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.

Roger Corman's New Concorde produced this reasonable little straight-to-video low-budget demon feature that wears its b-grade quality proudly. Usually these films know what their target is and keeps to its strength, and "The Doorway" does that. Honestly the thing that caught my eye in the first place other than Corman's name; was the name of a establish actor Roy Scheider. He might not make an appearance to about 30 minutes in, but when he does it's dependably good even if it's nothing more than merely a small, but important role to the scheme of things.

Four college students looking to make some money, head out to an old abandon Georgian mansion to make some renovation repairs. However after just settling in weird things begin to happen, and one of them finds a book explaining the original occupants curiously demented past involving devil worshiping cults involving orgies and death. Soon they realise they're not alone as there's a demonic force at work.

You want blood… you got it. Cheap jumps… that's a tick. Nudity… yes plenty to go around. Sex… of course with depraved passions let out. And how about creepy dolls… oh yes it's a win-win situation. Well that's what happens when the mansion you're working in has a carnal past and a doorway to hell in its cellar, expect you soul to be corrupted by the evil. One sequence involving the group dancing away to a song while they clean… was just the start of it and nobody had been possessed yet. How to combat it in a logically sense is to get in a professor of the superstitious field and maybe a descendant (a smoking Teresa DePriest) with a physic link, who luckily enough knows the professor and is there on the spot. What are the odds? What they came up against is a ghostly succubus and hideous looking demon. For its obvious budget restrictions the make-up FX and visual effects are decently executed by Robert Hall / Almost Human. Sometimes cheesy, but not terrible. Low rent sets standout, but it's well photographed with it catering a claustrophobic remoteness to its house-bound terror.

You could probably nit-pick the creaky narrative and find a whole lot of flaws, but what's the point. It did take on some different fabricated plot roots, but the ending was unfulfilled in the way they closed it off. One aspect that I could have done without the cheeky humour that filled the fashionable script. The performances are passable enough and Lauren Woodland is likable.

If you let it, there's fun to be had.

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!

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.

I watch this movie a couple of time and i see a lot of mistakes in this movie, the part that Evelyn floating in the air, when she face to face with rick and the gang, it doesn't show her whole body floating in the air, half cut. on the lower part of the dress. you can barley see her sanding on something to make her look like she floating in the air, another scene, when evenly was trying to attack Tammy and Owen, in that scene when Evelyn try to go float after them,i think the actress was standing on a wagon to make look like she floating in the air, when she floating after Tammy and Owen, on the bottom right you can see a bald head man pop up half way, you don't see his face just the head, he was the one them pushing her in the movie to make it look like she was floating in the air, now that seen that, know i how they make looked like she was floating, LOL

I was hoping their was a part 2, reason why because to understand how Evelyn and Walter meet, this movie the doorway leave me with a lot of question???