The Gate (Special Edition)

I've seen this film at least a dozen times since I was a child. Of course it creeped me out far more back then than it does now, but it is an honorable mention in the collection of horror films I've seen, for a multitude of reasons.1. Despite its corniness, its villains are creative. When I compare this 80's classic to more modern horror, say Drag Me to Hell, the saving grace of The Gate is that we can see how disturbing and grotesque the demons actually are. A lot of modern "demon" movies (which have grown tired and stale over the years) don't use as many special creature effects, and that, to me, does them a huge disservice, because it's truly one of the things that kept The Gate so entertaining over the years.2. It's cheesiness doesn't feel forced. It feels more like a "so bad, it's good" situation. I think they tried their best with The Gate, and its corniness was a product of its times.3. It's hilariously nonsensical. Normally I'd consider this a huge downside to any film, but somehow the confusion in this movie almost benefits it. You leave the film with so many questions and never any answers... which is kind of how I'd feel if there really was a gate to Hell in my backyard, come to think of it.4. The creature effects were on point. It always makes me miss the monster movies of the eighties, where the villains actually looked and behaved terrifyingly. Horror films are so focused on jump scares today because they assume actual creatures won't scare anyone, and I think the blame lies on indie B monster movies released straight to video. Hollywood... monster movies need a comeback. A Quiet Place was a good start, maybe move on from there.5. Nostalgia. It always brings me back to my adolescence.The Gate is a corny, silly film... but somehow it's one I never forgot, unlike a lot of the trash I see nowadays.

This is a movie I remember seeing in the video store growing up, a film I had heard of, I recall seeing the cover for, but I just now saw watched the film in 2020. I knew it was considered a cult classic, not on the level of say _Gremlins_ or _Poltergeist_ but a beloved 1980s horror classic (also of a 1980s subgenre, the “strange things involving monsters or ghosts or aliens or women you created in your bedroom wrecking havoc on your house while your parents were away one long weekend” subgenre which I admit I loved as a teenager, and also the “kids or teenagers without any adults whatsoever must stop an interdimensional evil or ancient curse or alien invasion by themselves” subgenre, also classic and still seen with such films as _Super 8_ and _It Follows_).The story is surprisingly simple. The main character, 12-year-old Glen (Stephen Dorff), dreams about a tree in his backyard being destroyed by lightning. He wakes up to find workers removing the tree (the treehouse in it smashed) and trying to fill in a big hole where the tree’s roots were. Glen and his friend Terry (Louis Tripp) play around in the hole and find a geode. Glen and his 15-year-old sister Alexandra (“Al,” played by Christa Denton) are left alone by their parents for a long weekend, with Terry sleeping over and Al having a house party over the express wishes of her parents (a very common 1980s movie trope).Long story short, the boys figure out the hole where the roots were is a gateway to a domain of evil gods or demons and they have accidentally opened it by not only the tree being removed but by a few things that the boys do or accidentally happen over the course of a day or two. The rest of the film revolves around the boys and Al trying to seal the gate and deal with the demons that pour from it. Along the way they also encounter ghosts and zombies and see a number of things that aren’t really there (such as Terry seeing his dead mother).The movie is sort of hard to follow in terms of logical rules of why things happen, what works, what are the operating rules of the gate, the demons, how to defeat them but the film doesn’t suffer too much from it. It has the feel of what a young teenager would imagine happen, of being heroic against demons and zombies, with lots of adventure and spectacle on spectacle but not a situation where it is good to ask too many questions. If you want hard and fast rules, you won’t get it, but if you want a fast-paced film of giant demons splitting into groups of tinier demons, or zombies bursting from walls, or interdimensional rifts opening, or ghosts of dead parents appearing, than this is your film.The best part of the film is definitely the special effects, especially the demons. Though sometimes the plot lacks a little, once demons are on screen it was excellent. Really nicely done effects (and not gruesome or gory or either but Harryhausen-esque).The movie also is surprisingly tender, as the bond between two friends (Glen and Terry) and a brother and sister (Glen and Al) are key to defeating the demons and closing the gate, with surprisingly good foreshadowing to these bonds being important (most especially the sibling bond).It was fun, I can see why kids or teens watching this growing up in the 80s or early 90s would have loved it. I would have loved it had I seen it at that age. The 80s feel of music, hair, etc. was fun to see too.

This movie totally freaked me out as a kid in the 80s. It was probably the first horror movie I ever saw, and watched it at a friends house (on the down low because I wasn’t allowed to watch stuff like this at home). Had to confess to my parents that I watched it because it gave me nightmares.Just rented it with my own kids, and they enjoyed it but weren’t nearly as creeped out as I was. Probably because they’ve seen scarier and better quality movies than I ever did at their age.Still, given the right context (like a slumber party or something), the movie still is fairly creepy. And it’s really fun to see Stephen Dorff’s mannerisms showing through even at his young age.Highly recommend this movie for some fun, creepy, slightly cheesy, old school horror movie enjoyment :-)

This is such a great film! Fun-filled nostalgia for those who watched it back in the day.I remember catching The Gate on Saturday afternoons on TV, usually in October, but sometimes in the spring or summer. The minions freaked me out - not the typical look of a demon. The one that spasms on the ground when Terry steps on it disturbed me the most.Now, as an adult, it's a fun ride back in time. I can't believe this is a kid's horror film! It might be the nostalgia talking, but I think it works as is; however, it would've done better as an adult horror film.It's a unique premise - a tree is removed from a backyard, a rock with a crystal interior falls from its roots as it's hauled away, a boy and his friend think it's valuable and start to dig for more and reveal a hole that leads deep underground (which they later discover is a gateway to hell).Being a movie aimed at kids, there are some great themes played on throughout the film. Themes I didn't pick up on as a kid, but appreciate now, as they look at honest issues we experience in some form or another as we develop into adults. The best friend's (Terry) mom recently passed away and his dad is always absent, thus he's a little angry and guide-less, and could potentially be a bad influence on Glenn (the main character); Glenn's older sister (Al) is on the cusp of turning 16 and is trying to prove to her parents and herself that she's a responsible person, but is constantly pulled in the direction of care-free fun by her friends and has to decide what kind of person she wants to be; on top of this, she worries about her body (which isn't touched on much). Glenn himself struggles with loneliness while Al - who he used to be closer with - figures herself out.These three main characters could easily have been annoying, and in struggling with their issues could also have been incredibly self-centred, but they're the three wholesome characters of the film. The sister's friends are the jerks of the movie. That said, everyone plays their roles well, especially the ones playing the jerks. I think Stephen Dorff - who plays Glenn, the star of the movie - puts in the weakest performance out of all the kids. However, he's also the youngest in the cast, and his performance isn't bad for a child actor. He does have range and depth, and steps up to bat throughout the movie - he's not a helpless boy paralyzed by fear. So while I think his performance is weak, it's not bad. He's also grown into an awesome actor.The movie's only an hour and twenty-five minutes, which is a little disappointing. As a kid, I remembered it being this big, dark adventure that when it ended, felt as if at least two hours had passed.The ending is still satisfying in that it's not a typical kid's everything-is-returned-to-the-way-it-was-as-if-nothing-happened ending. The consequences of the events are there, even if it ultimately is a happy ending. And, of course, the further on the movie goes, the crazier it gets, so the house is in right disarray by the time it all ends.I love the confrontation between Glenn and the demon lord. I never understood what it did to Glenn when it takes his hand, but after listening to the commentary, I now know and love it even more!The atmosphere has always been my favourite aspect of the film. There's a quiet and emptiness to the setting that gives the movie a surreal vibe, as if it's a dream, but the manner in which they treat the subject matter grounds the story in a reality.BONUS FEATURES:I bought the Monstrous Special Edition DVD. It includes a commentary with the director, writer, and special effects creator/supervisor. It also includes two interviews - one with the two main special effects creators and the other with the writer and director. They reflect on their time working on the movie, explain how they achieved certain shots, and the writer discusses how he came to write the script and its evolution into the movie they made.The interviews are about fifteen minutes each. Unfortunately, there's no behind the scenes footage intercut with the interviews - so when the special effects guys are talking about certain shots or discussing the creatures they created, they occasionally show clips from the film, but don't show any making-of footage, which would've been nice.All-in-all, the bonus features are light, but at least it's something to accompany this fun, dark film from 1986.The film is still so good! The 1980s was a glorious time for kid's films. They sure knew how to make them back then!

I bought this dvd since I had seen it as a child and it was very good. So I was curios to se what it would be like as an adult. Is was good. I am reasonbly satisfied.

One from my childhood- a great horror that stands the test of time in my opinion

Being an adult now, I noticed a lot of contrived writing, however it is still a good movie for the fact they used some great creature techniques, back when it was made on a low budget. Special features are worth it too.

The Gate could almost pass as a family movie, if it weren't for the odd few scenes of gore that might be too much for a younger viewers eyes, which is quite ironic seeing that the movie examines childhood fears. I would classify this film as a guilty pleasure, if it weren't for the fact that I don't feel guilty watching this as at! Maybe because of the fact that I never really grew up, or that this movie brings out the scared little kid in us all that checks under the bed for monsters, in which this movie brings to light beautifully (the monsters and the childhood innocence). A clever story and fine acting by the entire young cast, including a young Stephen Dorff in the lead role as Glen, who went on to have quite a successful Hollywood career. If you're looking for a light-hearted Saturday afternoon Monster movie, this would be the perfect choice, just leave any suspicious holes in the backyard well enough alone, you've been warned!