Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Gate (1987)


I remember loving this movie so much as a kid.  Of course, years pass, alcohol kills brain cells, etc. and I forgot all about it.  Then a couple weekends ago, I was watching another 80s horror movie and was reminded of this.  After Googling several variations of "that movie where the kids play the heavy metal record backwards and summon demons," I rediscovered this masterpiece.

The Gate is the story of Glen (Stephen Dorff in his debut role), his friend Terry, and his sister Al.  Glen is awakened one morning by an old tree being removed from his backyard.  He and his friend Terry find some strange rocks inside and play around with them.  The hole in the backyard keeps reopening after repeated attempts to fill it, and emanates strange noises, gasses, etc.

Glen's parents go out of town for the weekend, leaving Glen in care of his older sister Al.  Al is more interested in throwing parties and going to the beach, and is not concerned with the creepiness lurking outside.  Weird things continue happening around the house, including levitation, ghosts, sacrifices, etc. 

After further investigation, Terry and Glen determine that they are dealing with demons.  Terry finds a record from the UK that explains everything.  It details how to open the gates of hell to let the demons rule earth, but also how to close it.  At first, Glen is not on board with this craziness, but as things get more wild around the residence, he believes the record may be the answer to their salvation from the demons.

This movie is really fun and chock-full of 80s cheesiness.  It's kind of like the Goonies of horror movies, with corny/silly dialogue, creepy creatures, and a bunch of teenagers saving the day.  An underrated 80s classic, in my opinion.

2 comments:

Jose Cruz said...

I've heard this film mentioned alot, but have never made any attempt to see it. You certainly make it sound fun though. That picture alone was enough to draw me in.

Anonymous said...

Love this movie. My wife and I caught it on IFC about a month or so back, which was the first time I had seen it since I was a kid. It still held up... and I still want one of those claymation demons as a pet. Cute little fellas.

--J/Metro