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Beyond the Door (1974)
Originally titled "The Devil Within Her" and being pretty well known for being a rip-off of "The Exorcist" it's safe to say that as a cult film people do remember "Beyond the Door" quite well. Prior to its latest release on DVD from Code Red Releasing it had been one of the most widely discussed horror films that had yet to reach the format. The new disc itself is packed with extras such two commentaries, featurettes, interviews, a still gallery, and other Code Red Releasing trailers as well.
"Beyond the Door" is the story of Jessica, a simple housewife with two children and a successful record producer husband. It appears that the couple is going to have another child as well when Jessica finds out of her new pregnancy. The only thing is that the new baby's father isn't her husband; instead it's the Prince of Darkness himself in Satan. What follows is that she is struck with a bad case of demonic possession that involves her family as well as her old flame Dimitri. It seems as if Dimitri can stop this all from happening, although the baby's existence has quite a lot to do with his own.
From the beginning it's pretty simple to see that the film itself was made to capitalize on the success of William Friedkin's film "The Exorcist". Although this film doesn't break the boundaries of that film, it's a solid attempt to make an effective horror film. Sure at times the special effects don't hold up as well as you'd like but it doesn't completely ruin the film either. Also director Ovidio G. Assonitis isn't William Friedkin either so don't expect the amount of chilling atmosphere that was so prevalent in that film. Actually "Beyond the Door" can best be described as a low grade version of "The Exorcist", but that's not meant as a knock on the movie either. Personally I found it to be a pretty decent film and although it's a rip-off, it's not completely one as there were a lot of elements changed around. Of course the glaring difference between this and Friedkin's film is that we are talking a full grown adult woman having this happen to her as opposed to a young female child in "The Exorcist". The film actually comes off as a less offensive version in and of itself which isn't a bad thing, as the movie does try and do what it can do considering. There is one disturbing scene in the movie having to do with dolls that I found to be one of the best scenes in the entire film (and makes it quite a different story than what was found in "The Exorcist").
The acting in the film is solid enough to get you through the running time although I have to admit that Juliet Mills comes off rather hokey when she's under her spell of possession. At times she's sympathetic and effective and others she's way too over the top, which was a big mistake in my opinion. That kind of demeanor worked for Linda Blair's character in "The Exorcist" but that was mainly due to her being a child. For an older woman it just kind of comes off stupid and too over the top to work. Otherwise, Mills does a good job in the film. The rest of the supporting cast is solid with some good work by the two child actors in the film too.
The funniest thing about the movie has to be the completely screwy soundtrack. Considering we're talking about a demonic possession movie here, I'm sure you wouldn't understand the 70s funk inspired soundtrack either. But I think it's only appropriate to say that even if it's completely out of place it's still pretty kick ass music nonetheless. Trust me, if you find yourself watching this movie you'll be singing or humming the music for a couple of days.
Overall I found "Beyond the Door" to be a solid flick that although isn't a classic offers to manage a few scares and a pretty entertaining storyline. It's certainly no "Exorcist" but lets be honest, we weren't expecting it to be anyways. If you like demonic possession in your movies, you can do a lot worse than this one for sure. RECOMMENDED.
Rating - **1/2
-Ed Demko
