Beyond the Limits (2003)

The rookie journalist Vivian seeks Frederick, 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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Olaf Ittenbach

Writers:

Olaf Ittenbach, Thomas Reitmair

Stars:

Darren Shahlavi, Russell Friedenberg, Hank Stone

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Darren Shahlavi	...	Dennis
Russell Friedenberg	...	Tom Brewster
Hank Stone	...	James Flynn
David Creedon	...	David Deming
Joe Cook	...	Paul Pattuchi
Christopher Kriesa	...	Frederick
Kimberly Liebe	...	Vivian
Natacza Boon	...	Annabelle Branagh
James Matthews	...	Jimmie Levinson (as James Matthew-Pyecha)
Simon Newby	...	Mortimer
Daryl Jackson	...	Robert Downing
Twin	...	Courtney
Saskia Lange	...	Marianne
Mehmet Yilmaz	...	Christopher
Matthias Rimpler	...	Brad

Storyline

The rookie journalist Vivian seeks Frederick, 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 accuses his former partner Paul Pattuchi of stealing a load of cocaine and orders to kill his beloved girlfriend Clarice. Paul is found dead later in a cottage, and Jimmie and his friends and girlfriends are visited during a dinner party by Robert Downing first and then by the sadistic Mortimer and his partner Rick 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 and his minion Tom Brewster chase the renegade priest James Flynn in the name of the Inquisition but actually trying to force him to reveal the secret of the Eternal Heart to grant immortality.

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Plot Keywords:

journalist | cemetery | priest | relic | suitcase | 

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

official site (English, German)

Country:

Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 2003 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Além dos Limites

Filming Locations:

Hauptfriedhof, Frankfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

IMAS Filmproduktion, brave new work Filmproduktions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A wild blood-drenched nasty with a high 'yuck factor'.

Having read a lot about Premutos (another Olaf Ittenbach movie, often mentioned in the 'goriest horror of all time' debate), but unable to get hold of a copy cheaply enough, I opted instead for Beyond the Limits, a movie which might not have got such great reviews, but also promised to deliver its fair share of splattery delights.

And boy, does the blood flow in this one. Ittenbach and his crew have created a gore drenched anthology-style movie with some of the most brutal scenes I have seen in a long time. In the wraparound story, a young female journalist interviews a cemetery caretaker for her newspaper; he tells her the shocking tale behind one of his recent 'customers' and then follows that up with another set in medieval times.

The first story has a dinner party (attended by a group of mobsters and their wives) interrupted by a pair of ruthless killers. The sadistic assassins, hired by a man seeking vengeance for the death of his wife, set about slaughtering the party guests. But all is not as it first seems...

The second sees a bloodthirsty inquisitor and his henchmen slaughtering innocent people in a quest to revive an ancient demon. Chock full of torture and gruesome deaths, this is definitely not for the squeamish.

Ittenbach handles the direction confidently and there are some well filmed action scenes and great use of scenery and lighting. Unfortunately, he does also succumb to the use of annoying visual trickery and unnecessary MTV style editing (a particular bugbear of mine). The quality of acting varies from reasonable to very bad, but let's face it—it's the gore that really counts, and that is of a very high standard indeed: vicious, unrelenting and downright unpleasant, but very convincing.

Beyond the Limits is not a film that should be watched by casual horror fans (it's way too disturbing for most viewers, I fear), but those who enjoy 'extreme' movie-making should be more than happy with the tour de force of revolting effects that splash across the screen.