[Susan Foreman]

'Beyond The Door' (1974) - Uncut export version

Jessica (Juliet Mills), a lovely wholesome, respectable wife and mother of two young children in San Francisco, is married to Robert (Gabriele Lavia), a successful record producer. One of her previous lovers, Dimitri (Richard Johnson), dies in a car crash but as his car is plunging over a cliff, he has a quick chat with Lucifer for another ten years of life in return for helping the horned beast with his plan to impregnate a lovely wholesome, respectable woman with Satan jr. And so Jessica mysteriously becomes pregnant with an unplanned third child - dont'cha just hate it when that happens? With Dimitri hanging around to make certain that Young Old Nick is born safely, Jessica suffers from some bouts of nasty morning sickness including head-swivelling and bile-spewing. But whose side is Dimitri actually on? Does he have a record collection full of Cliff Richard and Stryper, or does his taste veer more towards the Black Sabbath and Slayer?

'Beyond The Door' is a strange film - maybe it's because it was directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis who was responsible for the still incomprehensible movie 'The Visitor'. One of the first 'Exorcist' rip-offs, it also contains traits from 'Rosemarys Baby' and 'The Omen', although the latter would not be made for another two years. This shows how far ahead of his time Assonitis was!!

In this case, however, strange = fun. It's never less than entertaining (even tho you might not understand exactly what is going on), and how can you go wrong with a film that opens in darkness to a monologue from the Devil himself, introducing us to the film:

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I ask for your attention, just for a minute. Soon you will be caught up in the events taking place on the screen, and then you may forget all about me... well, almost, anyway. You see, I must confess to a certain feeling of propriety toward the story that's about to begin because, immodest though it may sound, I play an extremely important part in the proceedings. In fact, without me, there really... wouldn't be any story at all. Of course, you won't actually see me. Unfortunately, in recent centuries, that has gone out of fashion, although there was a time when I was always being painted or impersonated in one way or another, and, as you know, I've always been given the best lines. However, like all of us, I've had to learn to adapt to what is absurdly called, "A More Rational Age," and I've done so by... well, shall we say... by "Going Underground," and, no doubt, some of you, the "Rationalists," the skeptics, will say, like the little girl in this picture, that what you can't see can't exist. Well, my friends, you go on thinking that as long as you can, because, sooner or later, you will discover your mistake. Anyway, now I will leave you alone... in the dark... and let my little story take over. Enjoy yourselves, but, don't forget, that that stranger... sitting in the seat next to you... could be me."