Reviews: The Gate (1987) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Demons, Monsters
Subgenres: Supernatural, Campy, Cursed, Suburbs
Where does The Gate (1987) stand among horror films? Our review examines the scares, pacing, and what makes it unique in the genre.
The Gate (1987) is a 1h 25-min PG-13 Canadian supernatural-fantasy horror film with a cult following and was shot in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The movie grossed over $13 million at the box office with an estimated budget of $2.5 million, gaining a cult following, leading to The Gate II: Trespassers (1990) being released in 1990. Director Tibor Takacs (My Babysitter’s a Vampire (2011-2012), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1998), I, Madman (1989)) gave us a magnificent piece of work that is still enjoyed today by many horror fans of all ages. The horror elements could not have been any better, and the sets were out of this world, but blemishes and plot holes most likely will not be missed.
The Gate revolves around 12-year-old Glen (Stephen Dorff - Blade (1998), Immortals (2011), Felon (2008), and Public Enemies (2009)), who accidentally release a horde of demons. Glenn’s family had workers remove a tree from their backyard, and the workers unearthed a geode, leaving Glen and older friend Terry curious. Glen and Terry (Louis Tripp - Gate 2: The Trespassers (1990), Mama’s Going to Buy You a Mockingbird (1987), Dick Francis: Blood Sport (1989)) found a giant geode, but the misery starts when Glen drops a bit of his blood on it.
The movie takes a turn when Glen’s parents leave his 16-year-old sister Alexandra/Al (Christa Denton - The Burning Bed (1984), 8 Million Ways to Die (1986), Scandal in a Small Town (1988)) in charge of three days while they are away. Terry and Glen discover a notepad with strange writings that appear to come from the geode and decide to break open the geode. The duo reads the incantations aloud, resulting in them experiencing strange occurrences later that night. Terry believes that they accidentally open up the gateway to evil gods or Hell and decides to close the portal, but little do they know that the gateway may appear to be completed. Still, one of the partygoers did something to seal the deal of opening the gateway. What happens that night is something horror fans should not miss but remember that this film was made in the late 1980s.
The Gate (ten things you may not know about The Gate fun facts) is not a great movie, but it is a cult favorite with a campy feel with little demons that I do not mind seeing because they are spooky and cute. The characters were interesting, and the actors gave brilliant performances, especially the two little boys. The Gate gave us excellent solid scares, suspense that did the movie justice, creepy, atmospheric settings, and significant special effects.
Similar films like The Gate can be found in demon movies, demon movies, monster movies, and monster movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like The Gate.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- The Gate Rating Scores
- Our Score: 6/10
- Overall Score: 5.37/10
- IMDB: 6.0/10
- MetaCritic: 5.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 3.6/10
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