The Gate (1987)
The Gate is an occult horror film from Canada directed by Tibor Takács in 1987. Starring a young Stephen Dorff in his debut film.
The film follows two young boys who accidentally release a horde of demons from their backyard through a large hole in the ground.
Plot
Two young boys accidentally release a horde of nasty, pint-sized demons from a hole in a suburban backyard. What follows is a classic battle between good and evil as the two kids struggle to overcome a nightmarish hell that literally begins to take over the Earth.
Notable scenes
The giant stop-motion animation scene towards the end is realy good.
Making of The Gate
The small demonic minions are played by actors in rubber suits, and shot in forced perspective.Actor Stephen Dorff’s debut film role.
The logo on the back of Terry’s jacket is that of the Killer Dwarfs, a heavy metal band from the Toronto, Ontario area who were known for their offbeat sense of humor. Writer Michael Nankin originally planned on directing the film as well.
Terry’s back patch when he’s first seen is for the band Venom, who released the song, “The Seven Gates of Hell” in 1984, on the b-side of their “Warhead” single.
When Glen breaks the geode open with the hammer, it is shown cracking straight down the center. Yet, moments later he touches it and it falls in half, the half that falls over is much smaller than the half that remains upright.
Our view on The Gate
If you are ever in the mood of seeing a funny and thrilling 80’s horror movie, please watch The Gate! The opening scene is classic the monsters and the thrilling scenes it contains. The quality of the special FX is great for its time. To me, The Gate is an example how low-budget films should be done. Exploitflix thumbs up!
