Beyond the Door (1974 film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Beyond the Door (Italian title: Chi Sei?) is a 1974 Italian horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis (credited as Oliver Hellman) and starring Juliet Mills.
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Plot
Jessica Barrett is a young mother in San Francisco. Her family and friends begin to notice odd behavior around the time she falls pregnant with her third child. As the strangeness intensifies, Jessica begins to display signs of demonic possession including spinning her head all the way around and projectile vomiting.
Dimitri, a lover from her past shows up claiming to be able help her, but it turns out he is in league with the entity possessing her, and is aiding the birth of her child, now said to be the Antichrist, in exchange for the saving his life years before. The film ends with the entity turning on Dimitri, and suggesting all events were done for its own amusement. The entity then kills Dimitri, leaves Jessica's body, and the child is stillborn.
Production notes
The interior shots were filmed on set in Italy at the Incir De Paolis Studios in Rome, while all exteriors were shot on location in San Francisco. Film Ventures International acquired the film for distribution in the United States for $100,000.
Detailing a woman possessed by a demon, Beyond The Door was labeled a rip-off of The Exorcist. Warner Bros. promptly filed a lawsuit, claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit failed after it was determined Warner Bros. had no rights to key horror scenes depicted in The Exorcist.
This meant Beyond The Door paved the way for several other "Exorcist rip-offs" (many stemming from Italy as well) to see successful release in the U.S and elsewhere. Some of these include Abby, The House of Exorcism, L'Anticristo (The Antichrist) and Seytan.
Response
The film became an independent hit, earning an estimated $15 million at the U.S Box Office, some reports suggesting it was as popular as Jaws at the time.
Cast
- Juliet Mills as Jessica Barrett
- Gabriele Lavia as Robert Barrett
- Richard Johnson as Dimitri
- Nino Segurini as Dr. George Staton
- Elizabeth Turner as Barbara Staton (as Elisabeth Turner)
- Barbara Fiorini as Gail Barrett
- Carla Mancini as Mrs. Francis
- David Colin Jr. as Ken Barrett
- Edward L. Montoro as The Devil (voice)
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 tracklist is as follows:
- "Bargain With The Devil"
- "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)
Alternate versions
The film is known under many different titles throughout the world. The real reason is unknown, but it may have been due to the lawsuit by Warner Bros. Known as Chi Sei? in its original Italian form, litterally translated, the title should be Who Are You? or simply Who?. Upon its U.S release it was renamed to Beyond The Door, slightly modified to Behind The Door for its Australian release. The Japanese title is Diabolica, Brazilian is Espírito Maligno (Malignant Spirit), Spanish is Poder Maléfico (To Be Maleficent), Greek is To Sperma Tou Antihristou (Sperm of the Antichrist), Finnish is Yhteys Tuonpuoleiseen (Liaison of Death). The only international title to stay close to the original is the German one; Wer bist Du?, translated litterally meaning Who Are You?
The presentation under the title The Devil Within Her, which is the most common version of the film found in the U.K., as well as some VHS releases of the Australian version; Behind The Door, feature almost 15 minutes of footage that was often not shown in other versions. This includes a longer opening credits sequence including the full song "Bargain With The Devil", a scene were Jessica meets Dimitri in the ritual grounds and a scene showing Jessica with Robert and her children shopping in San Franisco and seeing Dimitri.
Sequels
The film was never followed by an official sequel. To cash in on the success of Beyond The Door in the U.S., Mario Bava's Italian horror film Shock was marketed under the title Beyond The Door II in the U.S in 1979. Truthfully the film had no ties or connections to Beyond The Door aside from sharing one actor, David Colin Jr., though he is playing completely different characters in either film.
A film bearing the title Beyond The Door III was released in 1989. Directed by Jeff Kwitny and shot in Serbia, the film, again, had no ties to either of the previous two, though it does have Ovidio G. Assonitis credited as a producer. It is known as Death Train in the the U.K, which was most likely the original title for the film, before being changed in name; again a marketing ploy.
DVD releases
A fullscreen DVD release of Beyond The Door was released by RetroFLICKS. The DVD is considered a failure, because it contains no special features, the sound quality is poor (as well as being out of sync by a second), and the picture quality being absolutely terrible. Some consumers commented that the film looked as if it was "recorded off a monitor, then burned to a DVD disc." Due to the poor reception of this DVD, no further copies were released by RetroFLICKS.
In 2007, Code Red DVD announced they had acquired the rights to Beyond The Door and were working on a Special Edition DVD for release in 2008. The current street date has been confirmed as September 16, 2008; it will contain the following special features:
- 16x9 1:85 widescreen presentation from original vault elements
- Audio commentary with Director Ovidio G. Assonitis, and Mondo Digital writer Nathaniel Thompson, moderated by Lee Christian
- On camera interview with Star Richard Johnson conducted by Mondo Macabro's Pete Tombs
- On camera interview with writer Alex Rebar and star Juliet Mills
- Second audio commentary with star Juliet Mills and Cult Director Scott Spiegel and film historian Darren Gross moderated by Lee Christian
- Original trailer
The film has also seen official releases in Japan and Germany, with little besides the trailer as a special feature.
