Chi sei? (1974)

Directors:

Ovidio G. Assonitis
Robert Barrett

Writers:

Ovidio G. Assonitis (story) and
Antonio Troiso (story) ...

Release Date:

31 July 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Beyond this door the most terrifying event in the history of mankind is about to occur!

Plot:

Juliet Mills plays a young pregnant woman in San Francisco who is going to have the devil's baby during her strange possession. Richard Johnson shows up to help her... but what does he really want?

Plot Keywords:

Possession | Demon | Baby | Vomit | Birth

Cast

Juliet Mills	...	Jessica Barrett
Gabriele Lavia	...	Robert Barrett
Richard Johnson	...	Dimitri
Nino Segurini	...	Dr. George Staton
Elizabeth Turner	...	Barbara Staton (as Elisabeth Turner)
Barbara Fiorini	...	Gail Barrett
Carla Mancini	...	Mrs. Francis
David Colin Jr.	...	Ken Barrett
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	Mr. Francis
Luigi Marturano

Also Known As:

Behind the Door
Beyond Obsession (USA)
Beyond the Door (USA)
La cosa è tra noi (Chi sei?) (Italy) (informal title)
The Devil Within Her (UK)
Who Are You? (International: English title)

Runtime:

109 min | USA:99 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Australia:R | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

A Erre Cinematografica

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dimitri is in the elevator looking down at the complex he sees Robert. The same shot is reused three times.

Quotes:

Voice of Demon: Ladies and gentlemen, may I ask for your attention, just for a minute. Soon you will be caught up in the events taking place on the screen, and then you may forget all about me... well, almost, anyway. You see, I must confess to a certain feeling of propriety toward the story that's about to begin because, immodest though it may sound, I play an extremely important part in the proceedings. In fact, without me, there really...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Exterminator (1980)

Soundtrack:

Bargain with the Devil

Satan is the narrator--'nuff said

You know you're in trouble when you're watching a movie where Satan is the narrator. This is an early effort by Olvidio Assonitis, who was considered a rip-off artist even in a country famous for its rip-off artists (Italy). But where some later Assonitis films like "Tentacles" are sporadically entertaining, this movie falls flat largely because Assonitis is trying to rip-off two big Hollywood movies simultaneously --"Rosemary's Baby" AND "The Exorcist". Assonitis obviously doesn't have the budget to rip off the latter or the directorial skill to rip-off the former, but the best director with all the money in the world couldn't successfully combine these two films because "The Exorcist" is sheer outrageous spectacle (including among other things a possessed 12-year-old girl masturbating with a crucifix) while "Rosemary's Baby" is a very subtle exercise in creeping paranoia that never even shows the titular baby. Sure, they're both about Satan, but they are completely different kinds of movies and combining them is a fool's errand. But of course, only a fool would start out a movie with Satan as a narrator.

Juliet(sister of Haley) Mills plays a housewife whose third child is apparently Satan's spawn. The unborn infant has possessed her, somehow turning her into a low-rent Linda Blair. How did she get pregnant with the devil's child? Who knows (guess I missed that part), but her creepy ex-boyfriend has been pulled by Satan from a fatal car accident and given ten more years of life so he can make sure the baby is born (seems like there should be an easier way). Meanwhile, her husband and two older children are completely befuddled (although probably not as much as the audience). Obviously, this movie makes no sense, but its one saving grace is that it is pretty funny at times (mostly unintentionally). At one point it copies a creepy scene in "Rosemary's Baby" where the pregnant heroine eats a barely-cooked piece of meat by having Mills pick a rotting banana peel off the street and eat it. I don't know if it's supposed to be serious or a parody but its hilarious. Then there's the 10-year-old daughter who talks in the dubbed voice of a 70's hippie chick ("You're a stone drag, man," she tells her little brother at one point). I'll give Assonitis some credit and assume that that is SUPPOSED to be funny. Unfortunately, most of the movie is not so funny and it is certainly not very scary. Not the worst Italian horror movie I've ever seen, but I wouldn't waste your time.