Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep
H.P. Lovecraft’s brew of surreal cosmic nihilism has inspired countless films. In Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep, writer-director Chad Ferrin (Pig Killer, Scalper) takes an inspired approach of by doing two things at once: making a sequel to his first feature Unspeakable and adapting an H.P. Lovecraft short story (“Beyond the Wall of Sleep”). Continuing his signature trend of combining all things creepy, gross, and profane, Ferrin has made another winner here bolstered by strong lead performances by Edward Furlong and Robert Miano.
Tossed into Arkham Asylum for molesting his daughter, James Fhelleps (Roger Garcia), ends up attacking a cellmate. Decades later, oneirologist Ambrose London (Edward Furlong) studies Fhelleps’ increasingly bizarre behavior (Robert Miano) that is starting to have a chilling effect on the other inmates.
The otherworldly creatures we see are often dangerous, terrifying, and, more importantly, truly unknown. You’re not sure what the hell you’re seeing, only that it is capable of very creative murder. Some of them are even phallic in a literal sense, bringing to mind H.R. Giger’s work in Killer Condom.
Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep starts off as a bit of a slow burn, but, then again, so are the tales of H.P. Lovecraft. Edward Furlong (Assault on Wall Street, Pet Sematary II) makes Ambrose an all too believable skeptic who gets drawn further into the mysteries of James Fhelleps’ dual identity of Joe Slater. Robert Miano (Emperor of the Free World, The Perfect Shadow) turns the aged Fhelleps into a meek confused old man one minute and a dangerous chomping killer with dangerous powers the next.
As the scope opens up a bit more towards the end, some of the budgetary limitations show through. Nevertheless, there is great creativity on display and some fun appearances by actresses Ginger Lynn (Killer Waves, Murdercise) and Bai Ling (The Crow, Detective Chinatown 2) as well.
Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep can be a lot to take in (it goes further than most horror pictures dare, particularly in a scene with a nun), but those that do will be rewarded with a trippy tale. It’s not necessary to watch Unspeakable before watching this film, although it serves as a nice companion piece.
Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep is now playing at select film festivals and arrives on digital platforms and Blu-ray in early 2025.