Review of The Black Door

I saw this film at late night screening in Sitges and once again on DVD. The treatment is that of a documentary/investigation with the crew trying to figure out what happened to a student who obviously stumbled on a sect while doing some research. The film coldly brings out the details of the story with a feeling of gloom and impending doom that is all the more touching that it remains at a human level. There are some lengths in the pace and the general feeling is a bit rough, but what remains is the bone chilling images of a satanic ritual that is at the heart of the story and has an extremely realistic and convincing feel. This part is finely directed in a frightening clinical and voyeuristic way justified by the story. It puts audiences in the position of witnesses of a ritual sacrifice, and uncomfortable position at best and reminds of some gut wrenching historical documents of war or execution, with their no nonsense, non fiction way of showing death with no concern for dramatization as it must be an "objective" report of a dreadful event. If only for the shock this sequence creates when it appears, and reactions of the audiences at the screening were evidence to that sudden change of mood and impact, this film is worth watching.