NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray (June 2020): Arrow have transferred Ovidio G. Assonitis' Beyond the Door (aka "The Devil Within Her") to Blu-ray. It offers both the UNCUT (Export) version of the film and the shorter theatrical cut - each on their own dual-layered Blu-ray disc. They are "Brand new 2K restorations", and look pretty much identical (see our comparisons below.) The film looks very textured in 1080P and the colors significantly advance on the 2008 Code Red DVD with burnt orange now red and faded pink almost violet. Her demonic green eyes are far more prominent! It's a substantial improvement over SD and while the HD presentation is quite thick, it seems a very solid representation of the film.

NOTE: We have added 59 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Arrow use a linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language for both cuts. It is another advancement in the film's audio effects and score by Franco Micalizzi (Brothers Till We Die, The Tough Ones, The Visitor, and known for some music on Grindhouse releases Planet Terror and Death Proof - as well as Taratino's Django Unchained) sounding a bit deeper while remaining authentically flat. Arrow offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Arrow Blu-rays have duplicated most of the DVD extras with the short introduction by Juliet Mills and Lee Christian, the two audio commentaries (both on the UNCUT Export version Blu-ray) with director/producer Ovidio G. Assonitis and Euro-horror historian Nathaniel Thom on one and Juliet Mills and Scott Spiegel on the second, moderated by Darren Gross & Lee Christian. There is also the 20-minute Beyond the Door: 35 Years Later featurette that includes interviews with Ovidio G. Assonitis, Richard Johnson etc. Also the 7-minute Richard Johnson: An Englishman in Italy remains. The DVD also has a trailer and TV Spots where the Blu-ray expand on those.

The big inclusion (it is on the Theatrical Blu-ray) is the new 88-minute documentary Italy Possessed: A Brief History of Exorcist Rip-Offs directed by Eugenio Ercolani and Giuliano Emanuele which includes interviews with Sergio Martino, Alberto de Martino, Ovidio G. Assonitis, Luigi Cozzi, Pupi Avat, Marcello Avallone, Elena Fusco, Stella Carnacina, Silvia Petroni and a few film historians. They discuss Beyond the Door, plus Enter the Devil, The House of Exorcism, Obscene Desire and others of this sub-genre. There are also separate interviews, totaling over 1.5 hours, with Ovidio G. Assonitis, cinematographer Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli, composer Franco Micalizzi, Maurizio Maggi and actor Gabriele Lavia plus on the 'Theatrical' Blu-ray disc a 'previously deleted' extended 14-minute interview with Juliet Mills. Arrow include the alternate Italian Chi Sei? opening titles, Australian opening and closing credits, alternate Japanese Diabolica opening and ending sequence, a handful of Trailers, TV and Radio Spots. The lavish double Blu-ray package also has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Schoenbach, a reversible fold-out poster and a 60-page perfect-bound collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by John Martin and Alessio di Rocco.

Mammoth double Blu-ray package from Arrow and quite a shocking film for fans of the beautiful Juliet Mills who have never seen Beyond the Door. I was shocked by her nudity in Avanti! (see HERE) and her character's Regan-esque possession in the more appropriate titled "The Devil Within Her", is - typical for the genre - way over the top! I think this is a better film, certainly more entertaining, than it has been given credit for in the past. Fans who like the 'satanic possession' genre should be quite happy with this and the extensive Arrow Blu-ray package is loaded with value. I had a ball... absolutely recommended!

NOTE: We reviewed this two days after it arrived but see it is already out-of-print. I expect a single-disc edition (without booklet) in the near future.

Gary Tooze

ON THE DVD: The 1.85:1 transfer is dual-layered and progressive with an appropriately grainy un-manipulated film-like texture. The mono sound is strong with great bass (which comes through in the demonic sound effects and Franco Micalizzi's tres funky score) although the film apparently had some play-dates with a stereo surround mix and there are lots of opportunities for directional effects with onscreen objects, supernatural entities, and LOUD sound effects but all video and disc releases so far have had the mono track so it is possible that only a limited amount of stereo prints were made. As this is the export version, it features the original "THE DEVIL WITHIN HER" title sequence scored with the theme song "Bargain with the Devil" that was entirely missing from the U.S. prints that dispensed with all of the supporting cast and technical crew other than distributor Montoro, actors Mills and Johnson, and the title superimposed over the opening nightmare sequence (this alternate title sequence has not been included as an extra but the nigtmare prologue is intact). The transfer for DVD has been composited from more than one print as revealed by the BEYOND THE DOOR title optical preceding the closing credits.

Code Red has given this film the maximum respectable treatment with two commentary tracks, the first featuring producer/co-director Ovidio G. Assonitis (who co-directed as Oliver Hellman with his D.P. Roberto D'Ettore Piazzoli as Robert Barrett). The second commentary track features star Juliet Mills along with HOSTEL producer/BEYOND THE DOOR fan Scott Spiegel and film historian Darren Gross (both tracks are moderated by Lee Christian) and it is refreshing to hear a commentary from a respectable actor/actress who enjoys revisiting their exploitation work and does not try to pass it off as a just a paycheck. The commentary is kept lively by the presence of Spiegel, Gross, and Christian who ask Mills questions as well as relate to her and us facts about the cast, crew, and production. As such, there is some overlap between the two tracks (for instance, much is made of Warner Bros. suing the production for copyright infringement - Assonitis settled out of court). BEYOND THE DOOR: 35 YEARS LATER features on-camera interviews with Mills, Assonitis, actor Richard Johnson, and actor Alex Rebar who rewrote the Italian script. Johnson is also featured in the interview AN ENGLISHMAN IN ITALY which touches upon his other work in Italian film. The theatrical trailer and striking US TV spot are also included in scratchy condition along with a still gallery.

 - Eric Cotenas