Beyond the Door [Chi Sei?] [The Devil Within Her] * (1974, Juliet Mills, Richard Johnson, Gabriele Lavia, Elizabeth Turner, David Colin Jr) – Classic Movie Review 13,323

The 1974 Italian supernatural horror film Beyond the Door [Chi Sei?] stars Juliet Mills as a pregnant San Francisco housewife who becomes demonically possessed. 

Director Ovidio G Assonitis’s 1974 Italian supernatural horror film Beyond the Door [Chi Sei?] [The Devil Within Her] stars Juliet Mills, Richard Johnson, Gabriele Lavia, Elizabeth Turner, David Colin Jr.

Juliet Mills stars as Jessica Barrett, a pregnant young English mother living in San Francisco and married to music executive husband, Robert (Gabriele Lavia), with two young children, Ken (David Colin Jr) and Gail (Barbara Fiorini).

Jessica is taken over by an evil spirit conjured up by former lover and Satanist Dimitri (Johnson), who has arranged for her to give birth to the Antichrist, in this pale imitation of the 1973 classic The Exorcist.

This derivative Italian horror movie should be scary but fails to frighten, and utterly lacks a sense of style and wit, though it is plenty weird, amusingly so, and enlivened by Franco Micalizzi’s popular funk and disco score, perhaps the film’s most unique aspect.

It has fortunately been overshadowed by Mario Bava’s much more artistically successful 1979 Italian supernatural horror film Beyond the Door II [Schock], sold in the US as its sequel, though its only link is David Colin Jr, and he appears in a different character.

With two English stars, it was filmed in English, shot at the Incir De Paolis Studios in Rome, with exteriors in San Francisco..

Ovidio G Assonitis is credited as Oliver Hellman (or just as O Hellman).

The screenplay is by Ovidio G Assonitis (O Hellman), Antonio Troiso, and Roberto D’Ettorre Piazzoli (as R Barrett). The cinematography is also by Roberto D’Ettorre Piazzoli.

Beyond the Door opened in Italy on 21 November 1974 under the title Chi Sei?(literally Who Are You?) and in the US in May 1975, and became a major commercial success, grossing approximately $15 million, against its $350,000 budget. Film Ventures International acquired the film for distribution in the US for $100,000.

The two-disc DVD set was released on 16 September 2008 and features both the international cut (running 109 minutes) and the abridged US) theatrical cut (running 97 minutes).

Warner Bros, the distributor of The Exorcist (1973), filed a lawsuit against the production company, claiming copyright infringement and that it unfairly competed with The Exorcist, and seeking $2 million in damages. A settlement was reached in 1979, with Warner Bros receiving a cash sum from A-Erre Cinematografica and a portion of the film’s future revenue.

The unrelated film Beyond the Door III was released in 1989.

The cast

The cast are Juliet Mills as Jessica Barrett, Gabriele Lavia as Robert Barrett, Richard Johnson as Dimitri, Nino Segurini as Dr George Staton, Elizabeth Turner as Barbara Staton, Barbara Fiorini as Gail Barrett, Carla Mancini as Mrs Francis, David Colin Jr as Ken Barrett, Jonathan T Tran. as Dr Tran, and Edward L. Montoro as the voice of The Devil.

Beyond the Door [The Devil Within Her] [Chi Sei?] is directed by Ovidio G Assonitis, runs 97 minutes, is made by Montoro Productions and A Erre Cinematografica, is released by Variety Distribution (Italy) and Film Ventures International (US), is written by Ovidio G Assonitis, Aldo Crudo and Sonia Molteni, is shot by Roberto Piazzoli, is produced by Ovidio G Assonitis and Edward L Montoro, is scored by Riz Ortolani, and is designed by Piero Filippone.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,323

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