Beyond the Door (1974 film)

Jessica Barrett, a young English mother living in San Francisco, reveals to her music executive husband, Robert, that she is pregnant. The couple already have two young children: a son, Ken, and daughter, Gail. Several days later, during Ken's birthday party, Robert finds Jessica violently ill and vomiting in the bathroom. After visiting Dr. George Staton, her obstetrician and personal friend, Jessica is informed that she is in fact three months pregnant, not the mere weeks she believed. Over the course of her pregnancy, Jessica finds herself subject to violent mood swings, apparent hallucinations of voices, and poltergeist phenomena. On one occasion, Jessica is awoken by disembodied wheezing, and levitates into the air and wheezes violently all through her house. George confides in a worried Robert that Jessica's pregnancy is progressing at an unbelievably rapid rate. Fearing for her wellbeing, George arranges for Jessica to spend time with his wife, Barbara, hoping she will confide in her. Jessica tells George she wants an abortion, but swiftly vacillates, accusing him of being a murderer when he agrees to an abortion should he find the pregnancy a hazard to her health. The Barrett household soon becomes a hotbed of supernatural activity that terrorizes both Gail and Ken when their father is away. Meanwhile, Jessica exhibits increasingly horrifying behavior akin to demonic possession, such as inhumanly twisting her head, wheezing and projectile vomiting. Robert is contacted by a mysterious man named Dimitri who instructs him to sequester Jessica in their house and keep visitors away, assuring that the child is born. Jessica grows progressively ill, exhibiting a fever, stomach ailments, and other bizarre symptoms, and becomes bedridden. Under Dimitri's instructions, George has Jessica placed in a straitjacket to prevent her from violently lashing out. When George visits her, Jessica alternately pleads for his help before cursing at him in a deep, demonic voice. George has Jessica undergo a series of tests, including scans of her brain, but none of them show any neurological anomalies. After Robert is subject to a torrent of violent supernatural behavior from Jessica, it is revealed that Dimitri is a lover from Jessica's past, and that he is a Satanist who has arranged for her to give birth to the Antichrist, in exchange for the demonic spirit having saved him from dying in a car accident years prior. In a violent confrontation between Jessica and Dimitri, the demonic entity turns on him, and implies that all of the events that have taken place were arranged for its own amusement. The entity murders Dimitri before departing Jessica's body, after which she immediately has a stillbirth. Some time later, a healthy Jessica accompanies Robert and their children on a boat ride in the San Francisco Bay. Ken unwraps a gift he earlier acquired on his birthday, concealed in black wrapping paper with a gold ribbon. The gift is revealed to be a red toy car, the same model Dimitri crashed in the accident that nearly claimed his life. Ken drops the toy car over the edge of the boat railing, and his eyes glow green, implying he is the actual Antichrist. ==Cast==

Beyond the Door was co-directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis (billed under the alias 'O. Hellman') and cinematographer Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli (as 'Robert Barrett'). It was the directorial debut for both parties, Assonitis was previously a producer of genre films like Who Saw Her Die? and Man from the Deep River. The screenplay was written by Assonitis (billed under the alias 'O. Hellman'), Piazzoli, and Antonio Troiso. but his assistant Peter Shepherd recommended Juliet Mills, whom he'd previously worked with on the Billy Wilder film Avanti! (1972). Mills recalled in a 2005 interview:David Colin Jr., who played Ken, was the son of the founder of the American University of Rome. Said Colin a 2017 interview, "It was a very fun time for me, very rollicking." The film's special effects were designed by Wally Gentleman, who previously designed effects for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Post-production Like most Italian films of the time, the film was shot without live sound and all dialogue and foley were later dubbed in. Juliet Mills and Richard Johnson recorded their own dialogue for the English version, in the Italian version they were respectively dubbed by Maria Pia Di Meo and Pino Locchi. == Soundtrack ==

The score was composed by Franco Micalizzi. The score is unusual for a horror film and at times seems to be referencing funk and disco music that may have been popular at the time. The full soundtrack has been released on vinyl, CD, and more recently on iTunes. The track list is as follows: • "Bargain With The Devil" - Music by Micalizzi, lyrics by Sid Wayne, vocals by Warren Wilson. • "Jessica's Theme" • "Dimitry's Theme" • "Robert's Theme" • "Jessica's Theme" • "Family's Theme" • "Bargain With The Devil" (orchestra) • "Flute Sequence" • "Dimitry's Theme" (slow version) • "Family's Theme" (slow version) ==Release==

Beyond the Door first opened in Italy under the title Chi Sei?. ==Home media==

Code Red acquired the rights to Beyond the Door, releasing a DVD set on 16 September 2008 that featured both the 109-minute international cut and the abridged 97-minute U.S. theatrical cut; Code Red reissued a new transfer of the film on Blu-ray in 2017. Arrow Video released a Blu-ray edition in the United States and United Kingdom. The two-disc release, limited to 3,000 units, features both the unabridged international cut, as well as an exclusive U.S. theatrical cut on two separate discs. The second disc also includes Italy Possessed, a newly commissioned feature-length documentary on Italian exorcism films. ==Reception==

Box office Beyond the Door was a commercial success in the United States, earning $7,122,644, with a total worldwide gross of $15 million. Critical response The film was panned upon release. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the movie one star out of four, calling it "scary trash". Numerous critics compared the film negatively to The Exorcist. Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times drew similar comparisons, also noting the film's score as "obtrusive", but conceded that Mills plays her role "with credibility". The San Francisco Examiners Jeanne Miller also noted the film as being highly derivative, adding that "even with all the so-called 'action', the film is incredibly boring, especially in long philosophical rantings by Johnson about Satanic power. Director Oliver Hellman and screenwriter Richard Barrett display no trace of skill, imagination or originality. The performances are on the same level." In the years since the film's theatrical release, the film has undergone a mild critical reevaluation with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarding the film three stars and saying "there are lots of redundant and silly moments, but some disturbing and interesting stuff as well." Reviewing the film for Little White Lies, Anton Bitel remarked "Beyond the Door is too odd, too indefinable, too singular, to be dismissed as merely derivative." Copyright infringement lawsuit Detailing a woman possessed by a demon, Beyond the Door was labeled a rip-off of The Exorcist (1973). The lawsuit was ultimately settled in the favor of Warner Bros. with the studio receiving a cash settlement from A-Erre Cinematografica s.r.l. and a portion of the film's future revenue. ==Related works==

Beyond the Door II (1977) To cash in on the success of Beyond the Door, Film Ventures International purchased Mario Bava's Italian horror film Shock and retitled it Beyond the Door II. The film was intended for a late 1977 release to capitalize on the success of Exorcist II: The Heretic, but when that film bombed at the box office, plans to release Shock in the U.S. were shelved. The film was eventually given a limited release in 1979. The film had no ties or connections to Beyond the Door aside from sharing one actor, David Colin, Jr., who plays a different character in each film. Beyond the Door III (1989) Beyond the Door III was released in 1989. Scripted by Sheila Goldberg and directed by Jeff Kwitny, the film was shot in Serbia under the title "The Train". The film, again had no narrative ties to either of the previous two. Ovidio G. Assonitis acted as producer on the film and financed it through his company Trihoof Investments. It is also known as Death Train and Amok Train. It was retitled for its U.S. release by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and went straight to video. Although only retitled in the U.S., all modern Blu-ray carry the title Beyond the Door III on the prints, including the Region 1 DVD by Shriek Show. Embryo: Beyond the Door (2022) In 2021, Ovidio G. Assonitis announced that an official follow-up to the original film was in development. Juliet Mills was also confirmed to reprise her role in the sequel. ==See also==