The Gate: Monstrous Special Edition DVD review
The Gate: Monstrous Special Edition DVD review
"Demons? What kind?"
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The Gate is a pretty creepy and fun little kids' supernatural thriller from the 80s, but were the demons really crying out for yet another Special Edition DVD? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the third time this movie's been dug up and trotted out on disc. Now it's "Monstrous"! And, as far as I could tell, still no new involvement from star Stephen Dorff (I did watch most of the special features, but in October there is only so much time in a genre journo's day. I hit the highlights).
The action follows two typical, trouble-making little boys: neighbors Glen (Stephen Dorff) and Louis Tripp (Terry), on their journey into (PG rated) terror after they inadvertently summon demons from the fiery pit of hell and unleash them into their Norman Rockwell'esque neighborhood. Conveniently enough, the parents are out of town so helping banish the diminutive, devilish critters is Glen's big sis Al (Christa Denton).
While there are some cheesy and dated elements (mainly in the form of kooky Valley speak and fugly fashions), the snack-sized stop-motion adversaries are still awfully eerie. There are some effective scenes showing the goblins in rat-like hordes, slinking around shadowy corners, causing mayhem and even zombiefying an adult or two.
There's a commentary (not sure if it's already been on another edition) with director Tibor Takács and Michael Nankin; All-new cast and crew interviews with Nankin and the special effects guys; plus the theatrical trailer. I hate to say it, because I don't blame these guys a bit, but the commentaries and interviews are so lackluster as to be sleep-inducing — it's obvious they've told these stories a million times and are barely bothering to speak in anything but the flattest of monotones. From the listening perspective, it's tedious.
At any rate, the 23-year-old movie is good and it holds up fairly well. I watched it on satellite just for kicks when I was channel-surfing not too long ago, so the story was still fresh in my mind. The DVD quality is of course top notch, and it's a decent enough timewaster if you're a) Under 12 and have never seen the movie, or 2) Saw it when you were a kid, and not since.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson