The Gate - Walmart Exclusive SteelBook

The '80s were very good to horror buffs in the form of bloody movies. Everyone was introduced to Freddy Krueger, Pinhead, Re-Animator, John Carpenter's The Thing, The Shining, Child's Play, The Lost Boys, and the wonderful world of Evil Dead. Some experts would say that horror was born and killed off in that particular decade. One of the '80s horror films that is consistently overlooked from the '80s but just as amazing as the above mentioned flicks is the 1986 movie The Gate, directed by Tibor Takacs.

The Gate has a beautiful mix of comedy and horror filled with laugh-out-loud beats and some memorable scares fitting the culture of the '80s Horror. Its cult status might be derived from the setup the narrative explores, being young, teenage siblings housesitting for their parents for the weekend. The brother and sister throw a party where the gates of hell open up and unleash demons. Kids at the time ate this movie up, however, adults might have found some stringy cheese littered throughout. 

The film follows a young kid named Glen (Stephen Dorff) and his older sister Al as they are left to look after the house after their parents go on a trip. Al throws a party while Glen has his best friend Terry over for a sleepover. After finding a crystal rock in the backyard and listening to a heavy metal album that supposedly brings upon the gates of hell, evil demons and monsters start terrorizing Glen, Al, and Terry.

This was at the height of practical effects, so all of the little demons are real people in costumes, or puppets with no CG effects that bring a nostalgic feel to the movie. Sure, there are some cliched moments and laughable story plots, but it's all overshadowed by the horrifying sequences here, which all work to a flawless effect inside a PG-13 movie. Dorff is perfect here and cemented his career in the entertainment business. He plays the young Glen with a realistic charm, but also heroic bravery. It's damn good for a young kid. The Gate still holds up after all these years as one of the best and most fun horror films of the '80s with a good bit of memorable moments.

Our Film Review from 2017

Let's thwart accusations of watching 'The Gate' through rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia by admitting that I mostly definitely am. To be perfectly honest, it's really the only way to enjoy and love a plot about two boys (Stephen Dorff and Louis Tripp) accidentally opening a portal to an underground layer of little, lizard-like minions. And every time those vicious monstrosities make an appearance, it's either done with the magic of stop-motion photography, which always brings a smile to my face, or live-action with actors in body suits running a stage with oversized furniture. Best of all, heavy metal music, which the older of the two Terry (Tripp) happens to be an admirer of, offers the only known solution for closing the portal and defeating the evil spirits back to the pit from whence they came. The real winner, it turns out, is science utilizing a rocket Glen (Dorff) has been saving to launch with his older sister Al (Christa Denton). It's a metaphor for each other's love and sibling bond or some such nonsense.

The whole thing is laughably silly, deep-fried in several layers of cheese and sprinkled with heart-attack-inducing schlock. I know it's bad for you, but it tastes so damn good. It's a guilty pleasure that hits the spot, right down to the very last bite. There's no other way to cherish the low-budget Canadian production than through the lens of nostalgia, reminiscing on memories of my youth. While watching, I longed — and even admired — for the days when movies targeted at young adults weren't riddled with a barrage of continuously pointless action, marred by suspenseless jump scares or infested with nauseatingly shaky camera movements that never let audiences simply be immersed in the supposedly spooky atmosphere. Director Tibor Takács, who later went on to director 'I, Madman' but sadly, not much else of note since, doesn't do anything particularly fancy, but he and cinematographer Thomas Vámos display confidence in allowing viewers to take in the scene and see the danger characters confront.

These were also the days when filmmakers relied on simple, straightforward plots with genuinely relatable situations that challenged our protagonists, giving them an obstacle to overcome. For Glen, this is the ever-growing distance between Al and him, their age gap becoming more apparent as her teenage interests expand into hanging out with friends, partying, and boys. Their first weekend alone with the parents away and sixteen-year-old Al in charge sets the stage for testing their bond. As we'd expect, they spend a good deal of time bickering at one another and treating Glen like an over-imaginative child when the boys try to fix their mistakes alone, without their older sister's guidance. To be fair, Michael Nankin's script is the standard coming-of-age tale that doesn't offer many surprises. But throwing the "end-of-the-world" wrench into their already-strained relationship — a cute metaphor for what poor Glen is feeling — is a neat twist for our little hero to rise above and prove he handles the changes.

Yes, I love 'The Gate' largely for its nostalgia, but let's consider and value the period in which this cult favorite was made. This was also a time when movies targeted at younger viewers didn't shy away from the scary, nightmare-inducing visuals and featured kids in real peril, where we felt children were in danger and might not succeed. Even if their ultimate success is rather silly and maudlin, the events leading up to that predictably happy resolution is peppered with life-threatening encounters, the sort of graphic horror we no longer see in kids' movies because something has changed in what we think children can or cannot handle on the big screen. It's the horror stuff no longer considered appropriate or acceptable for younger viewers. In nostalgically enjoying this 1987 horror gem, I also miss movies such as 'Beware! Children at Play,' 'The Black Cauldron,' 'The Watcher in the Woods,' 'The Witches,' 'Gremlins,' and 'The Goonies.' Tibor Takács's film proudly sits among those dark, scary movies for kids. 4/5

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

The Gate haunts its way to Blu-ray + Digital Code in a wonderful-looking Steelbook via Vestron and Lionsgate. The sole disc is housed inside a Steelbook with a digital code insert. The artwork on the front features the two kids digging in the backyard looking for the gates of hell with a giant demon looking over them. The backside features smaller demons ready to feast. The color palette is purple and pink. The inside features original artwork from the film.

The Gate comes with a 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio and looks to be the same video transfer in 2017 from Vestron. This is a great video upgrade, but it's not without its faults though. The image is much crisper and clearer now, even in the many lower-lit scenes. The detail is sharp and vivid, showcasing excellent facial features, makeup effects, and creature effects very well. Just look at the dead man in the wall and all of the decaying oddities on his body. The nasty gash wounds look great as well in each scene. Wider shots provide depth and clear action as well.

Colors look good here too, and pop off-screen when in well-lit exteriors or with the bright yellow cabinetry in the kitchen, but other than that, colors don't pop all that well. There is a nice layer of grain, keeping with the nostalgic filmic quality of the 1980s, but it can get heavy at times. Black levels are mostly deep and inky and the skin tones are natural. There is still some dirt, debris, warps, and scratches throughout, as well as some minor banding and video noise, but still, this is a good upgrade from previous releases. 3.5/5

This release comes with the original lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo mix. There is not a 5.1 mix available, unfortunately, which could have been an awesome option, considering all of the little monsters running around or eerie noises from within the house. The 2.0 track though is robust and full with every nuanced sound effect coming through full and life-like. There is some decent directionality here as well. The score always adds to the suspense of the film and never drowns out any other noise. Dialogue is clear and easy to follow, and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, or shrills. There is a decent low end at the house party, but otherwise, that's about it. Maybe someday there will be a Dolby Atmos option. 3.5/5

There are 185 minutes worth of bonus features included here, all of which were located on the previous 2017 release. Like those, there are no new interviews with any of the main actors coming back to discuss making the movie. However, there are some good commentary tracks and interviews with a lot of the crew from the movie. 3.5/5

• Audio Commentary #1 - Director Tibor Takacs, Writer Michael Nankin, and Special Effects Designer & Supervisor Randall William Cook deliver a decent and fun commentary track, as they discuss making the film. The three have fond memories of it too, as they are honest with the silliness and mistakes that were made, as well as how much fun they had. They deliver technical details, casting information, and how the practical effects were done. This is quite fun.
• Audio Commentary #2 - Special Effects Designer & Supervisor Randall William Cook, Special Make-Up Effects Artist Craig Reardon, Special Effects Artist Frank Carere, and Matte Photographer Bill Taylor talk about all of the visual effects here and how they accomplished the more difficult shots. It's quite engaging and fun. Again, definitely worth the listen.
• Audio Commentary #3 - Composers Michael Hoenig and J. Peter Robinson talk about scoring the film with this isolated score-only track and how they came up with the music. 
• The Gate: Unlocked (HD, 28 Mins.) - A decent-sized dual interview with Special Effects master Randall William Cook and director Tibur Takacs in which they discuss coming together on the film, working, production, and how the actual shoot was. Clips and production photos are added as well. 
• Minion Maker (HD, 23 Mins.) - Special Makeup Effects Artist Craig Reardon talks about making all the creatures for the film here with production photos and clips of the film added in. 
• From Hell It Came (HD, 13 Mins.) - Producer Andras Hamori discusses his time working on The Gate and how he boarded the project. Clips and production photos are added here.
• The Workman Speaks! (HD, 13 Mins.) - Actor Carl Kraines, who plays the dead man in the wall, talks about getting made up to play the zombie and acting on screen with the kids. Production photos and clips are added here. 
• Made in Canada (HD, 29 Mins.) - On November 12, 2016, some of the local cast and crew that are located in Canada talked about making The Gate. None of the big names nor any of the main stars are here. There are some fun stories from the set and how each of them became involved in the project. Production photos and clips from the film are added. 
• From Hell: The Creatures and Demons of The Gate (HD, 15 Mins.) - This is an extra imported over from the DVD release from a few years ago with some of the crew talking about how they made the creatures and demons for the film. 
• The Gatekeepers (HD, 16 Mins.) - Yet another extra that was imported from the DVD release where the writer and filmmakers talk about making the movie. 
• Making of The Gate (SD, 23 Mins.) - A vintage made-for-tv behind-the-scenes featurette from 1986. This has interviews with the writers, producers, director, and special effects team, along with long clips of the film added in. There are no interviews with any of the actors here. The video quality is piss poor as well. 
• Trailers (SD, 4 Mins.) - There are three different trailers for the film all of which are poor video quality but are still quite fun to watch.
• Storyboard Gallery (HD, 10 Mins.) - Some storyboards from certain scenes in the film are shown here in slideshow format with the score in the background.
• Behind the Scenes Gallery (HD, 11 Mins.) - Some production photos and behind-the-scenes photos are shown here with the score of the film in the background.

The Gate still surprises with comedy and scares four decades later. Its memorable scenes of little demons running around and a teenager biting the head off a Barbie doll are forever cemented in the eyes of horror fans. This is an identical release to the 2017 release from Vestron, sans the cool-looking Steelbook. The 1080p HD transfer still looks decent and the DTS-HD 2.0 stereo mix sounds good, although a 5.1 upgrade would be nice. There are plenty of bonus features and commentary tracks, but none with the major cast, which is upsetting. Was Dorff busy? For those who do not own this movie yet or for anyone who needs their Steelbook fix of horror, this is 3.5/5 - Recommended!

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