{"id":28599,"date":"2024-05-11T00:39:54","date_gmt":"2024-05-11T07:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=28599"},"modified":"2024-05-11T00:39:54","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T07:39:54","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-the-gate-1987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=28599","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: THE GATE (1987)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray Steelbook from Lionsgate is now available\nexclusively at Walmart.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ll be honest right off the bat in that I have a bit of a soft spot for The Gate<\/em>. Released in 1987, this PG-13 chiller is one of those horror titles designed with tweens and teens in mind and, for some, served as an introduction to the genre. What\u2019s special about this particular feature is that it actually features some very creepy elements and worked so efficiently that it developed a cult following over the years. The movie\u2019s fanbase includes those, like myself, who were the target demographic when it came out, as well as newer generations of youngsters who have caught up with the picture on cable and streaming platforms (or, naturally, through their parents).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some years ago, Lionsgate released the movie on Blu-ray as\npart of their \u201cVestron Video Collector\u2019s Series\u201d line. In fact, it was the 8th<\/sup>\ntitle in the series. The disc quickly went out-of-print and has been hard to\ncome by for years now. Thankfully, Lionsgate is rereleasing the disc (it\u2019s\nexactly the same one that was put out in 2017) and presenting it in new\n\u201cSteelbook\u201d packaging. Anyone who remembers the picture will certainly enjoy\nthis disc, as well as the impressively rendered casing that has been added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you haven\u2019t seen it, the movie is set almost\nentirely within a suburban house. The story involves 12-year-old Glen (Stephen\nDorff, in his debut feature) and his 15-year-old sister, Alexandra (Christa\nDenton). Glen spends most of his time playing in the yard with neighborhood pal\nand heavy metal enthusiast Terry (Louis Tripp), who is struggling with his\nmom\u2019s and dad\u2019s divorce. One night, a tree out back is struck by lightning and\na strange hole opens beneath. After listening to an LP in which heavy metal\nband \u201cSacrifyx\u201d describe the return of demons and minions to our world, Terry\nwarns his disbelieving friend about what may be occurring. When the siblings\u2019\nparents (Scott Denton and Deborah Grover) head out of town for the weekend,\nAlexandra throws a big party and Glen invites Terry over.Surprisingly for them\n(but not the audience), the very creatures described in the record begin\nattacking the kids and their friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the great benefits of the picture is its young cast.\nEveryone starring in the picture actually looks and acts like a real kid.\nStephen Dorff would eventually become a very well-known performer with major\nroles in Judgment Night, Backbeat, City of Industry, Blade, World Trade\nCenter, Botched, Public Enemies<\/em> and more, but all of the cast are solid and\ndeliver believable performances. The themes are also subtle and well-handled.\nMuch of the film is devoted to the shy young Glen finding his inner courage, he\nand Alexandra finding support in each other during a crisis, and to some extent\nfriend Terry\u2019s way of dealing with the separation of his parents. Thankfully,\nnone of it is blunt and is merely hinted at within the framework of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, this picture was made for a younger audience\nand was initially criticized by some reviewers for not being scary enough. Yet\nit is actually far more intense than it was given credit for. It\u2019s a perfect\nintroductory horror picture with plenty of memorable shocks. The single setting\nhelps create some sense of claustrophobia. Forced perspective, practical\nmake-up effects and old-fashioned filmmaking techniques are used in a\nsurprisingly effective manner. The tiny minions and the main demon that appear\nin the film look remarkably and, in many respects, more appealing than today\u2019s\nCGI. Another highlight comes in a great zombie-like figure who breaks out of\nthe house\u2019s walls and hunts the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But arguably the most memorable scene in the film involves\nGlen and Alexandra\u2019s parents unexpectedly appearing at the door. Of course,\nthey aren\u2019t who they appear to be, with the father memorably shouting \u201cYou\u2019ve\nbeen bad!\u201d and attempting to strangle the son. When Glen pushes his arms into\nhis dad\u2019s face, the visage apart in a gooey mess, falling on the ground with a\nsplat. No youngster in the world who seems that bit is likely to forget that\nscene and you would never see something like it today in a kid-friendly horror\npicture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overall, the movie has a nightmare-like quality (don\u2019t\nexpect too much logical reasoning for some of the craziness, the demons and\nminions are simply using their supernatural gifts to shock and manipulate the\nkids), the young cast are decent in it, and the picture possesses plenty of\nold-school horror charm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The picture quality on this release is the best that is\ncurrently available. Due to the frequent use of optical effects and camera\ntricks, the movie\u2019s image quality has always been a little grainy. Overall, the\nappearance is perfectly acceptable and I\u2019m not even sure that a 4K restoration\nwould sharpen or improve things dramatically (although I would be happy to be\nproven wrong at some point in the future).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I think that the extras on the disc are the main selling\npoint on the disc. They are absolutely incredible and worth the purchase. There\nis an informative commentary track with director Tibor Takacs (I, Madman),<\/em>\nwriter Michael Nankin and the Special effects designer and supervisor Randall\nWillaim Cook, who go over all of the challenges of making the movie. Takacs is\na Central European-born Canadian who grew up watching foreign and arthouse\npictures, which explains how the kid\u2019s flick ended up with an, at times, very\nsurprisingly surreal tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, there is a second track with Cook, the effects\nartists and matte photographer that go into even more detail on putting all of\nthe elaborate effects work together. They are just as if not more interesting\nto listen to. Viewers learn about Cook building oversized sets and putting\nhumans in rubber minion suits, shooting their plates and then inserting these\nimages into the rest of the frame with the kids (shot separately), all in order\nto make the monsters look small. The amount of work done on such a small budget\nis staggering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As if that wasn\u2019t enough of a bonus, there is a third track\nwith the effective score and an interview with the composers between each\ncue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numerous featurettes are also lengthy and great to\nlisten to. You\u2019ll get more details on the various technical aspects of the\nproduction and how things came together. One of the best is the \u201cMade in\nCanada\u201d spot which, in about 30 minutes, offers a general overview of the\nproduction through the memories of various cast and crew members, as well as a\nproducer. This was an overly ambitious Canadian project that was budgeted at $5\nmillion CDN (roughly a bit less than $4 million US) and, after being shocked\nthat their proposal was accepted, everyone quickly realized that they were in\nover their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many stories are relayed about working absurdly long hours and barely being able to stay awake. Apparently, the young cast (who were kids) were difficult to wrangle, adding more stress for the crew. Another interviewee notes that Terry\u2019s jean jacket was actually their own. She simply gave it to the actor to wear in the film. This coat has a large patch for the \u201cKiller Dwarfs\u201d, a Canadian metal band whose music wasn\u2019t used in the picture (but if you’re curious about their music, check out “Keep the Spirit Alive” on Youtube). It seems everyone on set was young and learning the business as they dealt with each daily problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They also note that this little low-budget film was actually\na box-office hit at the North American box office. They all seem honored that\nthe picture is well-remembered and something of a cult item. It\u2019s a very\namusing series of stories and a great memorial to the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the disc includes a storyboard gallery,\nbehind-the-scenes still gallery, an original teaser, theatrical trailer and TV\nspot. There are literally hours of bonuses included and anyone who enjoys the\nfilm will be thoroughly entertained by them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gate<\/em> is an ambitious and ultimately effective\nlittle B-movie that made its mark in the minds of young horror fans and still\ndoes today. This Blu-ray is full of great extras and comes with wonderful new\n\u201cSteelbook\u201d packaging that will look great on any collector\u2019s shelf. Be sure to\npick the release up if you get the opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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