H.P. Lovecraft died in 1937. At the time, he was an impoverished, barely known writer of fantastic fiction. Since then, his works, all in the public domain, have been the inspiration for hundreds of writers and scores of film-makers. Many of those writers have contributed significant works of fiction, and a few of those film-makers have succeeded in producing works that are not only fine examples of their art, but have cinematically captured the essence of what made Lovecraft’s work so enduring.
This film does not fall into that category.
In fact, if he could somehow see “Beyond the Wall of Death,” and perceive what had been wrought in his name, that venerable gent from Providence would not only be spinning in his grave, but clawing desperately at his confines, eager to tear out the very throat and entrails of every last person involved in this travesty, especially writer/director Chad Ferrin.
Where to begin?
This abomination begins with Joe Slater (Robert Miano – “The Perfect Shadow”), a simple country man, being convicted of child molestation and thrown into jail with a neo-Nazi named Sturges (Brandon Kirk – “Pig Killer”). Sturges proceeds to force Slater into oral sex, but instead Slater castrates him in a scene that is truly loathsome. This penile- and penal-centric film starts here and goes downward.
Flash forward 25 years, and we meet Drs. Bernard (Susan Priver – “Dead Mail”) and Ambrose London (Edward Furlong – “T2”), two gross incompetents who work at the asylum where Joe Slater and his alternate personality, Jim Fhelleps, are institutionalized. Fhelleps/Slater was the patient of Dr. Willet (Steve Railsback – – “Night Caller”). With less than one minute of screen time, competent actor Railsback is barely recognizable, although he does have a passing resemblance to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Considering the epidemic nature of the film’s subject, that is appropriate.
Dr. London, using his “Dream Machine,” discovers Joe Slater is possessed by an alien spirit that seeks to impregnate a compatible spirit and seek dominance over the world. This impregnation would take place using Slater’s mutated penis, which has not only elephantine dimensions, but is equipped with piranha-like teeth and a serious overbite.
Not only is the acting barely at the level of middle schoolers, but the electronic music, the continuity, the cinematography, the editing and the “special” effects are unworthy of the digital media on which the offal – I mean opus – was recorded and edited.
One of Lovecraft’s literary creations was the blind idiot god Azathoth, “the mindless Lord of Nighted Chaos who is the father of all other horrors & is coeval with the Ultimate Abyss itself.” Surely, he had a hand (or tentacle) in the making of this film, which should have been titled “Unwatchable.”
Note: Another “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” was released on 2006, starring William Sanderson as the rustic Joe Slaater. This was also a waste of time and money, with Sanderson’s talent wasted. Another in 2009 (Greg Cannon as Slater) and yet another in 2021 (Marc Goldbach as Slater). Will they ever get it right?
Runtime: Seems like eternity, but is only 90 minutes
Availability: Streaming on Prime and Peacock (where it can be found soiling the paper under the bird’s perch!)
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