Word: Portal

The doorway leading into Malkovitch's mind is referred to as a portal by several characters. I found two relevant definitions of portal at Merriam-Webster Online. The first is a "door, entrance; especially: a grand or imposing one" and the other is "a communicating part or area of an organism; specifically: the point at which something (as a pathogen) enters the body." The second of these two definitions is the more interesting. It may be fruitful to think of those who enter Malkovitch's mind as pathogens. Both Craig and Lotte enter Malkovitch for the own hedonistic reasons, and violate Malkovitch much like an infectious agent causes disease and illness to a post.