Beyond the Door Trilogy: One Imitation, One Bore, and One Trainwreck

If you’ve spent time watching bad 70s and 80s horror, then you’ve likely come across the Beyond the Door trilogy. When I say “trilogy,” I use the term extremely loosely. In fact, the three films share almost nothing in common with each other. The former two share an actor and a few common themes. Alternatively, the latter two share the desire to cash in on being part of a trilogy. None of the names have anything to do with artistic integrity. 

What actually brought about the endeavor of watching these three films came down to a good trailer. Beyond the Door 3 looked like a great 80s horror film about a satanic cult in Yugoslavia. However, I’m a bit of a completionist. So, starting what I thought was a connected trilogy on the third act felt wrong. Thus, I sought out to watch the first Beyond the Door (1974). I did no research, and this turned out to be a huge mistake. Not only did it send me down a rabbit hole, but it ended with one of the worst films I’ve ever seen.

In short, I hope that the following information might serve a few purposes. First and foremost, remember that your time is precious. If you’re going to dedicate 6 hours of your life to a trilogy based on a trailer, do your research. Always do your research. Second, I hope that this clears up some of the confusion surrounding this non-trilogy trilogy. Considering that all three films have been out for more than three decades, it follows that other people have experienced similar frustration. I hope to save future generations from the same fate.

Beyond The Door (1974)

The original and arguably “best” of the Beyond the Door trilogy is the first. At the very least, it cannot be accused of trying to market itself using the success of its name. After all, it was technically the first of its kind. However, this does not mean that Beyond the Door (1974) constitutes an original film. In fact, it is one of the most obvious and flagrant rip-offs in the history of the horror genre.

Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis, Beyond the Door follows the story of Jessica Barrett (Juliet Mills). An English wife and mother living in San Francisco, Jessica seems to live a pleasant life with her husband Robert, and her two children, Gail and Ken. However, when she tells Robert that she is pregnant with a third child, strange things begin to happen. First, the pregnancy itself defies logic, as her doctor informs Jessica that she is three months pregnant, despite not having had sex three months prior. Then, the pregnancy leads to violent mood swings and hallucinations. Finally, a strange man begins stalking Jessica and her husband.

As a low-budget Italian horror film, the first thing you will notice is the terrible voiceover. The spoken words almost never align with the movements of the actor’s mouths. But if you can get past this, the film is watchable. Unfortunately, it takes just about every aspect of its plot (and its scares) from The Exorcist, which came out just one year prior. The production company was even hit with a lawsuit because the two films had so many similarities. All of Jessica’s symptoms mirror those of the little girl in The Exorcist, including spinning heads, plenty of expletives, creepy face and eye makeup, and of course — green vomit.

Since Beyond the Door borrows so heavily from a horror classic, it actually does manage to deliver scares from time to time. However, it is so obviously derivative and poorly executed that one cannot help but criticize it. The plot also makes little sense, jumping from one improbability to another without explanation.

For example, the daughter, who cannot be older than 12, swears like a sailor. Not only is this a little weird and never really explained, but it takes power away from the mother’s apparent demonic possession. Meanwhile, the young son, Ken, seems to play a vital role in the possession, but after watching the entire film, I still couldn’t explain how or why. As further evidence that the filmmakers didn’t really know where they were going with the whole project, it was released under various names, including Who Are You? and Devil Within Her.

Movie Rating: ★★  out of 5

If you’d like to watch Beyond the Door (1974), it is currently available to rent or purchase via Amazon or stream on Shudder.

Beyond the Door 2 (1977)

Directed by Mario Bava, Beyond the Door 2 (1977) feels more like a Giallo film, but this doesn’t really help. Also released under the name Shock, the film makes use of the same child actor who played Ken in the first film (David Colin Jr.), this time as a kid named Marco. A few years older, David Colin Jr. still retains the same creepy stare and a general connection to the supernatural. Thus, Beyond the Door and Beyond the Door 2 (or Shock) have a few elements in common, but not enough to justify the name. In fact, it all came down to marketing, as Film Ventures International purchased Bava’s film and rebranded it just to be an unofficial sequel.

In any case, the story follows Dora Baldini (Daria Nicolodi), a woman who recently moved back into the home she shared with her former husband, Carlo, an abusive heroin addict who apparently committed suicide. Joined by her son Marco and new husband, Bruno, Dora also appears to have a great life, in spite of her difficult past and the subsequent shock therapy she received after Carlo’s death. However, she comes to believe that the house is haunted. She turns increasingly preoccupied with Marco’s behavior, as he starts acting like a creepy little weirdo who seems hellbent on driving her mad.

Like its “predecessor,” Beyond the Door 2 suffers from terrible voiceovers and poor editing. It also happens to be one of the worst films of Mario Bava’s prolific career. The plot makes no sense at times, though Marco does manage to give it all a general sense of creepiness. Additionally, Bava adds a few trippy visual flourishes to make it stand out. That said, the story moves at a snail’s pace, making it hard to ever get to the final act. While the last few minutes crescendo into major revelations and violence, the preceding hour-and-a-half is a complete bore.

Movie Rating: ★½ out of 5

You can snore through this movie at no additional charge if you have Amazon Prime.

Beyond the Door 3 (1989)

Finally, we come to the last film to the trilogy and the reason for all of my suffering. As previously mentioned, the trailer for Beyond the Door 3 looks amazing. It has Eastern European cults, creepy old women, demonic entities, and violent deaths. Sadly, the trailer grabs 99% of its footage from the first and last few minutes of the film. Everything in between is an absolute trainwreck (literally).

This time, the film shares absolutely nothing with its predecessors beyond the name. Despite the inclusion of unseen evil and supernatural forces, it doesn’t even fall into the same genre. There’s no housewife going crazy or being possessed in her own home. Instead, this Italian “horror” film follows a group of American college students who get the chance to travel to Yugoslavia to witness an ancient pagan ritual. The family of the protagonist, Beverly (Mary Kohnert), originally comes from the region, which gives her the advantage of speaking a little bit of Serbian. She also has a very large birthmark that looks a bit like demonic horns on her torso, so you know she’s going to have a good time there. 

Originally billed as both Amok Train and Death Train, the filmmakers made use of the Beyond the Door licensing to help market the film. This obvious act of misdirection would be tolerable if the film wasn’t an absolute disaster. Rather than making a horror movie about cults and devil worship, director Jeff Kwitny makes one long and stupid runaway train movie interspersed with gory deaths.

While the production value is a step above the first two films, it still does not work on any level. The filmmakers made the very strange choice to put roughly 10% of the dialogue in Serbian — without subtitles. This was done intentionally, as there are about three pivotal lines spoken in Serbian that are translated. Other than that, you are forced to sit through dozens of conversations in which you don’t know what’s going on and the filmmakers have no interest in helping you out. Aside from a few goofy, over-the-top 80s death scenes, there’s nothing remotely salvageable. I found myself begging for the stupid train to come to a stop, but even once it did, the ending was just as dumb and poorly executed as the rest. 

Consequently, I sat through hours of terrible Italian films just to save the worst for last. To make me feel even worse, Beyond the Door 3 had nothing to do with the prior films. I could have saved myself the time and effort, but I was duped by greedy production companies. If I had just spent a few extra minutes researching the films…

Movie Rating: ★ out of 5

Though I do not recommend it, you can watch Beyond the Door 3 on Shudder or Amazon Prime.

The Bottom Line

My past experiences with Italian horror and Giallo films have all been great — because I stuck to the classics. However, when you venture out into the world of garbage cash-grabs, things can get pretty dicey. I wouldn’t recommend Beyond the Door 3 to my worst enemy. Beyond the Door 2 is boring, but it has just enough of that 70s Italian flair to make it watchable. Lastly, the original Beyond the Door is the only halfway decent addition in the “trilogy,” but it is highly derivative and takes all of its best bits from The Exorcist.

In closing, I just hope that this clears up the confusion about the Beyond the Door trilogy. It is a trilogy that is not a trilogy, a series that is not a series, and a group of films that is, by and large, not worth watching. I just hope readers can avoid the same mistakes I did. More often than not, it’s best to just do your research before diving into a film (or three).

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