The Gate Reviews

The Gate was recently reissued on DVD as a "monstrous special edition" and featured some rather bizarre cover art. It depicts Glen down in the hole with the minions, but Glen was never down in the hole, it was actually Terry and why did they draw him in cargo shorts with hiking sandals? Did the artist even watch the movie? On the plus side, it features a nice widescreen transfer and some interesting interviews with the crew. Would have been nice to see some updated interviews with the cast, but still a good DVD to have in the collection.

Like most children of the 80's, The Gate stands as a somewhat cult classic of horror owing in part to some extreme scares and amazing creature f/x. Writer Michael Nankin explains in an interview how he was in a very dark place when he wrote the film, initially conceiving it as a harsh adult horror film. Eventually he made the story about a group of kids, but kept all the horror elements from the original story. The result is something similar to Poltergeist, where a pleasant day in suburbia slowly turns into a nightmare. Little by little, strange things begin to happen and every time there is a pause of relief something worse is brewing.

What makes The Gate a near classic of 80's spooky horror is that it taps into real childhood fears and imagination. The ominous hole in the backyard, heavy metal music and the occult, terrifying insects/creatures, urban legend myths (construction worker buried in a wall), and of course parents not being around to save the day. The child actors are believable and likeable, which puts you right there with them. For me, The Gate represents that magical time in the 80's when filmmakers pulled no punches and gave us the kind of movies that were perfect for late night sleepovers.