In the early ’80s, a revolution took place in the horror genre. Amateur filmmakers started to direct their own horror films, using home video cameras. In those days before YouTube, they released the films not in theaters but instead on VHS tape. These shot-on-video horror movies usually only cost a few thousand dollars to make and, what they lacked in polished cinematography and big stars, they often made up for in raw immediacy, strange plot twists, and crudely effective gore. These were films that were made by horror lovers who didn’t have a studio looking over their shoulder and saying, “That might cost us at the box office.” The end results were films that critics either ignored or hated but which true horror fans made a point of tracking down. Admittedly, most of the old SOV horror films aren’t particularly good. Usually, when I watch these films, I find myself developing an appreciation for things that I usually take for granted, like clean sound recording. But there are a few that are memorable, either because of their bizarre plots or because of their willingness to go to the extremes that mainstream films tend to avoid. For this year’s Horrorthon, I hope to review several SOV horror films for this site.
1987’s Beyond the Seventh Door is a good example of a SOV horror film. Directed by Bozidar Benedikt and filmed in Canada, Beyond the Seventh Door stars actor Lazar Rockwood as Boris. Boris has just gotten out of prison. His ex-girlfriend, Wendy (Bonnie Beck), tells him that she is currently working as a maid for a paraplegic millionaire. She suggests that, during a costume party, she and Boris should break into the estate’s basement and steal some of her boss’s possessions. Boris agrees but, soon after they break in, they discover that the basement is actually a series of seven escape rooms. If Boris and Wendy can successfully solve the puzzle of each room and escape without dying, they’ll get what they’re looking for in the seventh room. But even the final room has a deadly twist.
It’s an intriguing plot and, considering that it appears that the film was basically shot in a warehouse and that the same room was redecorated multiple times, the film still manages to generate a little suspense. The twist ending is clever and Bonnie Beck does a good job with the role of Wendy. I felt bad for Wendy, who had to maneuver her way through each death trap while wearing high heels. That said, her red dress was to die for.
However, the main thing that most people will remember about Beyond the Seventh Door is the bizarre performance of Lazar Rockwood. With his dark, unkempt hair and his hollowed-out facial features, Rockwood bears a disturbing resemblance to Richard Ramirez, the infamous California serial killer who was known as the Night Stalker. Rockwood delivers his lines in a nearly indecipherable accent and, whenever a door closes behind him, he lets out a shrill little “Nooooo!” that is more likely to make you smile than feel any sort of real fear. It’s such a bizarre performance that it becomes oddly fascinating to watch. It’s not exactly a good performance, but he is totally credible as the type of easily misguided weirdo who would end up getting trapped in one escape room after another.
There’s a relentless drive to Beyond the Seventh Door’s narrative, one that makes the film easy to watch despite the low budget and the occasionally clunky dialogue. The action stops briefly for a totally out-of-place sex scene but somehow, even that works. I mean, if you’re trapped in a basement with your ex and it’s totally possible that you’re going to be dead within the hour, you might as well. It’s a far more watchable film than it probably has any right to be and the things that make it watchable are exactly the things that no studio would have allowed the filmmakers to get away with, like casting Lazar Rockwood in the lead role. This is an SOV film that actually works.
