The Doorway

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.

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?

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!

I can't believe this was released in theaters. It should came straight to video. Anyways, this is a very bad horror movie. In fact, it can't be horror as it lacks of gore, scary scenes, creepy direction and settings, etc. It features 4 teens that spend some days trying to fix a house in order to receive some bucks. For their bad luck, there's a doorway in the house that leads to hell. Yes, hell in a very cheesy way. When they find out that they found hell, they immediately look for help... I won't get into details about the plot as the explanation of hell and some strange events that occur inside are very stupid. And guess what? Roy Scheider is on the rescue... What does that mean? Is it something good or bad? There's no reasonable answer.

This movie has only one good aspect : both girls are somewhat attractive, and the ghost girl (when not possessed) can be very attractive.

Avoid this one! Fans of the horror genre will find this a very boring, and no potential movie. Don't even give it a try.

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.