Several ’80s movies were released and billed as family oriented fantasy films yet due to a myriad of circumstances, effects, and overall tone, came across as downright creepy and not suitable for children (“The Dark Crystal” and “The Neverending Story” come quickly to mind). In a flip of that, the 1987 “horror” film “The Gate” – directed by Hungarian born Tibor Takacs – is supposed to be a scary horror movie but courtesy of its three teenage stars, bubblegum soft score, and misguided special effects, turns out to be more of a family fantasy adventure.
The 85-minute run-time is short by movie standards, and completely misused by Takacs as the story quickly tosses you into the chills when young Glen (Stephen Dorff in his debut) arrives home to find his house deserted and a mysterious hole dug in the backyard. But after a hot start, the film slows to a near crawl for the entire middle portion – dragging at the pace of an overweight gator on land at points – before concluding with an explosive and overloaded finale.
Though handicapped by the decades lackluster technology, “The Gate” does have some pretty cool visuals and characters – specifically the group of troll-like demons that emerge from the hole in the yard. The hole in reality is a portal to the underworld. How or why its there are shoddily explained, its sole purpose being to introduce the happenstance of ghouls.
And as is the case with any movie centered on children, the acting is an adventurous ride in its own right, with a plethora of eye-rolling scenes. Some can be likened to the age of the talent. Other parts the writing or directing.
In one unforgivably bad scene, the teens are having a house party and playing with a Ouija Board and manage to levitate Glen (with the assistance of the now fully haunted house) and react as though the thirteen-year-old was simply playing a prank on them.
I can’t envision anyone being scared by “The Gate” but a few scenes are somewhat disturbing as Glen and his best friend Terry (Louis Tripp) and older sister Al (Christa Denton) do battle with the supernatural creatures while encountering Terry’s dead mother, the corpse of the family dog, and a mummified creature living in the walls of the home.
One of the main points of ruination for the film (at least in terms of its scares) is the score. A poppy sounding fantasy theme rides with the movie from start to finish, and effectively nullifies the otherwise chilling tale.
I’m generally not one to dive into the analytics of a movie, but in this situation, the soundtrack actually decreases the films overall value. The classic tension filled theme to “Jaws” is something that everyone knows and it adds great depth to the movie. The soundtrack to “The Gate” is the complete opposite.
Though average upon its release in theatres nearly thirty years ago, “The Gate” has since become something of a cult favorite (though i’m not exactly sure why). The coolest part of the movie is the horde of tiny trolls that emerge from the hole and terrorize the house. Other than that, its a completely forgettable movie.
“The Gate” isn’t a bad horror film, but its definitely a safe one. The viewer knows from jump that none of the main stars are going to perish and that in the end all will be hunky-dory.
Watch “The Gate” with a bucket of popcorn and your children next to you on the couch. Don’t expect any October scares.
by – Matt Christopher
