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Fun 80s horror flick with appeal to kids and adults.

There is something special about horror films in the 1980s.  When watching them today there is just a certain feeling they invoke which transports you back to that time period.  I would say it could be some distant memory of originally watching the film, but this even happens when seeing an 80s flick for the first time today.  I guess you might have to had been alive and aware during the decade, but I really think the 80s are the end all be all of horror.  A few great films still slip through the cracks here and again but even the worst 80s slasher has some merit.  Tonight I watched The Gate for the first time since it first hit VHS in 87 or 88, and I felt like a kid again.  From the opening scene through to the end there is that certain familiar feeling.

After an old tree has been removed from Glen’s (Stephen Dorff) backyard the hole left behind is rather mysterious.  Glen and his buddy Terry (Louis Tripp) find a geode in the hole, break it open and read the strange message that appears.  Then strange things begin to happen.  There is the death of an animal, some levitation and Terry notices on a heavy metal band’s record about The Dark Book.  It seems this hole could be a gateway to bring the Old Ones into the mortal world and creating a hell on Earth.  With the parents out of town it’s up to Glen, Terry and Al (Christa Denton), Glen’s sister, to stop these pint sized demons from taking lives and invading the human world.

The Gate has a mixed age group appeal, having some horror elements that adults can enjoy, yet also being carried by a primarily juvenile cast.  There are a few scares here and there, but the adventure and mysterious quest surrounding everything will appeal to kids.  Films where kids are the heroes work really well in fantasy and horror since they are the characters who believe in everything and have no jaded views of mystical things happening.  Sure, a lot of these films are geared towards kids, but when done well enough to find an audience with any age group usually there is something special - this is one of those good films. 

Stephen Dorff is someone many people today know from Blade but this was his first feature film as a young kid at around twelve years old.  He does a great job carrying the film for a first timer, but special note should be made of his co-star and best friend in the movie.  Terry is portrayed by Louis Tripp who for the most part did nothing else of note except for the sequel.  His job as the somewhat nerdy metal-head friend is great and a bit funny, like rocking out in his room wrapped in a rainbow colored bed sheet.

One thing to really date films of this era are the FX, and most of what you see in this film holds up.  In this great new DVD release from Lionsgate, dubbed the “Monstrous Special Edition,” there is a near fifteen minute feature with the FX crew talking about how they did the movie magic contained.  Most of the tiny demons were shot at a forced perspective making them look small around a huge set, but there was also some stop-motion creature work.  These gags work well and only a few times do they look really fake, mainly due to the lovely new transfer.  Other features include a commentary with the filmmakers, and a looking back interview with director Tibor Takács and writer Michael Nankin, and, of course, the original trailer.  I wish they could have done some interviews with some of the cast, but you can’t win them all.

Out of all of this the only bad thing I have to say is about the cover art.  Sometimes when the studio changes the art from the original release it is for the better, or to have something cool looking on a special edition.  This can be an improvement, but most of the time it’s not.  Here we would have been much better suited to have the original poster/VHS art of the words “The Gate” carved in the ground with claws and red eyes showing.  Instead they used some kid who’s not in the movie, wearing something none of the characters even wear.  Makes no sense.  While they were at it the other tagline was better too “... pray it’s not too late!”

Still, this is a great film to visit again and again.  Nice to see it finally got the special edition treatment.

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