Sam Panico
Tibor Takács (director of I, Madman and yep, that's on the list of movies to review) and a young Stephen Dorff take pre-teen trauma and metal love to the limit in this one.Glen (Dorff, who smokes those blu cigs in commercials and makes Becca sigh and was also bad ass in Blade) has constant nightmares and a weird best friend named Terry (who is totally the most metal geek kid in cinema forever and ever). Together, they find a geode in the backyard and get blood on it. Because that's what you do.When Glen's folks leave for the weekend and put his sister Al the sitter, you know there's going to be boys coming over and parties. No shock there. What is shocking is that they decide to read some incantations and break open the geode, which leads to Terry's dead mom coming back from the grave. Or maybe it was just Glen's dog Angus, who dies as a result of the monkeyshines.Terry's awesome — a D&D loving, occult obsessed kid that I totally identify with — and he believes that a metal album is the key to Terry's backyard, which he believes is a domain of evil gods. They actions opened the gate to the netherworld and it's a good thing they didn't make a sacrifice. Just then, one of Al's friends dumps the dead dog in the backyard. Oh no. Oh yes.Read more at http://bit.ly/2zCn2UO
MrGKB
..."The Gate" is a classic example of Sturgeon's Revelation in action. Michael "Flipper" Nankin's script, centering on two tween-agers who manage to accidentally open a demonic portal to wherever, is slipshod and undistinguished--routine TV quality at best; the direction by Tibor "The Outer Limits (1995)" Takács is pedestrian. "The Gate" has all the markings of an on-the-cheap Canadian production, highlighted only by a few snippets of stop-motion animation and some forced perspective work that looks pretty good, but adds nothing in terms of actual suspense or much of anything else. On a whole, it strikes this viewer as a made-for-TV movie with a slightly higher budget, just not enough to put it on a par with genuine feature films.No, the only thing that makes "The Gate" stand out is the fact that it was Stephen "Immortals" Dorff's first film (at age 12-13), along with several of his co-stars. All the kids, in fact, came from TV-land; interestingly, the two with the choicer support roles in "The Gate" eventually faded from acting, while the two girls playing Alexandra's friends both went on to solid (though not brand name) careers. Such is fate and show biz. I'll also opine that Christa "The Burning Bed" Denton's birth year listed here on the IMDb is inaccurate; Dorff was pushing 13 when the movie was shot, so take another look at Al and do the math."The Gate" is one of those films that benefits from nostalgia, and the more years between seeing it and remembering it, the better. The (apparent) impending remake stands a very good chance of being an improvement, should the powers-that-be actually cough up for a decent screenplay and a quality director. There'll be no excuse for not providing quality acting talent; Dorff and Co. established the only high bar the original provides. I won't be holding my breath, mind you, but in the meantime, if you really must re-explore your childhood film thrills, surely you have better examples than "The Gate" to provide them.
YaoiQueen333
I would have never guessed in a million years that a PG-13 horror movie actually existed in the 80's. I knew horror was big then, but big enough to make a movie for the under eighteen? I was definitely going to have to watch The Gate.This fun, campy horror flick is about Glen (Stephen Dorff) and his best friend, Terry (Louis Tripp), accidentally finding a gateway to hell in Glen's backyard, and with the help from a rock band that had written songs about the gate, try to close it up. Unfortunately, all doesn't go that well. With Glen's parents gone for the weekend and his big sister, Al (Christa Denton), in charge, this can only mean one thing: demons.The downside about the demons, though? Well, actually there are two things. One, they're about the size of a newborn kitten, which sort of takes away what could have been something good and "scary" (though if you were about ten when watching this, it would have given you nightmares compared to anyone over thirteen.) However, considering it is a low-budget movie that does involve kids, I'm sure they couldn't make them too challenging of demons (they were actually rather stronger than you would have suspected!) The other downside is that it takes nearly fifty minutes for anything even remotely scary to happen (the very first incident is when long creature-looking arms are grabbing Al's leg from under a bed in Glen's room.) After that, the movie becomes a wonderful roller coaster ride, but then the ride slows down and before you know it, it's time to get off.When the bed scene is over we actually get a little – and I do mean just a little – gore! Now I'm not talking gore as in The Thing, but the gore was good enough for the movie and to not make anyone queasy. As far the special effects go, today they would have been considered "bad", but for the era back then they're actually rather decent. The kids do a satisfying job on their acting, especially Louis Tripp! This is definitely a classic any fan of the 80's must see!
Woodyanders
Nice kid Glen (a fine Stephen Dorff in his film debut) and his amiable heavy metal music nerd best friend Terry (a solid and likable performance by Louis Tripp) inadvertently release a powerful supernatural force from another dimension through a mysterious hole in Gleen's backyard. If the boys don't figure out a way to close said gate right away, these lethal demonic beings will bring about hell on earth. Director Tibor Takacs and writer Michael Nankin eschew the usual graphic gore and cheap nasty scares found in a majority of 80's slasher fare that was trendy at the time in order to put a welcome and refreshing emphasis on eerie mood and nerve-jangling suspense. The gradual build-up in the opening half leads to a delightfully surreal and nightmarish second half which culminates in a lively and exciting climax. Moreover, the main characters are well developed and genuinely appealing: Dorff and Tripp make for engaging leads while Christa Denton brings an endearingly spunky charm to her role as Glen's sweet older sister Al. Jennifer Irwin and Deborah Grove are amusing as the vapid Lee sisters. Nankin's screenplay boasts several cool offbeat touches: Terry learns about the gate by listening to a hard rock album from an obscure band, the telephone melts, a shambling zombie workman bursts out of the walls, and Glen winds up with an eyeball in the palm of his hand. Kudos are also in order for the dazzling array of excellent and impressive special effects: The giant stop-motion animation beast seen towards the end is truly gnarly while the diminutive demonic minions are quite creepy and funky. Takacs and Nankin bring a positively infectious go-for-it enthusiasm to the material that's impossible to either dislike or resist. Tomas Vanes' slick cinematography and the spirited shuddery score by Michael Hoenig and J. Peter Robinson are both up to par as well. Best of all, there's even an upbeat central message about how the power of pure love can effectively conquer evil. An incredibly fun and worthwhile 80's creature feature winner.
AD
