This review contains some minor SPOILERS, so do not read it if you do not wish to have some points revealed to you.
If you came across this title on this site and were like me, you were probably left scratching your head as to how `Beyond Darkness' could be subtitles `House 5.' This movie was made in 1990 and `House IV' was made in 1992. Well, it seems like someone just slapped the `House' label on to try and hide the fact that nothing else about it is interesting. This is nothing like the other `House' movies (though none of them are alike in any way either) and should not be thought of as part of the series. Instead, think of it as just another boring horror movie that you need to avoid. It was, after all, made by the same writer/director that brought us the universally panned `Troll 2.' To be fair, I believe that this movie has positive intentions. But good intentions do not necessarily make a good movie.
The movie begins with a priest hoping to hear a woman about to be executed give her soul to God. This woman, who murdered a bunch of children in a house, is either possessed or is simply crazy. It is hard to make that out. She tries to tempt the priest by telling him to repent his religion to learn more about her evil Satanic ideas. He almost does it, and is thus haunted throughout the rest of the film by this guilt. When the woman is put in the electric chair, the priest sets out for the house in question faster than you can say "The Horror Show." Apparently, the house is on the site of some ancient place where witches were once burned at the stake. While he is on his way there, a second priest is moving into the house with his family, and he was given the house by the local head priest, who knows of the evil and deliberately sends the priest and his family there to stop the evil. Huh? Well, they move in and are visited by evil spirits faster than you can say "Amityville Horror." After the first few spooky happenings, one of which would really freak you out if it happened to you (but doesn't freak you out here), you would think the family would take the hint and get out of there faster than you can say "Poltergeist." But no. Then your conflict, when the ghost of the executed woman and her laughable spirit helpers kidnap the priest's son, would not exist. When the first priest arrives, the two holy men join forces and set about to rid the house of evil faster than you can say "The Exorcist." Yada yada yada.
There's plenty more other than a standard plot that makes `Beyond Darkness' a lousy movie. First, the special effects are bad. I tend not to stress this sort of thing, but when a script calls for something that a budget just can't handle, it's time to either change the script or not do the movie at all. Most of the effects here are done in smoke-filled rooms to mask their low quality. This, however, just gets really bothersome. And boring. Another annoyance is the abundance of stereotypes. The entire family is so pious that you see right through their one-dimensional characters. And their acting of these stereotypes is really bad. Rarely do filmmakers find good child actors, and here they scraped the bottom of the desperation barrel. The boy playing the son is so horrid that you really hope the witch goes through with the sacrifice. But the worst thing about the film is how slow it all moves. Not once does the pace ever pick up, especially when the priests are battling the evil. I kid you not, I watched the scenes where the priests are walking through the house in fast forward and they were still moving like snails. Thus the only things that this movie has to offer are good intentions. I can get those from watching `House II,' which, unlike this movie, is fun to watch and in no need of renovation. Zantara's score: 2 out of 10.
If you came across this title on this site and were like me, you were probably left scratching your head as to how `Beyond Darkness' could be subtitles `House 5.' This movie was made in 1990 and `House IV' was made in 1992. Well, it seems like someone just slapped the `House' label on to try and hide the fact that nothing else about it is interesting. This is nothing like the other `House' movies (though none of them are alike in any way either) and should not be thought of as part of the series. Instead, think of it as just another boring horror movie that you need to avoid. It was, after all, made by the same writer/director that brought us the universally panned `Troll 2.' To be fair, I believe that this movie has positive intentions. But good intentions do not necessarily make a good movie.
The movie begins with a priest hoping to hear a woman about to be executed give her soul to God. This woman, who murdered a bunch of children in a house, is either possessed or is simply crazy. It is hard to make that out. She tries to tempt the priest by telling him to repent his religion to learn more about her evil Satanic ideas. He almost does it, and is thus haunted throughout the rest of the film by this guilt. When the woman is put in the electric chair, the priest sets out for the house in question faster than you can say "The Horror Show." Apparently, the house is on the site of some ancient place where witches were once burned at the stake. While he is on his way there, a second priest is moving into the house with his family, and he was given the house by the local head priest, who knows of the evil and deliberately sends the priest and his family there to stop the evil. Huh? Well, they move in and are visited by evil spirits faster than you can say "Amityville Horror." After the first few spooky happenings, one of which would really freak you out if it happened to you (but doesn't freak you out here), you would think the family would take the hint and get out of there faster than you can say "Poltergeist." But no. Then your conflict, when the ghost of the executed woman and her laughable spirit helpers kidnap the priest's son, would not exist. When the first priest arrives, the two holy men join forces and set about to rid the house of evil faster than you can say "The Exorcist." Yada yada yada.
There's plenty more other than a standard plot that makes `Beyond Darkness' a lousy movie. First, the special effects are bad. I tend not to stress this sort of thing, but when a script calls for something that a budget just can't handle, it's time to either change the script or not do the movie at all. Most of the effects here are done in smoke-filled rooms to mask their low quality. This, however, just gets really bothersome. And boring. Another annoyance is the abundance of stereotypes. The entire family is so pious that you see right through their one-dimensional characters. And their acting of these stereotypes is really bad. Rarely do filmmakers find good child actors, and here they scraped the bottom of the desperation barrel. The boy playing the son is so horrid that you really hope the witch goes through with the sacrifice. But the worst thing about the film is how slow it all moves. Not once does the pace ever pick up, especially when the priests are battling the evil. I kid you not, I watched the scenes where the priests are walking through the house in fast forward and they were still moving like snails. Thus the only things that this movie has to offer are good intentions. I can get those from watching `House II,' which, unlike this movie, is fun to watch and in no need of renovation. Zantara's score: 2 out of 10.