The Gate (1987)

only avail in USA?

Only available in US? WTF this is a Canadian movie, how does that even happen, and more importaintly, WHY? Hello AMAZON this is the INTERNET and its WORLDWIDE. enough said..... they'll never get it. June 22, 2008

Great Gate

When I was looking for some inspiration for a plot involving little monsters attacking people, I had several movies to choose from. The "little monsters attack" horror/comedy genre was a fad that started with Gremlins and continued on through Critters, Ghoulies, and Troll in the eighties, among others. I was looking for more horror, less comedy. You need look no further than The Gate.

The Gate's concept is straightforward horror: kids alone (Stephen Dorf as preteen Glen and Christa Denton as his big sister Al) at home inadvertently open a literal pit to the netherworld and all hell breaks loose. But that's oversimplifying the movie, because there's so much more here.

Despite its PG-13 rating, The Gate is rather disturbing. Two of the kids are kidnapped by demons, a dead dog is involved, and a parent's head explodes. At one point Al grabs her father's gun and fires it (!) at one of the monsters. Glen's friend Terry (Louis Tripp) comes back as a demon to bite our protagonist, who proceeds to poke out his eye with a Barbie doll's leg. There's no way this movie would get a PG-13 rating today!

Then there are the little demons themselves, who seem like every kid's nightmare. The director knew how to use "bigatures" to his advantage (a technique perfected in Lord of the Rings), giving the demons a disturbingly lifelike appearance since they're actually actors in suits on a larger backdrop. There are other great FX too, not the least of which is a zombie exploding into a swarm of little demons. And to the movie's credit, artwork seen early in the movie depicts the demon lord accurately - the stop-motion demon that shows up at the end is every bit as horrifying.

Although this is a kid's movie, The Gate pushes all the buttons kids are afraid of. The demons prevent the kids from calling their parents (shouting, "YOU'VE BEEN BAAAD!"). The dead dog shows up in the most frightening places. And long, clawed arms snake out underneath beds to grab at the unsuspecting. If this movie doesn't give kids nightmares, nothing will.

The movie is hopelessly mired in the eighties. The teens dressed with ridiculous big hairstyles. The next door neighbor Terry (Louis Tripp) learns how to repel the demons by playing his death metal record backwards. And the dialogue is hopeless: "Suck my nose until my head caves in," is Glen's taunt to one of Al's annoying friends.

But that's beside the point. This is a movie about a kid's love for his big sister and rockets, both of which help him overcome the forces of evil. With special effects ahead of its time, demons that are anything but cute, and a climax that is both terrifying and inspirational, The Gate is an entertaining piece of eighties horror history. After the hell poor Glen goes through, he deserves the sappy happy ending. May 4, 2008

80'S STYLE AT IT'S BEST!

It's creepy
It's atmospheric
It's supernatural
It's 80's campy-cult horror at it's best
IT'S 'THE GATE'!!!

'The Gate' is a 1987 movie directed by Tibor Takacs and stars (a very young)Stephen Dorff, Louis Tripp, and Christa Denton.
Our story starts off in a quite suburb with Glen(Dorff)riding his bike down the street to his home. As he walks through the house a sence of heavy atmoshphere is established. Glen walks through the house and into the backyard, as well as into a sudden change to night time darkness. He is drawn to the tree house by a strange noise. After he climbs up and discovers a children's doll, lightning suddenly hits the tree sending it crashing to the ground. Just as the tree hits, Glen wakes up, telling us it was a dream. However, Lightning did in fact hit the tree, leaving a huge, very deep hole('Gate')in the ground.
After the removal crew leaves, we are introduced to Terry(Tripp), Glen's friend who seems to be the wild dysfunctional 'MeTal head' type, and Alexandra(Denton), Glen's sister. Glen and 'Al' learn that their parents are going on a trip and decide to leave Al in charge. As any teen left alone with the house would, she throws a party. During the party, the group tries a levetation with Glen. To everyone shock and suprise, it works. After that point, increasingly bizarre thing start to occur, and with an unintentional chain of events, 'hell' breaks loose from 'The Gate'!!

'The Gate' is Lovecraft style fiction, and borrows ideas from his stories. The plotline involves 'Old Ones'(gods)who are set loose through the gate to reclaim our dimension. the 'Old Ones' are 'evil' in nature and if they are to reclaim our dimension, it would most certainly mean the annihilation of mankind and our concept of reality(heavy stuff huh? that's why I like Lovecraft).

The acting is good and believable. This movie is LOADED with young rookie actors and it's suprising that they are able to convey a sence of realism. This was Stephen Dorff's first movie, and the bulk of this film rides on his shoulders. Louis Tripp gives a great, albeit stereotypical, supporting peformance(I'll get to that later).

The editing is great. The movie is 85 min. and wastes no time in setting up a creepy, ambient atmosphere. The characters and exposition are set up fairly quickly, but are detailed, we are given everything we need to know. Once things kick in, the movie moves from dark atmosphere to sudden bursts of scares.

The F/X are amazing for a low budjet B-cult movie. Some kind of Stop-motion animation is used for the 'Demons'. However, don't think that they do not look realistic, they look quite real and adds an element of 'Evil Dead' style dark humor.
After the gate is blown open, the surronding area looks like a desolate wasteland, and it's very realistic.

The cinematography and score is where this movie shines. As with alot of supernatural movies, it's a combination of music, lighting(and use of darkness), camera angles, and editing to create a dream-like state. These factors are what gives this movie it's edge.

I really only have two gripes with this movie(the reason for 4 stars).
1)I grew up a MeTal kid, and I'm still into MeTal as an adult in his 30's, and the premiss that a heavy MeTal band has the knowlege to open and close dimensional gateways to call upon 'gods' is ridiculous, and offencive to people that love this type of music(it's a culture, just like the 'hip-hop' culture). Heavy MeTal bands(for the most part, there are some exeptions)use 'evil' imagery for publicity and to exploit the fear associated with these issues. The ideas in this movie sound like P.M.R.C. propaganda(anyone remember them?)
2)Without giving spoilers, the climax of the film(given it's Lovecraft fiction) is a far, far stretch to believe in, albeit shot very well.
The atmosphere and creepiness of the film FAR outways these drawbacks though.

Outside of those two issues, this movie is gold and worth every penny. I have no idea if this is going to be re-issued, it's not very expensive, but I can imagine the price going up considerably in the future. If your a fan of Lovecraft and fantacy horror, 'The Gate' is a must have!!!!
There is a rumor that this movie is going to be re-made and released sometime next year. April 17, 2008

One of my faves!!!

If you had HBO in the 1980's, it's alsmost assured that you saw the movie the Gate. I was always excited to see it as a kid, and was pretty happy to find it on DVD. The DVD isn't the best quality, but I didn't expect some 2 disc ultra-edition for an 80's cult classic. I would have bought it, but I'm not sure people seeing it for the first time would take such a chance. There are so many memorable parts in this movie, it's hard to pick out the key scenes. I love the opening, vey eerie, and you're never sure whether it was a dream, real, or somewhere in between. The whole party scene, when Terry falls down the hole, and when the zombie breaks through and carries away his best friend and sister. Oh, and who can forget the rock record taht tells how to close the gate when it's played backward. Oh, sweet memories.... November 14, 2007

Ah, Memories....

What horror fan didn't catch this movie on HBO or USA back in the day? I haven't seen this film in over 15 years, but when I did see it, I saw it MANY times. I recently watched it again to see if it was as fun as I remember. Usually watching a movie years later that you loved as a kid is a bad move coz you tend to be disappointed. After all, through the eyes of a child you don't look for or hang on to the inaccuracies. You're able to accept a premise no matter how far fetched, and acting no matter how bad. While I saw a bit of both, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie still retained all of it's fun factor. I still really like it! I'm gonna give you a quick rundown regardless of what the schmuck below says: Glen(a very young Stephen Dorff), and his teenage sister are left alone to mind the house while mommy and daddy are gone. After a storm, they discover a big hole in the backyard that we quickly find out is a gateway for demons to come through and take over the world. We find this out coz Glen's buddy Terry, who lives next door, just happens to have an LP by a metal band called Sacrifyx(only available as an import by the way). Sacrifyx's album sleeve and lyrics tell the whole tale. Thank God for 80s metal albums and their spookish shenanigans, you never know when they'll come in handy(this film was obviously made in the period where listening to a heavy metal band was seen as only one step away from blood orgies and human sacrifice. Thanks Geraldo for jamming that point home!). Soon Glen, his sister, and Terry(not to mention two annoying friends of the sister) deal with various spooks and beasties in an effort to close the gate. The most memorable creatures being the mini-demons that scuttle around and bite you if they get close enough. While obviously silly(I won't give it away in case you forgot, but the way the demons are defeated and the gate gets closed is rather dumb and makes no real sense), and not terribly frightening, this movie is actually very entertaining. This was back when a PG-13 rated horror film could still have balls and a decent amount of gore. The whole mythology of the demons is pure Lovecraft. Those familiar with Lovecraft will notice this immediately with the whole concept of older gods who once ruled the earth that want to return and reclaim it. Considering the low budget and nonexistence of CGI, most of the miniature effects for the small demons look quite impressive today. The large demon, while obviously stop motion animation, looks kinda creepy. At one point Glen discovers he has a living eyeball in the palm of his hand, and it makes you wonder if Faith No More stole something from this movie. Of course the acting isn't all fantastic, not all the fx are perfect, and some of the plot points are ridiculous, but who cares? We don't expect it to be perfect. Add to all that, a Masters of the Universe shirt, Iron Maiden and Slayer posters, and you've got a great trip down memory lane. If it's been a while, I'd make it a point to see this one again soon. October 21, 2007

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