Product Description

Beyond Lemuria is a feature length, digital, dramatic motion picture on DVD. Running time is 120 minutes. Extras include a chapter menu, preview, and an audio commentary track by the writer-producer and crew. The DVD is accompanied by an eight page booklet called Wisdom of the Avatars of Mt. Shasta.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73612 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-12-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

Review

BEYOND LEMURIA, The Shaver Mystery and the Secrets of Mt. Shasta Digital motion picture in wide screen DVD format Running time: 120 minutes. From: C.H.S. Productions in Association with Maelstrom Press, 2007

Those familiar with previous C.H.S. DVD occult documentaries (The Magick of Solomon, Dark Mirror of Magick and The Rites of Magick) are in for a surprise when they see BEYOND LEMURIA. Yes, there is a minor element of History Channel style documentary in this film but it is worked into the story as necessary background for what is otherwise a suspenseful, thought-provoking science fiction drama.

BEYOND LEMURIA draws upon two contrasting, but related, aspects of modern American folklore that Hollywood and the current fantasy fiction industry have forgotten: the 1940s Shaver Mystery and the 1930s tradition of Atlantean-Lemurian Mystic Masters on California s mysterious Mt. Shasta. Both of these Atlantis-Lemuria survival themes were published as true accounts and both still resonate with thousands of believers.

Science fiction writer and surrealist painter Richard S. Shaver believed in the physical reality of the dark, subterranean realm of the Deros, degenerate survivors of Atlantis and Lemuria who still inhabited a secret world-wide network of caverns --- and used ancient telepathic ray machines to spy on and torture surface people. These demonic humanoids were responsible for much of the evil and mental illness in our surface world. Whether real or fanciful, Shaver had created a modern, atomic age version of a medieval hell and a new form of demonology.

BEYOND LEMURIA postulates that Shaver's subterranean Dero world exists, but that it is in another dimension. This nearby shadow world can be contacted and entered through a vortex generated by a machine called The Intragravatron. The sinister Draconian Society has secretly funded the development of this device and plans to open the vortex at an inter-dimensional convergence point deep in the lava caves on the northern slopes of Mt. Shasta.

There actually is such a cavern complex and the C.H.S. cast and film crew went there on location, filming deep in Pluto s Cave and high on the slopes of Mt. Shasta.

In contrast to the evil Draconians, and their subterranean quest, the transcendental Lithonian Brotherhood, headed by Master Phylos (Merrick Rees Hamer), a reincarnated Atlantean magical adept, journey to Mt. Shasta to find spiritual enlightenment. The original story of Phylos was channeled by a 17 year old boy, Frederick Spenser Oliver, back in the late 19th century and published early in the 20th century as 'A Dweller on Two Planets'. This book became an occult classic. Phylos was the archetype of all subsequent mystic masters, Atlantean and Lemurian, who have since appeared on the upper slopes of America s Sacred Mountain.

To present these two totally contrasting, and yet closely related, themes in a symbolic and artistic expression, script writer and producer Poke Runyon chose to encapsulate the entire story in the context of an occult initiation ceremony. In the beginning of the film young candidate William Morgan (Cristofer Sanders) stands before the altar in a mysterious temple. On the altar are two cups: one white and one black. He must choose which cup to drink. An hour glass tells us that the decision must be made before the sand runs out...... It certainly is An Adventure in Wonder and Terror

--The Seventh Ray, Book III, The Green Ray --part 2

Review
From FATE Magazine, September-October, 2008 page 92 Beyond Lemuria, The Shaver Mystery and the Secrets of Mt. Shasta Written and produced by Poke Runyon, directed by Gregory Jednack Maelstrom Press (Orange, CA) 2007, DVD 120 minutes.

Given Hollywood s bottomless thirst for material, and penchant for recycling, it is a bit puzzling that there have been virtually no attempts to bring the visions of Richard S. Shaver to the screen. Shaver s bizarre and allegedly true accounts of torment at the hands of depraved subterranean beings known as Deros would seem to be a good prospect for cinematic realization. (For more on the Shaver Mystery and its relationship to the beginnings of this magazine, see What s This? A Shaver Revival? by Doug Skinner, June 2005.)

Enthusiasts were intrigued by the release of the Shaver-inspired Japanese horror film Marebito in 2004. Now the Shaver Mystery has finally become the focus of a domestic effort.

Beyond Lemuria is hardly a work of mainstream Hollywood, however. A production of the California based Church of (the) Hermetic Sciences, the film makes a virtue of a low budget. Computer-generated imagery (a Dero invention if there ever was one) is mercifully absent. Instead, the filmmakers pursue a consciously retro aesthetic with results that call to mind the old Star Trek or Doctor Who TV programs.

The plot of Beyond Lemuria centers around a University of California student named William Morgan whose story plays out in parallel narratives. In one he is the committed initiate of a benevolent group of wisdom seekers on a pilgrimage to Mt. Shasta; in the other he is the neophyte pawn of a diabolical cult seeking to make contact with the evil Deros.

Elements of Shaver s mythos are woven together with the Lemurian revelations of Frederick Spencer Oliver s 1894 book A Dweller on Two Planets. Complex information about lost civilizations, inter-dimensional travel, and occult science is skillfully presented, and an abundance of esoteric eye candy keeps things visually engaging. Shaver fans will not be disappointed.

Reviewed by Andrew Honigman. --Book III, The Green Ray

About the Actor
Biographical Sketch: Poke Runyon Carroll Poke Runyon received his master's degree in cultural anthropology from California State University at Northridge in 1980 specializing in shamanism. After graduate school he went through all the degrees of Freemasonry in both the Scottish and York Rites.
He then undertook a series of Tibetan tantric initiations and training sessions under the direction of H.E. Luding Khen Rinpoche of The Sakya Order, mastering the Vajra Yogini (Goddess of the Sorcerers) system. Runyon later received the Kalachakra initiation from H.H. The Dalai Lama.
His articles on Magick and the Western Tradition have appeared in Gnostica magazine, and The Seventh Ray. In 1974 he appeared as a guest on Tom Snyder s network television Tomorrow Show narrating film footage of magical operations. In 1995 Runyon wrote, produced and narrated a 75 minute video documentary entitled: The Magick of Solomon, and authored its companion book The Book of Solomon s Magick. He is the author of Secrets of the Golden Dawn Cypher Manuscript and Seasonal Rites of Baal and Astarte. He is also editor of the esoteric journal The Seventh Ray.
He went on to write, produce and narrate two more occult documentaries Dark Mirror of Magick and The Rites of Magick. Most recently he has written, produced and acted in the feature length dramatic mystical adventure Beyond Lemuria, The Shaver Mystery and the Secrets of Mt. Shasta for C.H.S. Productions in association with Maelstrom Press. This film was shot on location at Mt. Shasta, in the lava caves nearby, and in the ruins of Nan Madol in the Central Pacific. Poke plays the role of Professor Marion Roland in Beyond Lemuria

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Customer Reviews

Interesting Film - Interesting Message
I happen to have met several of the people involved in making this film, though I am not affiliated with them in any way. Just wanted to put that out up front.

This is a low budget movie, and it shows, but if you can handle the special effects (and some of the acting) on classic Star Trek, you will be able to deal with the production limitations of this film.

Designed to be an allegorical tale that has a deeper meaning beneath the surface, this is both entertaining and informative. I've come across a bunch of people who go on about the Lemurians, and many of them come across as crackpots. Somehow, this film avoids that, perhaps because Poke Runyan is so well-versed in the Mysteries he draws on, or perhaps it is the lack of grandiose self-importance in even the evil Draconians - though I can see the David Icke crowd eating it up as proof of their ludicrous theories.

In short, I enjoyed watching this movie, and recommend it to those with an interest in esoteric things - and maybe fans of David Lynch - though it may be tough going for the more materialistic viewer.

Roger Corman does Joseph Campbell
If you know someone who believes aliens live under Mt. Shasta, or someone who has had a vision on its' slopes, or has ever joined a fringe group of seekers, this is the film to see. It moves right along, from scantily clad babes, to evil CIA operatives, to creepy cavern denizens with ray guns. There are occasional disturbing moments ("...they drink the blood of babies." "Ah! The fountain of youth!"), and folks who spontaneously combust. It plays with high-minded themes usually expounded in thick, esoteric tomes, but may leave sensitive types with nightmares. It leaves us with some burning questions, such as, what is that black book in the paralyzed scientest's hands? Overall, it is a lot of fun and an unusual serving up of spiritual insights in a race against time tabloid format.

Lemueia- many story level's in one movie
Beyond Lemuria, if you want a science fiction movie that is more than just action - give this one a try.
The esoteric philosophy's showing many ideas and views not seen in other movie on the market today.


Dave Finnin