In The Open Door, a bunch of insufferable rich teenage brats are planning the party of the year, but Angelica can't go. Her strict parents have grounded her, and even though they are going out of town for the weekend, they are calling the house every hour to make sure she doesn't sneak out. Angelica is desperate to get to the big party of the year because she plans to lose her virginity to the boy of her dreams, so she calls a pirate radio station that she heard some kids talking about at school. The radio station is only live on nights with a full moon, and the host promises to grant wishes to anyone who calls in. Unfortunately, these wishes come with a catch, and Angelica's wishes go terribly wrong.
The Open Door is a bad movie, but under the right conditions, it is a fun bad movie. I would describe it as teen slasher film meets Twilight Zone and produced by the kind of people who build Hell Houses at Halloween. For people unfamiliar with Hell Houses, they are haunted houses built by evangelical Christians. Instead of ghosts or goblins, there are kids at a rave dying of a drug overdose, a gay man dying from AIDS, or a teen girl dying from a botched abortion. They are heavy-handed, misguided morality tales with dialogue written by someone who had to look up “rave” on Wikipedia.
The Open Door is like a Hell House captured on film. All of Angelica's friends have spent the evening drinking and making out, and it is implied that maybe they would have lived if they had just stayed home that night. Even thinking evil thoughts is taboo. Angelica rants about how she hates her parents getting in the way of her fun, and the devil kills them. Maybe if she hadn't had a moment of rebellion, her parents would still be alive. I also suspect that Hell House people are behind this movie because Angelica's mother has an amazing (and unintentionally hilarious) conversation with her daughter about Facebook. “Look at Staci's profile! This is a porn site! Did you know that prisoners print out her pictures and use them as money?” “Mom, nobody takes that seriously.” “The prisoners do!”
If all of this sounds really stupid, that is because The Open Door is very stupid. Unlike other bad movies, however, The Open Door doesn't drag on with no end in sight. The movie's running time is only 94 minutes, and it feels that long. Also, there is enough unintentional humor that it could be a fun movie to watch with a group of people Mystery Science Theater 3000-style. If The Open Door is ever put on Netflix Instant Play, I would recommend picking up some beer and inviting some friends over for a bad movie night. Otherwise, close the door on The Open Door.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD includes a trailer for the film.
"The Open Door" is on sale November 15, 2011 and is not rated. Horror. Written and directed by Doc Duhame. Starring Catherine Munden, Ryan Doom, Sarah Christine Smith.
