(AKA The Devil Within Her)
The Italian b-movie industry has always prided itself upon being able to swiftly rip-off Hollywood smash-hits on tiny budgets; in plenty of cases, these bargain basement cash-ins hold their own as credible contenders in their own right. Case in point: this 1974 Exorcist ‘homage’, directed by the prolific Ovidio G. Assonitis (credited as Oliver Hellman) and the subject of a failed lawsuit from Warner Brothers, who felt the movie owed more than a little to William Friedkin. A huge U.S. box-office hit in its own right, Beyond The Door stars Juliet Mills as a pregnant young mother with serious morning sickness – we’re talking head spinning and projectile vomiting – who may or may not be about to give birth to The Antichrist. Her ex-boyfriend isn’t any help – he’s in league with Satan. All this and a classic funk soundtrack from Franco Micalizzi – who needs Mike Oldfield, anyhow? These days, Hollywood rips off forgotten Italian b-movies – will Inglourious Basterds kick off a trend?