Beyond Dream's Door

Made in Ohio for very little money, BEYOND DREAM'S DOOR is a sometimes goofy, somewhat shabby, eerily entertaining film from the 1980's. All logic is tossed out in favor of nightmare imagery and an apocalyptic atmosphere.

This is a small project with a big, black heart. So, don't expect multi-million dollar special effects or A-list actors. Instead, expect a decent movie with just as many brilliant moments as cheeezey ones.

If you enjoy demons, ghouls, and / or the supernatural, then you'll probably like this. Especially gorehounds!...

Hopefully Jay will get this film re-released. I personally very much enjoy it. It has a certain quality that most modern horror films do not have--the ability to watch it more than once or twice and still have it perk your interest. A film doesn't have to have dazzling modern special effects or top Hollywood actors in it to be good. What I look for in a film is an interesting story and an overall enjoyable viewing experience. This film certainly meets that criteria. I came across this film in an independent video store that (sadly) has closed down a few years ago because they were bought out by a large chain. Support your local independent video stores and support independent film!

It's easy to see that this movie was made on a shoestring budget. The special effects are not great, but the story itself is very interesting. The acting can be a little flat at times but that gives this film an odd sort of charm. The music and photography are good and that helps the movie quite a bit. The poetry and visual images give the movie a surrealistic feel that makes it feel otherworldly. I can't say it's a masterpiece, the scenes are a little choppy and it really could have used a bigger budget, but it does manage to overcome these issues and lift itself out of the Z grade and more into a B grade movie.

It's by no means perfect, but I have seen far worse and with bigger budgets. It is one of the better low-budget 80s films out there.

This movie at no point comes even close to capturing the mood or ambiance of anything dreamlike. I was hoping for either some trippy psychological concepts or at least some stimulating visuals, BUT it delivers neither. The bad acting is not bad enough to make the movie worthwhile, most of the effects are way too cheap looking to make an impression, and the story makes too little sense to be entertaining. Quite challenging to get through and offers no redeeming values aside from a few laughable moments of awkward acting, dialogue, and editing. Not really worth a $1 bargain bin purchase in my opinion.

College student, Ben, has been having problems with his frightening dreams, but they only get worse and start to take over his entire life and the lives of those around him.

For a low budget, regional horror film without a lot of resources, Beyond Dream's Door is jaw-droppingly well made with an almost David Lynch-ian quality at times with some really great creature and makeup effects. The acting is a mix of good, bad, and lobotomized, but it's the script that's the film's biggest downfall and kills a lot of goodwill built up by the imagination on display elsewhere. The narrative does feel like a dream in the sense that nothing really ever gels and things just happen without any explanation. It's intriguing for 20 minutes or so, but after that, you start hoping there might be a little bit more to it.