Customer Reviews

Beyond The Door

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

Recalling the "Exorcist" as one of the most horrifying movies of all time gives one pause to consider why that movie touched such a raw nerve. First off, it involved the demonic possession of a pre-teen girl. Teenaged years are bad enough, but what if the usual hormonal traumas of adolescence get mixed up with (or confused for) demonic possession? That is, for me, is what made the Exorcist a classic movie. The same can be said for "Beyond the Door". Dismissed as an Exorcist rip-off, this movie received terrible treatment, though it was a box-office success at the time of its release. The premise of this movie is equally disturbing. A pregnant (Juliet Mills) is living through a troubling pregnancy. It's bad enough that Juliet Mills, who charmed me in "Nanny and the Professor", is the victim of possession in this one, but the notion that a person can be taken at their most vulnerable state touches more than a few raw nerves. Given the hormonal swings that pregnant women can go through, it may not be that difficult to confuse crazy moodiness with demonic possession. Shoot in dark shadows, with carefully lit scenes, the movie reflects beautifully the style of classic Italian horror movies of the day. The effects are effective, as are the sound effects, which compound the viewer's terror. Mills turns in an outstanding performance, turning from one moment from campy antics, to sheer terror freak-out. Thirty-five years later, this movie remains an effective piece of work.

Yes, this is a blatant Exorcist rip-off. Who cares? It's terrific fun and a great throwback to the wonderful exploitation Italian horror flicks of the 1970s. I think its just fantastic. And, those who know have been waiting patiently for this DVD which was announced years ago.

I am hoping "Beyond The Door" will one day be released on DVD. I saw this film in the theater back in the mid 70's and I liked the possession scenes along with the deep voice that sounded like someone gargled with razor blades.

Please listen and release this movie on DVD!

i remember first seeing the tv ads for this movie and it gave me the creeps! at the time of its release, "the excorcist" was about to be re-released in theaters and warner brothers did not like the fact that there was another possession film coming out at the same time! The buzz about this film was so well received that there were lines around the block at grauman's chinese theatre!
when warner brothers heard of this movie, they decided to file a lawsuit against the filmmakers, citing visual copyright infringement(?) even though there might have been a similarity or two, both movies really have nothing in common story wise. this movie has more in common with "rosemary's baby" than with "the excorcist." at the time my mom took me to see the excorcist which i loved tremendously, yet here was this movie that was stuck in the back of my mind, beckoning me to see it! i did not get to see it until maybe in late 1986 on a god awful looking vhs copy, and you know what? i loved it!
Horror films these days are a dime a dozen, nothing truly memorable. i think hollywood and some of these so-called indie filmmakers forgot how to make a good creepy flick.
the story is quite simple, woman gets possessed, all hell breaks loose yet there's something lurking within, that's where things get really interesting. i recently purchased this movie on dvd and played it for my son. Luckily he gave it a shot of watching it and lo and behold the same results! For all its 70's fashion and other trappings, Beyond the Door still holds up after all these years. I think the same goes to anyone curious about seeing this film should forget about what theyve seen these days. forget about the cgi effects and bid productions and get yourself a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy this little film that could
the dvd itself has some nice extras including some new interviews, theatrical trailers, t.v. ads and a nice tribute "An Englishman in Rome," an interview with actor Richard Johnson, most memorable in Lucio Fulci's "Zombie." There is also a fine introduction with actress Juliet Mills, a woman who can make your nerves jangle when the opportunity calls. the audio is in mono, originally it was supposed to include the quadrophonic sound they used in some theaters, but it wasn't available for this release, otherwise a clear sounding mono mix. the commentary track is a nice touch, one with the director and another with star Juliet Mills and producers. forget about the cgi effects and big productions and get yourself a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy this little film that could! my only hope is that this title gets the blu ray treatment in the near future.

To begin with,let's state the obvious, shall we. Yes, "Beyond the Door" is a "Rosemary's Baby/Exorcist" rip-off. Yes, "Beyond the Door" is a "devil-possessed" exploitation film with an uneven script, bad
character development and fair acting..at best!

That stated, there's something interesting about "Beyond the Door".
The premise alone is worth the price of admission and while not nearly as effective as it should have been. Beyond the Door, definitely has it's moments.

For instance, The "possession" scenes. Juliet Mills looks ghoulish and
scary. The fact that she's not OVERLY made-up is a plus! In addition,the whole dubbing-dialogue-acting during these scenes are outrageous...a definite treat.

The special effects, while not incredible, aren't painfully bad either. For example, the literal "head-turning" scene isn't as outlandish as the head turn Ms. Linda Blair took in the "The Exorcist" but still looks very creepy.

Despite it's flaws and derivative nature "Beyond the Door" manages to create a strange atmosphere throughout...probably due to it's nutty "script" along with it's equally unbalanced score.

This film, as with other odd-ball "70's Horror"
didn't necessarily strive to make sense from start to finish in order to "satisfy" the viewer. That's what made "70's horror" more interesting...a bit more interpretative on the viewers behalf. For younger viewers, however, this film might be too disjointed to enjoy.

Nevertheless, "Beyond the Door" is a MUST for fans of "devil/possession"
films that [briefly] ruled the silver-screen in the early 70's!

For others interested in similar themed films.
Please check out, "The Anti-Christ" [1974] "Abby" [1974] & "The Sexorcist"
[1975]

Beyond the Door's DVD sound & picture quality
are very good. The DVD includes original theatrical trailer + a new featurette "Beyond the Door:35 Years Later"

Beyond the Door[1974]
Starring, Juliet Mills & Richard Johnson
Produced by:Ovidio G. Assonitis
Not Rated

...and remember..."The Child Must Be Born!"

Yes this movie was bad. But I knew what I was getting when I bought the DVD. I first saw this movie sometime back
in the latter 1970's. I was a young airman stationed at Loring AFB Maine and the movie was playing at the base theater. A friend and myself was invited to go to the movie and we did. The movie was horrible. The plot and the
storyline made no sense. For some strange reason I had to have this video and watching it a second time reaffirmed
what I saw more than 30 years ago. What's frightening is that I'm not getting younger. I'm giving three stars because I knew what I was getting. Also amazon did it's usual good job of getting the product to me in a timely
matter and this is using the free Super Saver shipping. Again good job.

Length:: 2:29 Mins

Tom and Ashley review Beyond The Door