A woman is having a baby despite taking the pill and experiencing abnormal fetal growth rates. The baby is a devil child(as we learn indirectly from the opening narration by Lucifer no less). Sure, it's easy to dismiss this film as nothing more than a blatant rip-off of The Exorcist. Make no mistake it is. We have head-turning here, vomiting, moving around on a bed, a devil/demonic plot, and other bizarre occurrences. What we don't have is any real suspense, sense of storytelling, inspired direction, acting of any merit, or the wholly important thematic thread of priest/religion/God exhibited in the original Exorcist. Juliet Mills made me feel sorry for her that she was the headline performer in this muddled mess. She is asked to do lots of things beneath her: vomit, say ridiculous profanity, move her lips while some guy with a deep voice rants on and on about ten more years(that's another ridiculous plot thread), and perhaps the most inane of all scenes eat a rotten banana peel of dirty street steps. Mills, though not a great actress by any means, always was able to have an air of dignity. Not in this. At least she is not alone. Richard Johnson, the other primary non-Italian co-star, gives yet another unsatisfying, bland performance as some guy named Dimitri who we see in the beginning go off a cliff and then verbally hear him make a pact with the devil to live ten more years. What a stupid story! Wait till you see the end with the kid on the boat. I know someone somewhere thought that was oh! so clever. NOT! The Italian supporting cast was generally poor. Mill's two children are more than aggravating as they call their parents by their first name and utter profanities throughout. When Regan wasn't possessed, she was a sweet kid that the audience could care for. Who cares about these kids? Director Ovidio Assonitis does occasionally strike fool's gold with a scene here and there that shows some potential. I liked the opening narration. In fact I think it is the best thing about the movie. Some of the scenes of dolls with bright eyes and a smashed fish tank were fairly well-done too. By and large; however, the film misses way too much and is a very poor imitation of not only The Exorcist but ANY decent horror film of the 1970s.
Review of Beyond the Door
