Beyond the Door II (1977)

A couple is terrorized in their new house haunted by the vengeful ghost of the woman's former husband who possesses her young son.

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Francesco Barbieri (screenplay), Lamberto Bava (screenplay)

Stars:

Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, David Colin Jr.

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Daria Nicolodi	...	Dora Baldini
John Steiner	...	Bruno Baldini
David Colin Jr.	...	Marco
Ivan Rassimov	...	Dr. Aldo Spidini

Storyline

Dora Baldini, her husband Bruno Baldini and her son Marco move to a huge house that belongs to her. Dora lived in this house with Marco and her former husband, who was drug addicted and committed suicide. The house is empty since them and Bruno, who is a pilot, has decided to move to the place claiming it is close to the airport. Soon Marco is possessed by the ghost of his father and Dora is haunted by the house. She tells to Bruno that they need to leave the house and she is afraid of her son, but he believes Dora relapsed since she had a breakdown when he husband died. Why the vengeful spirit is seeking revenge?

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Plot Keywords:

new house | ghost | haunted house | animate object | supernatural horror | 

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Taglines:

Terror lives beyond the door

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

12 August 1977 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Beyond the Door II

Filming Locations:

Enrico Maria Salerno Villa, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Laser Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was released in the USA as "Beyond the Door II", although it has no connection with "Beyond the Door" (1974).

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Goofs

A black cord is visible pulling a wooden object toward Dora.

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Quotes

Bruno Baldini: There's nothing worse for a marriage than sending a husband off without his coffee.

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Connections

Referenced in Horror Business (2005)

User Reviews

Mediocre Bava, but still Bava...

So, I finally got myself watching Mario Bava's final film "Shock". As soon as the credits started rolling I realized this was going to be way different from Bava's other works, and not in a good way. Ironically though, the film itself is not bad, but if it had been made by any other director in any other country, I doubt the film would've turned out any different. It's basically another one of those haunted house films such as "Poltergeist" and "The Amityville Horror", even if slightly superior. It's not as if these two are bad, but the whole thing is way too 'routine' by Bava standards. Even if the great camera-work is still there and it does manage to produce some genuine chills, but it pales in comparison "Kill Baby, Kill", "Black Sunday", "Blood and Black Lace", among others, who did it so much better. Scriptwise, it does a good job at being a 'regular ghost story' with an Oedipal twist, but overall, it is anything but original and, as a matter of fact, Bava already used a strikingly similar premise in the obviously superior "The Whip and the Body", and the endings of both films are almost exactly the same. On the bright side, the film does manage to create some subtle, yet extremely effective scares. The final 20 minutes or so are quite suspenseful and frightening, and Daria Nicolodi does her best at conveying fear and despair her role requires. David Collin Jr as the child who may-or-may-not-be-possessed is indeed very creepy, and an excellent counterpart to Melissa Grapps from "Kill Baby Kill". Also, it was quite refreshing to see Ivan Rassimov playing a good guy this time. Last but not least, the Goblin-esquire score by Italian band Libra helps giving the film a sense of total dread and terror. In the end, it's certainly not bad, but rather mediocre for a director like Mario Bava. Yet a mediocre Bava is still a hundred times better than the god-awful so-called 'horrors' that are coming out of Hollywood nowadays. 6/10.