Beyond the Door III Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Beyond the Door III Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 3, 2019

The good news is that one doesn’t have to see 1974’s “Beyond the Door” to fully understand anything in 1989’s “Beyond the Door III.” Producer Ovidio Assonitis is merely trying to cash-in on a brand name he helped to create, using the title to attract audiences to a production that could use all the marketplace help it can find. The original endeavor was an Italian “Exorcist” rip-off that managed to make some coin (and trigger a lawsuit from Warner Brothers), while the second sequel tries to continue a theme of demonic possession, this time finding a train in Yugoslavia trapped by an evil power. It doesn’t get any sillier than that, but director Jeff Kwinty (“Iced,” “Lightning in a Bottle”) is trying to craft something approachable with “Beyond the Door III,” turning to stunt work and runaway train suspense to add some excitement to yet another offering of cult influence in an isolated corner of the world.

Offered a chance to witness a scared pagan ritual, a collection of Californian college students travels to Yugoslavia, meeting with Professor Andromolek (Bo Svenson), their guide. Beverly (Mary Kohnert) is an outsider, reluctant to take part in the tour, haunted by something undefined as she visits her mother’s homeland. While the students are enthusiastic about the adventure, they soon realize they’re being groomed for Satanic sacrifice, making their escape from a small village, eventually finding safety on a passing train. However, this is no average locomotive, with the vehicle powered by evil, intent on murdering the Americans while keeping Beverly alive for a special virginal purpose.

One doesn’t come across possessed train movies every day, making “Beyond the Door III” something special for fans of highly bizarre horror films. The actual vehicle crisis doesn’t commence right away, with screenwriter Shelia Goldberg setting up the doofiness of the students, who try to turn the trip into a party, failing to pick up on the warning signs of the region, while Professor Andromolek offers guidance but dresses like a villain. Only Beverly is disturbed by everything, unable to shake her unease as the group travels to a local village for the ceremony. She’s not much of a protagonist, but Beverly is pretty much all the material has for viewers, with the rest of the students on the dim side, with one young man electing to jump off a speeding train to help his friend who couldn’t move fast enough to board. Of course he’s hurt in the process, setting up a subplot that follows the two as they move slowly through a threatening forest.

Once the train arrives, “Beyond the Door III” becomes appealingly weird. Kwinty isn’t working with a sizeable budget, and the feature has very little polish, finding special effects looking rough and miniature work missing refinement, but he does have the good sense to try and make the movie as exciting as possible. The students crawl all over the train, inspiring modest stunt work, and the vehicle often goes out of its way to murder innocents, including a scene where it intentionally derails, racing through a swamp to mow down a few stragglers before reconnecting with the track. When it comes to ending lives, this train isn’t lazy, and whenever “Beyond the Door III” grows too amateurish for comfort, there’s always the central image of a possessed locomotive barreling across Yugoslavia, considering different ways to murder its passengers. Now that’s entertainment.

Beyond the Door III Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Labeled as "Newly scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative," "Beyond the Door III" arrives on Blu-ray looking quite good. The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation is generous with detail, permitting skin surfaces to push through with clarity, examining the softness of youth and the coarseness of age. Countryside visits are dimensional, taking in wide open spaces, while interiors are textured, surveying metallic train cars and aged rooms. Colors are defined, capturing the autumnal atmosphere of the effort, which mostly deals with browns and blacks. Greenery adds some power, and period outfits supply brighter hues. Red is pleasingly emphasized throughout, from bloodshed to lipstick. Delineation is secure, preserving frame information. Source is in good shape, with mild scratches and some speckling detected.

Beyond the Door III Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

"Beyond the Door III" is a film obsessed with noise, so it's a minor miracle the 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix comes out strong and capable of detailing layers of train movement, character panic, and music. There's a fuller, wider sense of engagement here, with dialogue exchanges emerging with sharpness, exploring heavy accents and elevated scenes of panic. Scoring comes through with decent instrumentation, supporting suspense as necessary. Sound effects are cranked throughout, providing the roar of the train and its many murderous encounters.

Beyond the Door III Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Running Amok" (39:48, HD) is a sit-down with director Jeff Kwinty, who runs through his college experience, where he studied moviemaking, eventually finding his way to Roger Corman for his first job in the industry. After meeting Ovidio Assonitis, Kwinty relocated to Rome to help the producer with screenplays, sharing memories of the man and his low-budget efforts. Receiving an opportunity to direct what was then called "The Train," Kwinty contacted James Cameron, requesting advice from the "Piranha II" director, who was fired from the production by Assonitis. The Belgrade shoot for "Beyond the Door III" was complicated by political unrest, requiring the use of military protection, and stunts largely involved real dangers, keeping the cast on edge. Kwinty admits some of the feature was completed without him, including all shots of gore. The interviewee shares his technical ambition with the picture, recalling challenges with cinematographer Adolfo Bartoli, whom Kwinty praises in full. The helmer also provides an assessment of the experience, recognizing the pros and cons of the endeavor.

• "A Long Walk to Yugoslavia" (22:13, HD) is an interview with Bo Svenson, who's quite the character, occasionally slipping into English and pirate accents as he explains what he was doing in "Beyond the Door III." Happily admitting the job was a money gig, Svenson shares his history with Assonitis, enjoying the producer's professionalism and spirit, even talking him into rehiring Kwinty after the director was briefly fired from the shoot. Exploring the locations, Svenson shares his trials with constant risotto dinners and time spent hanging around with war criminals while a general air of political unrest was brewing, warned to exit the country as a revolution as building. Admiration for sets and cinematography are shared (Svenson has never seen the film), and he supplies his perspective on surviving Italian productions. While prone to rambling, Svenson certainly never tires, making this an unusual chat.

• Interview (6:43, HD) with cinematographer Adolfo Bartoli examines his career history (working on 150 movies), his time with Assonitis, visual style, locations, interactions with the cast and local crew, script changes, and his own assessment of "Beyond the Door III," which is lost to his broken English.

• A Trailer has not been included.

Beyond the Door III Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Beyond the Door III" isn't a shining example of the genre's capabilities. It's junky and goofy, but it has focus, using the train threat well throughout the feature, before Satanic events take over to slow down the thrill ride. Kwinty's trying to slap together a presentable and unusual nightmare, delivering a reasonable B-movie event with unusual locations and a strange antagonist.