“The Gate” (1987) review
Last year, I went ahead and ran through 31 days of horror, with 31 blogs alongside 31 podcasts. This year, I will not lead myself through such craziness, and instead, look at a few movies for Halloween that are unsung, underrated, flawed and yet very much adored.
The Gate is very much an underrated movie that came out on the downward peak of 80’s coming of age trend. The horror franchise itself was not creating memorable hits, and so this one got lost in the pile. It felt like they were making a horror movie every day, and the more bad ones we saw, the less trustworthy audiences were. That being said, the film did make a profit, but was soon forgotten in the popcorn haze of the next big blockbuster movie. Surprisingly, one of the worse received movies of the 80’s also came out on that day: Ishtar, which was a career low point for both Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty.
The Gate was however very memorable, when you give it a chance. It’s labelled as horror, but it’s not horrific in the slightest. It is a coming of age movie in the sense of the relationship that is setup between the siblings: Glen and his almost 16 year old sister whose suddenly rejecting her little brother in favor for friends with cars, boys with bold haircuts and girlfriends with crimping tongs — for even more bold statements of hair fashion. The color palette dates this perfectly. The bedrooms of the 80's teen boy, especially, was made to look more like a geography or science classroom. Storage had a door less, lid-free policy and rooms were never lit from natural sources, even in the daytime. Every bedroom had a globe, it seemed, and of course, posters pulled from the centerfolds of teen magazines were either winks to other similar products or items that spoke of the teenage angst and muted rebellion of the time. 80's kids always seemed that little bit clueless as to how to break out, and this movie certainly struggled with identifying with that restraint.
You can forgive certain plot conveniences: the parents being persuaded to go away for the weekend, and the 16 year old’s sudden talents for opening the family home up as a party house. The party itself was very unusual in that it was not really necessary and served only as a punchline to the parent’s famous last words “No Parties!”
The party itself was quickly discarded when unseen by the plot, the music is switched off and everybody is persuaded to sit down and listen to a ghost story. Kids in this movie seem to be, very easy going, and somewhat sober. They flirt with the idea of flirting, but they were all brought up right.
It was no surprise to find that the levitation scene was pushed forward as conveniently as the setup. But these are all things that are on the side lines of Glen’s obsession with the hole in the garden that was created when a tree (that supported his tree-house) was pulled down. The garden itself is immaculate, sporting nothing more than a continental, understated garden table and chairs. The house exteriors were shot close to a new housing development in Toronto, and so that was the main reason why the location, especially at the back was very stale and lackluster. It’s almost as if the family never stepped outside until now. The tree house and that tree were probably there even before the house was built for all we know. What would have been nice was to have the hole in the bottom of a busier garden, and not on unspoiled land for all to see. The tree was chopped up and taken away… more or less, but the tree-house was left scattered to further support the plot.
There are so many things to notice about this film, but it’s not all about convenient plot points and sterile teenage angst. The relationship between Glen and Al-exandra is well rounded and felt real. They got on, sometimes, and they fell out, often. Glen was starting to miss having a sister who was there for him, and she knew that. We did too.
Al’s friends, like I said before, were all too well behaved and offered nothing more than just decoration. Terry, Glen’s right side man, on the other hand is a well-drawn mixture of both metal head and nerd, who gives the often dazed, confused and dumbfounded Glen the clues and knowledge needed to fight against the evil demons that came out of the hole.
The special effects may have been a little dated, but there is a strong affection for clay-mation and stop motion visuals that came from the 80's. We understand the limitations, but every so often, something happens that makes you realize that there was true design and skill taking place on the screen. If you don’t notice, then you’re not looking with your own hands…
The most noticeable effect occurred when the workman who came out of the wall fell to the ground and then, seamlessly turns into a dozen or so minions who divide and run in all directions. Again, you have to see it for yourself.
With satanic records playing backwards, and a few jump scares, this movie is a treat for Halloween. It doesn’t have to always make you scared, just as long as you’re entertained.
- Stephen Radford (10th October 2019)
