Brewster (Russell Friendenberg) chase the renegade priest James Flynn (Hank Stone) in the name of the Inquisition but actually trying to force him to reveal the secret of the Eternal Heart to grant immortality.

The low–budget "Beyond the Limits" is extremely gore but is not a bad movie. Most of the performances are only reasonable, the choreography of the fights with sword is terrible, but I liked the plot. There is an enormous exploitation of violence, but the special effects are very impressive and realistic. The only work of director Olaf Ittenbach that I have had the chance to see is the awful "Legion of the Dead", and "Beyond the Limits" is better and better showing a great improvement in his career. The characters Mortimer (mainly) and Brewster are among the most sadistic I have ever seen. The torture at the dinner table and in the castle chamber, the massacre in the church and the trip to Hell are extremely impressive and strong, and of course not recommended to sensitive persons. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Além dos Limites" ("Beyond the Limits")

Note: On 30 May 2013, I saw this movie again.

Gee, where to begin? This movie is very bizarre and unique; it's not the plot that makes it unique, however, because the plot is quite simple. On one side of equation, there is a misterious... well, item, and on another side, there are people who get tortured and killed right and left in different and quite imaginative ways, because somebody wants this item very, very much.

So, like I said, the plot is simple, but the execution is quite sophisticated. The movie consists of 2 barely connected parts and takes us through modern and Medievil times, and then there is someone who combines the whole story and tells it to (you guessed it) a beautiful, female reporter.

So, how bizarre is it? Here is my take on this very unusual movie:

1. "Beyond the Limits" is one of the most violent, gory films I've ever seen in my entire life (and I've seen quite a few!)!

2. It's also THE MOST CREATIVE and professionally done gorefest I've ever seen.

3. Notwithstanding the previous comment, acting and dialogs in the first vignette are atrocious and over-the-top - totally B-movie material. At this point you will get confused, since you've been told this is not a B-movie (stay assured, it isn't, just wait for the second part). Besides, murders and tortures are so well done, you will forgive the filmmakers for this acting fiasco, guaranteed.

4. Since they didn't have enough money to hire professional actors for entire duration of the movie (just guessing here:), the second vignette is where the director makes it up to you in this department. I think it's flawless. Acting is terrific, and fight scenes will take your breath away.

5. The outline plot is subtle, and the end scene, albeit very strong, doesn't make too much of a sense, which, I must say, is perfect for this movie. The ending, somehow, reminded me of the ending of "Ronin" (with Robert De Niro).

6. The film had to have a fairly good budget, if only for all those special effects having been made so well, but obviously, not enough money went into marketing, which can explain why no one on this side of Atlantic ever heard of this movie, which is sad, sad, sad...

Final Thoughts.

The only reason, I don't call this movie a horror masterpiece is because of the laughable acting in the 1st part. Overall, I'll say, if you like the genre and have a strong stomach, find and see this movie -you'll be glad you did! 7 out of 10.

"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!

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.