Beyond The Door

Yes, this is a knock-off of "The Exorcist", but despite that, it's still a cool movie. It was virtually a staple of drive-in theaters during the latter half of the 1970's as well as the Late Late Show on CBS as another reviewer pointed out.

Juliet Mills (from "Nanny & The Professor" fame) completely abandoned her squeaky-clean image in favor of cursing in a guttural voice & regurgitating blood & green goop. The dubbing is a bit on the cheesy side, especially from the children; the little girl in particular comes up with some pretty hilarious lines. Replying to the little boy when he cries after seeing Juliet Mills hurling an ashtray & destroying the fish tank: "You're blowing my mind, man!! You gotta stop that or you're gonna have a bad trip", sort of like an 8-year old hippie!

"Beyond The Door" was filmed partially in Italy as well as San Francisco & has several different titles: "The Devil Within Her", which appears at the beginning of this version, as well as "Chi Sei?" (which means "Who Are You?" in Italian, a reference to one of Mills' lines in the film) & "Diabolica". Director/producer Ovidio G. Assonitis was directly involved with Code Red in making this available on DVD, providing the original uncut camera negative. Transferring it to anamorphic widescreen, the overall quality is amazing, considering that this film has turned up in some poor quality, grainy & edited versions on VHS over the years.

There are some cool extras on this DVD, including a short featurette "Beyond The Door: 35 Years Later" featuring recent interviews with Mills, Richard Johnson & Ovidio G. Assonitis. Mills mentions that she hasn't seen or heard from costar Gabriele Lavia since after the film was shot in 1974. Also featured are the original theatrical trailer & TV spot, still photo gallery, & candid, funny interview with Richard Johnson called "An Englishman In Italy".

Sure, it's a rip off ... But does that mean it's not enjoyable and/or scary ??? ... NO ... Just as 1978's HALLOWEEN borrowed from 1974's BLACK CHRISTMAS, ( no one complained ) BEYOND THE DOOR does take from other possesion films .... But it is mandatory viewing for fans of horror, 70's filmmaking, and low budget afficianatos alike ... Juliette Mills' character is so creepy and disturbing, and the low-budget quality only adds to the impact .... While THE EXORCIST is far superior in a technical perspective, the obscurity and all-out weirdness of BEYOND THE DOOR make it more creepy .... I have to say that the first glimpse we get of Mills' character in full possesion mode is one of the most terrifying and scarring ( in a good way ) scenes Is've had the pleasure to witness .... This baby is well worth tracking down if you're into odd/strange/low budget scares ...

...this is a bad movie. Genuinely bad. Copycat script, awful sound dubbing, cheesy acting, terrible production values; technically, it's an abortion. But despite all this, what stands out, are the visuals; the visual impact of "Beyond The Door" is genuinely terrifying.

To write, produce, and direct a horror movie about demonic possession which is truly original, is nearly impossible. It has been done many, many, many times, by many, many, many people over the years, so it's a given - there will be some thematic material which will overlap with prior work by others, but in this case, some of the scenes depicted in this film from 1974 directly echo "The Exorcist," from 1973: the floating body, the gutteral voice of the possessed, projectile vomiting bile on a person who is trying to help, the rotating head, the list goes on. There was so much mimicry that Warner Brothers, who owned Bill Friedkin's masterpiece, actually took the film makers of "Beyond The Door" to court for copyright infringement. The legal matters worked out, "Beyond The Door" went into general release, and despite being derided and maligned by critics and many ticket buyers alike, it has survived as a cult film (no pun intended).

I have to say, when I first saw it on a weekly Saturday late-night program ("Chiller Theater," for those who lived near Pittsburgh, Pa in the late 1970's), it scared the living daylights out of me. I expected something creepy, but I had no idea. Yes, it's a slightly altered "Rosemary's Baby" with visuals and a soundtrack inspired by "The Exorcist," but lost on those who didn't give it a chance is, this really is a genuinely frightening film. The look on Juliet Mills' face during some of sequences depicting demonic activity stayed with me long (!) after the movie ended. I never expected anything like this; I remembered her from a television series of the 1960's called "Nanny And The Professor," where she portrayed a sophisticated, yes, you guessed it, nanny who was hired to care for a professor's family; a harmless family-friendly weekly situation comedy. So it was shocking to see her acting so strange in this film.

If you watch this movie, just keep this warning in mind: it has many copy-cat elements and it has poor production values which could impede your enjoyment of it, provided you do enjoy something like this.

Objective fact: "Beyond The Door" is very derivitave, and cheaply made.
Subjective opinion: Despite its shortcomings, it is a terrifying film.

Good luck sleeping after watching it.

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