Behind the Door

Filmed in portrait mode, Leonardo Valenti’s short film Behind the Door (Derrière la porte) is as concise as it is timely, successfully delivering a mixed-genre piece that adheres to the new norms of cultural consumption whilst retaining cinematic staples. 

A man is trapped in his hotel room in France, having overslept and missed his journey back to his family in Italy. After ringing the reception for help, he realises the female on the end of the phone is actually in his bathroom, a story his enraged wife fails to believe. 

Originally a piece created for the 48 Hour Film Competition of the White Rose Film Festival, Behind the Door was rejigged afterwards to become a revised version using the same footage but with changed editing, music and sound. Even with the revisions, the film is certainly on the low-budget end of the indie filmmaking spectrum, and the atmosphere of the movie feels more like a social media skit than a cinematic piece. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just that filmmakers now are able to create “content” in this manner, which will reach audiences differently, potentially with platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram in mind, rather than the silver screen. 

By blending a thriller/horror premise with light moments of comedy, the film automatically has a wide appeal, and when you throw in a supernatural element (no spoilers), the short film has a lot going for it. Valenti shows himself to be more than worthy of spinning multiple genre plates, creating a palpably tense atmosphere whilst injecting a few laughs along the way.  

Horror in particular lends itself nicely to creatively ambitious projects like these, where the audience’s expectations on production value can be dramatically lowered, and they can still be fully immersed in the story (think The Blair Witch Project or any found-footage movie).

The pacing is an issue. There is a rapidity to the piece that will appeal to some modern viewers, and the close framing of the main character, especially whilst he’s on the phone, works well to create an immediate intimacy needed to draw people in. However, there is an undeniable feeling of being rushed through the ghost story premise, with little time to breathe or fully comprehend the entire backstory, characters, or outcome. It has a quickfire tempo that may, perhaps, infuriate a few viewers.

For those along for the ride, however, this depiction of a family thrust into long-distance chaos is bursting at the seams with a frenetic energy. Behind the Door is ultimately daring, unnerving, and contemporary, and is potentially an example of the newest wave of filmmaking audiences should now expect to see more of.