The Hot Spot Rating
Beyond The Door (1974)
Starring: Juliet Mills, Richard Johnson, Elizabeth Turner, David Colin Jr.
Director: Oliver Hellman aka Ovidio Assonitis aka Sonia Assonitis aka R. Barrett (?!!!)
Synopsis: Diabolical Exorcist rip-off! So tragic it has to be seen to be believed
“An Exorcist rip-off of astonishing bad taste.” — retrospective horror criticism
“One of the most shameless cash-ins of the 1970s.” — cult cinema commentary
“Jaw-droppingly awful… yet weirdly compelling.” — modern cult reassessment
“A thoroughly disreputable piece of exploitation cinema.” — British horror review
“The film lurches from one hysterical set-piece to another with almost surreal incompetence.” — cult horror retrospective
“Headache-inducing.” — EOFFTV review
“An astonishingly tasteless mélange of possession, profanity and unintentional comedy.” — retrospective exploitation review
“One of the most entertainingly bad horror films ever released.” — cult movie commentary
“Utterly ridiculous from beginning to end.” — horror fandom review
“The sort of film that leaves you unsure whether to laugh, cringe or applaud.” — modern cult appraisal
“A thoroughly rotten movie.” New York Times, Vincent Canby
Riotous Exorcist rip-off with mild-mannered Juliet Mills being transformed into a foul-mouthed, pea soup spewing, levitating demon from hell who speaks in a ghastly baritone voice which the filmmakers promise roars out at you in thunderous “Vibrasound”!! A gimmicky, exploitative, cheap and downright crap attempt at cashing in on the Exorcist craze. A weak parody of itself. Dubious, but of distinct curiosity value and perhaps worth a good cackle if in the right state of mind!
I just watched this movie again as punishment to atone for my various sins, and WHAT a huge stinker it is; genuinely mindboggling. Watch formerly pristine English Nanny Juliet Mills (of “Nanny and the Professor”) turn into a pea soup spewing, head-spinning monster from hell. “Lick the vile whore’s vomit!” offers our beloved Nanny, looking a touch unwashed and under the weather!! Then there is “that” demonic voice-over going on and on about Dimitri, which happened to be the name of father Karras’s character in The Exorcist!
The hilarious opening of the movie explains to you in a suitably sombre voice-over just how scared you ought to be by what you are about to witness. Later, the levitation scene is something that even the Ramsays of India would have hesitated to use in one of their grand opuses, and it is downright risible!
Several names have also known the movie in a blatant attempt to convince people to watch it. Other than Beyond the Door, the film has been known as the rather strange title Chi Sei and also The Devil Within Her. It has also been called Beyond Obsession and Who? Not only that, it is listed as being directed by at least three different people, which sounds like a case of someone trying very hard to pass the buck. However, more mystifyingly, Beyond the Door spawned at least two sequels! What is it with the Italian taste in horror!!!?
The film is just SO inept in every way imaginable, unbelievable, and thus a rare treasure. We value our bad movies here at The Hot Spot, and they certainly don’t come much worse than this monstrosity!
Props though to Assonitis AKA Hellman, AKA Barrett for doing his very best to somehow dupe punters into buying into his insanely derivitive masterpiece. He changed his own name several times as well as the name of the movie, trying over and over to sell the film to unsuspecting viewers. In London the film was advertised with as much sensation as he could muster. Posters warned against expectant mothers from viewing it as well as those of a nervous disposition recalling the best of William Castle’s tactics to lure ticket buyers any which way he could.
At the Dominion cinema the film was exhibited in “VIbrasound” which promised viewers an immersive experience in horror like never known before. Again, William Castle would have been proud.
The film has endured though on home video, DVD, Blu-Ray and beyond eventually thriving on its reputation as sublimely ridiculous rubbish of the finest caliber. Anyone who values dreadful cinema absolutely must have this film among prized possessions.
The poster created for the UK Release titled “Devil Within Her” is an inspired piece of craftsmanship. The poster is lurid and deliciously coloured and very cleverly designed so that the viewer can make out the traditional image of Satan as well as the image of a demonically possessed woman emerging from the Devil’s mouth! This poster is unquestionably the most artistic element of an otherwise insanely dreadful piece of cinema. The poster art should be acknowledged as one of the great horror movie designs and deserves a place in any publication of horror and exploitation cinema artwork. A perfect example of an inspired poster design for a very uninispired product. Again, typical of a rotten horror movie!
