Review of The Gate (1987) by Allan C — 20 Oct 2018

Parents leave for a few days, so the kids are left in charge. They end up listening to heavy metal music played backwards while reciting arcane phrases and unwittingly open a gate to hell in the backyard.

The story is pretty dumb, but the film has a kid focused perspective that reminded me of Steven Spielberg films, ALA "ET" "The Goonies" or " "Explorers." It's a bunch of kids from the 80s having to deal with scary stuff, kind of like "Stranger Things" but on a smaller budget and with old timey special effects.

The special effects are actually another charm of the film. Released from the gate is a hoard of tiny demon minions, which are a mix of some excellent stop motion animation and also some forced perspective shots of full-size actors in rubber suits made to look small.

The effects are wildly charming for fans of old school practical special effects (Boo CGI). Another novelty of the film is a very young Stephen Dorff, in his film debut, playing the main character, a young boy being babysat over the weekend by his big sister and handing out with his nerdy metalhead friend.

They're a likable group of kids, which gives the film a nice family feel, which is a change of pace from most teen horror films of the 80s. What's also interesting is that although it does have a family feel, it doesn't shy away from being scary.

Don't get me wrong, this film isn't "Demons" or "Hellraiser," but it's much scarier than say more family friendly horror films like "Critters" or "Monster Squad.

" Overall, "The Gate" is a film worthy of it's cult film status and is a unique horror film that's well worth watching.