Beyond the Door trilogy
The Beyond the Door Trilogy is an Italian horror series of three originally unconnected films that were retitled to be part of a supernatural franchise for the American market. The series started in 1974 with Beyond the Door before ending with Beyond the Door III in 1988. The only loose connections between the films are that all three were Italian productions, Ovidio G. Assonitis produced parts I and III, child actor David Colin Jr. starred in Parts I and II (but playing different characters) and the supernatural theme of spirit possession (a woman in part I, a child in part II and a train in part III).
| Beyond the Door Trilogy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ovidio G. Assonitis, Mario Bava, Jeff Kwitny |
| Starring | Juliet Mills, Richard Johnson, Daria Nicolodi, Bo Svenson |
Release date | 1974–1977 |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
Films
Beyond the Door (1974)
Beyond the Door first opened in Italy under the title Chi Sei?.[1] American International Pictures initially expressed interest in distributing the film,[1] but Film Ventures International ultimately acquired the film for distribution in the United States for $100,000. The cut released theatrically in the United States runs 97 minutes.[2] It was shown as early as May 2, 1975 in Houston, Texas[1] and became a huge box office success grossing $15 million at the box office [3] largely due to its successful promotional campaign with TV spots and posters.
Beyond the Door II (1977)
To cash in on the success of Beyond The Door, Film Ventures International purchased the U.S. release rights to Mario Bava's Italian horror film Shock and retitled it as Beyond The Door II due to it being Italian and having a similar theme of possession. They even utilized the same successful propomotional poster design that helped the original become a success. The film was intended for a late 1977 release to capitalise on the success of Exorcist II: The Heretic, but when that film bombed at the box office, plans to release Shock in the U.S. were shelved. The film was eventually given a limited release in 1979. .[4][5]
Beyond the Door III (1989)
Beyond the Door III was released in 1989. Scripted by Sheila Goldberg and directed by Jeff Kwitny, the film was shot in Serbia under the title "The Train". The film, again had no ties to either of the previous two. Ovidio G. Assonitis acted as producer on the film and financed it through his company Trihoof Investments. It is also known as Death Train and Amok Train. It was retitled to Beyond the Door III for its U.S. release by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and went straight to video. Although only retitled in the U.S., all modern Blu-rays carry the title Beyond the Door III on the prints, including the Region 1 DVD by Shriek Show.[6]
| Film | Alternate English Title | Release Date | Director | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond the Door | The Devil Within Her | November 21, 1974 | Ovidio G. Assonitis | Ovidio G. Assonitis, Enzo Doria, Edward L. Montoro |
| Beyond the Door II | Shock | August 12, 1977 | Mario Bava | Turi Vasile, Edward L. Montoro |
| Beyond the Door III | Amok Train | 1989 | Jeff Kwitny | Ovidio G. Assonitis |
Home media
Both Beyond the Door and Beyond the Door II were released on VHS through Media Home Entertainment and later re-released by their budget label Video Treasures. These releases were the U.S. theatrical versions displaying the Beyond the Door title cards. RCA/Columbia would release "Beyond the Door III" on VHS and Laserdisc.
Code Red DVD acquired the rights to Beyond The Door for DVD. The 2-disc DVD set was released on 16 September 2008 and featured both the international cut (running 109 minutes) displaying the title card The Devil Within Her and the abridged U.S. theatrical cut (running 97 minutes) displaying the title card Beyond the Door. As single disc edition only containing the international cut was also released. Code red would later re-release the international cut on blu-ray. Arrow Video later acquired the rights and released a new Blu-ray edition in the United States and United Kingdom.[7] The 2-disc release, limited to 3,000 units, features both the unabridged international cut, as well as an exclusive U.S. theatrical cut on two separate discs.[8] The second disc also includes Italy Possessed, a newly commissioned feature-length documentary on Italian exorcism films.[8] The Blu-ray set was released on 7 April 2020.[9]
Beyond the Door II was first released on DVD through Anchor Bay Entertainment. It was the international version with the Shock title card and poster artwork on the cover (though an chapter insert did display the Beyond the Door II promotional artwork). This same edition was later re-issued by Blue-Underground. Arrow Video would acquire the rights for Blu-ray release in the United States and United Kingdom and they too released the international version with the Shock title. Due to Beyond the Door I & III being released on Blu-ray, Arrow was notified by collectors that they would like to see a release with the Beyond the Door II title. Arrow obliged and released a limited edition version that came with a slip cover/"O' card featuring the U.S. Beyond the Door II title and poster artwork.
Beyond the Door III was released on Region 1 DVD by Media-Blasters sublabel Shriek Show. Though the box art displayed the alternate title Amok Train, the title card on the film itself reads Beyond the Door III. Vinegar Syndrome would later release the film on Blu-ray and features the original U.S. poster artwork and all high-definition releases contain the title card Beyond the Door III.
References
- "Beyond the Door". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- Muir 2012, p. 339.
- Shipka 2011, p. 146.
- Paul 2010, p. 101.
- Hughes 2011, p. 278.
- Shriek Show DVD Case, 2008. Last accessed: October 2009.
- Squires, John (December 20, 2019). "Arrow Video Bringing 1974's 'Beyond the Door' to Blu-ray With Restoration and New Italian Horror Documentary". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- "Beyond the Door Limited Edition Blu-ray". Arrow Films. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020.
- Kaufman, Jeffrey (March 30, 2020). "Beyond the Door Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020.
Works cited
- Hughes, Howard (2011). Cinema Italiano: The Complete Guide from Classics to Cult. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0-857-73044-2.
- Muir, John Kenneth (2012). Horror Films of the 1970s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-49156-8.
- Paul, Louis (2010). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-46113-4.
- Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-48609-0.