The Doorway

When a true Hollywood film nut asks "Why do they make B-class Horror movies?" the answer is: because people want to see them, of course.

But, why do people want to see them? The answer is quite simple:

1) Bad Acting: There is nothing better than drinking beer and watching untalented people pretend to act. This movie had some great bad actors. But, it also had some semi-decent actors. Don Maloney's character became really funny as the movie wore on (and bears an uncanny resemblance to Paul Giamatti, which may be why I thought him so hilarious).

2) Cheesy Special Effects: Fingernails growing out of fake hands. Makeup from the local Halloween store. Blood that shoots in direct squirt-gun streams. Blue screens of death. What more can you ask for? This film had it all!

3) The Plot: There's always two girls and two guys, the haunted house, and the resident paranormal expert. There are the excuses they make to keep themselves in the house (I mean, after having a severed hand feel you up in the shower, would you seriously stick around?). Again, this movie had it all.

4) Naked girls: This is probably the most important reason anyone would watch a B-movie. It's a guaranteed boob fest! I was only disappointed in that we never got to see Tammy in the buff. Oh well, there were plenty of others.

All in all, The Doorway was a great B-movie that had all the elements that us B-movie fans love.

Writer/director Druxman draws from previous films of his producer Roger Corman (such as "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Dunwich Horror") to deliver a well-done ensemble piece about the doorway to hell.

Filmed in Ireland, but presumably set in Massachusetts or New England, a group of four teenagers and their lecturer dare to uncover the dreaded doorway despite their horrific encounters with a demon. It is not clear whether they are brave or stupid.

Scheider's role is lamentably too small to have an impact despite top-billing. It's the kids we care about despite their immaturity.

The writer/director knows we've seen it all before, so while the film is played straight, the tongue is firmly in his cheek. The humour is not out of place, but the frights are genuine.

Stay tuned for the wrap-up, it's satisfying though you will feel like a victim of a practical joke. The fate of the surviving two teenagers might have made a great sequel.

Really, what does happen to characters in horror movies when the "horror" is over?

B-film? Yes.

Cheesy style homage to yesteryear horror films? well, sort of.

At times intriguing and other times laughable but the most haunting thing about it was I felt as if I had seen it all before...and I had. Slightly updated effects (which certainly didnt enhance the film) and a couple slightly re-arranged plot lines but this was definately a thinly-masked remake of the 1981 The Evil starring Richard Crenna. For those who enjoyed this film find a copy of the original and compare. For those thinking of watching The Doorway, find the Evil and enjoy a slightly more interesting (and original) b-horror film.

The words I would use to describe this movie are this movie scared the living heck out of me!It's hard to find a horror movie that actually scares you these days,and this one is a fine acception.People that make horror movies try to make it scary,but alot of times they do things that mess it up.I actually loved this movie,it was terrific,not only because it was scary,but everything else was great,too,the plot,the acting,ect.Teresa Depriest is great with her performance as Evilyn/Lydia.Lydia is a woman descended from a woman many,many centuries ago.They look excactly alike,one is evil,one is good.The people that made this film were succesful to make it great.This movie is definately a ten.

This movie is an unredeemable piece of crappy crap, crap. The acting, directing, script and special effects were strictly amateur night. I am shocked and appalled that a credible station in Canada actually played this as it's Friday night feature. Yikes! Even the T&A aspect is tainted here....these "actors" think they are in a good movie! The title of this film should have been "Duped" because these hacks were being exploited by incompetent filmmakers. None of these actresses have done anything note worthy since (excluding lap dances) and the producers must have had a picture of Roy Scheider's agent with a donkey in order to book him for material this low. If you want T&A I'd advise you to rent a porno film instead. They have higher production values, better performances, the women are more appealing and it's not as embarrassing to leave the video store with. This shameful trash is a true blow to the horror genre. Avoid at all costs!