Beyond the Door

Cool Movie!
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...

70s Drive-In Classic
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 ...

By any definition...
...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...

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