Watch Beyond the Door

Beyond the Door is a horror movie from 1974 directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis and Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli. The story follows the life of Jessica Barrett (Juliet Mills), a pregnant American living in San Francisco with her Italian husband, Robert Barrett (Gabriele Lavia), and their two children. The film begins with Jessica experiencing strange and terrifying phenomena, such as levitation and possession, just like in the classic movie The Exorcist.

As the story progresses, Robert realizes that Jessica's pregnancy is not a typical one, and there's something dark and sinister about it. They turn to a local priest, Father Gabriele (Richard Johnson), for help. He witnesses several supernatural events around the family and becomes convinced that an evil force beyond their comprehension is at work. The priest decides to perform an exorcism on Jessica to rid her of the dark entity that has possessed her.

The exorcism scenes are some of the most terrifying moments in the movie. Jessica transforms into a grotesque beast with her voice deepening and her eyes turning completely white. Despite the efforts of Father Gabriele, the entity proves to be too powerful, and the exorcism fails. The entity becomes obsessed with the new baby growing inside Jessica and vows to take it for its own.

As Jessica's pregnancy progresses, the supernatural occurrences become increasingly violent, and the family is put in great peril. They realize that they must take drastic measures to save the new life growing inside Jessica. Robert and Father Gabriele band together to put an end to the entity's madness by fighting it head-on.

The film was marketed as a response to the success of The Exorcist, and it does share some similarities with the classic horror movie. It features a possessed individual, vivid and violent exorcism scenes, and an overarching theme of the fight between good and evil.

However, Beyond the Door differs from The Exorcist in its creative use of special effects and the unique mythology it creates around the entity possessing Jessica. The entity is not just a demon but a spirit conjured by a cult who worship it as a deity. There is a sense that the entity is part of something larger, and this adds a layer of complexity to the story.

The acting is generally good, with Juliet Mills delivering an impressive performance as the possessed Jessica. She manages to convey both the horror and the sadness of what is happening to her character. Gabriele Lavia and Richard Johnson also play their respective roles with great skill, although they are slightly overshadowed by Mills' intensity.

The film's direction is generally competent, but some of the scenes tend to drag on a bit too long, causing the pacing to feel slow at times. Additionally, some of the special effects, while innovative for their time, are cheesy by today's standards.

Overall, Beyond the Door is a decent horror movie that has its moments of fright and intrigue. While it may not be quite as iconic as The Exorcist, it stands on its own as a memorable and enjoyable horror film.

Beyond the Door is a 1974 horror movie. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 4.7.