Going to go back a bit in time to when horror films were actually better because there was more originality and not everything had been done to hell. So let's go back to I don't know the year of 1987 and talk about a certain movie that while it wasn't rated R, it still classified as horror and definitely lived up to the genre.
That movie is The Gate, starring Stephen Dorff as a young boy named Glen, along with his best friend Terry (Louis Trip) who discover the gateway to hell in his own backyard and unleash the old gods (Demons)to take over the world. What's even scarier is this occurs when his parents are away for the weekend and so he is stuck with his older sister Al (Christa Denton) as his babysitter.
The gate is actually nothing more than a hole where an old tree stump used to be, and the kids ends up unleashing the demons completely by accident. They are unaware from the moment they discover a geode at the site and break it open, that they are about unleash hell, literally. A strange smoke is released once the geode is broken open and leaves behind a strange message on a notepad. The kids read the incantations aloud and the rest is history.
Glen, his sister, and their friends have to find a way to defeat the demons but these attempts prove to be unsuccessful, and Glen soon finds himself all alone once the others are captured by the demons (in the form of a zombie looking ghoul I might add)which completes the final sacrifice, the gate is blown open and the demon lord (BMF) is released to wreck havoc and Glen is left to face him all on his own. So in the tradition of happily ever after movies, Glen is a heroine and defeats the demon lord and everything goes back to normal. Yes that's right, and he destroys the demon lord with a toy rocket. Try getting your head around that one! Also, he is reunited with his sister, Terry, and his dog. They are seen coming out of a closet at the end (Homosexual jokes are inevitable) Yet the house is still demolished from the demons, so when their parents get back home, they will have a fun time trying to explain that one.
For a PG-13 rated film, there were some pretty horrifying moments, but the special effects are damn nice, especially for its time. Also I was happy to discover that Randall William Cook was behind the special effects especially for the demon lord at the end. He also worked on the Blair-Thing from "The Thing". So that's a bonus =D
Overall The Gate is definitely a cult classic and what I like to call a kids horror film. You don't see movies like this anymore, especially with children as the lead. It's your typical good vs evil film, but albeit a more fucked up version. There are so many things that are just really shocking, especially the scene during the finale when Glen encounters the demon lord and then looks at his hand and sees an eyeball in the center of it. (I wonder how many kids were traumatized by that scene alone) Some have wondered what the significance of that was, and well at the beginning Terry has that death metal album with the demonic artwork on the cover and one of them happens to be the eyeball.(clever foreshadowing I might add) Also just when you think it can't get any more disturbing, Glen takes a shard of glass and stabs the eyeball. (This movie is just full of surprises) There is also the scene where Terry is hugging his mother in a dream, then wakes up and discovers it is Glen's dead dog! I could go on with the messed up parts, but I really don't like spoiling films for those who haven't seen it. I do recommend it, a cult classic indeed.
And like most of the 80's horror movies, this one is also currently being remade and there are plans to have a 3D release. Am I looking forward to this? Hard to say right now, I won't make any judgments at all until I see a trailer. Those are usually good indications if a movie is watchable or not. (Wasn't in Piranha 3D's case)
I'll be sure to talk about the remake when there's more information on it, till then it's just going to be good ol nostalgia!
I will add that the brand new collector's edition DVD cover for the movie does look like a modern version, and I definitely like it, but I still prefer the old cover, which I have by the way. If the remake can live up to the original and stay true to what made it what it is, then perhaps it won't be so bad after all.
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