Analysis / Beyond the Black Rainbow

Barry Nyle's story arc before the events of the film can be read as a failed Hero's Journey. Barry was the designated protagonist with Dr. Arboria as his mentor. Barry's "vision quest" was supposed to be the confrontation with unfamiliar forces that would bring Barry to the level of a master. However, Barry failed to control the psychic force that lies beyond the physical plane of existence and ultimately succumbed to its more malicious influences on his spirit, in a way that resembles what might have happened if Luke Skywalker gave into the Dark Side.This would make sense as the film's take on psychic powers (including the idea of an institution seeking to manipulate and control them for some unknown purpose) pays homage to Scanners, which is a deconstruction of Hero's Journey tropes.