The Gate (1987)

Director:

Tibor Takács

Writer:

Michael Nankin (written by)

Release Date:

15 May 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

There's a Passageway - A Gate Behind Which the Demons Wait to Take Back What Was Once Theirs.

Plot:

Three young children accidentally release a horde of nasty, pint-sized demons from a hole in a suburban backyard...

Plot Keywords:

Hole | Backyard | House | Demon | Dog

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Stephen Dorff	...	Glen
Christa Denton	...	Al
Louis Tripp	...	Terrence 'Terry' Chandler
Kelly Rowan	...	Lori Lee
Jennifer Irwin	...	Linda Lee
Deborah Grover	...	Mom
Scot Denton	...	Dad
Ingrid Veninger	...	Paula
Sean Fagan	...	Eric
Linda Goranson	...	Terry's Mom
Carl Kraines	...	Workman
Andrew Gunn	...	Brad

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2002) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) | Australia:M | Norway:15 (video premiere) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:16

Company:

Alliance Entertainment

Trivia:

Stephen Dorff's debut film role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Lee sisters are leaving the house they have garlic around their necks, but when they get outside, the garlic is gone.

Quotes:

Glen: Well... ever since I burnt a hole in the roof my dad says I can't launch any of my rockets without supervision.
Terrence 'Terry' Chandler: Hey... I'll supervise.

Movie Connections:

Features La guerre du feu (1981)

Soundtrack:

EVERYBODY'S RUNNING

Endurable kiddie-horror

Charming and unscrupulous 80's horror, mainly aimed at younger audiences that outgrew the childish monsters of "Gremlins" but that are still a little too fragile to watch the real demons of "Hellraiser". Even for adult viewers, "The Gate" can be enjoyable as long as you can get past the silly plot and typically teenage acting performances. The story centers on three teenagers, Glen (Stephen Dorff was a better actor at age 14 than he is now) who's obsessed with toy-rockets, his sister Alexandra (busy discovering boys and slumber parties) and pal Terry (obviously having issues). They discover a deep hole in Glen's backyard and, for no particular reason; ancient demons decide to make this their passageway to take over the world. "The Gate" is a well-intended and often professionally made film, with subtle parody (towards metal music, abandoning parents…) and imaginatively animated demons. Its only flaw is that director Takács takes it all too seriously. The screenplay desperately tries to be convincing while it clearly doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. Make-believe bogeymen suddenly turn out real, dead dogs keep on moving from their place, etc etc… I'm sure that, if Takács had focused on the irony more, his film would now be regarded as a minor classic. Instead, it's just a bit of forgettable fun.