The Gates

For a low-budget film, this one delivers superior production value and atmosphere! It's so nice to see a film that allows for the purely supernatural, without trying to explain everything in pseudoscience terms!

Good, also, to see old John Rhys-Davies in a starring role again! The principals all turn in fine performances, although a few of the lesser performers were truly atrocious (especially Lucien's associate!).

Richard Brake was a fine choice for the intensely evil William Colcott; he delivered a truly menacing performance!

All-in-all, if you don't expect too much from this modest-sized project, I think most people who appreciate a good gothic tale will find it surprisingly satisfying!

First, it's a rather long movie for the substance. They really go to lengths to draw things out unnecessarily. The script is painful to listen to. It's very sophomoric, and the over-baked archetypes make the acting pretty cringe. I actually really like. John Rhys-Davies from other movies. Elena Deliia also does a good job with a poor script. However, Michael Yare should seek employment as something other than an actor. It's like watching a junior-high school student attempt acting for the first time. What makes it all worse is, even though there are a few good actors, there is absolutely zero synchronicity between the cast. None of them mesh well together, so it makes it really difficult to try to enjoy what little gems there are to this story. This could have been done a million times better, and they obviously had the budget for it.

This one landed in a funny place for me...however, overall I enjoyed it (with the knowledge that I do have a bias for period horror lol). It was decently atmospheric and I saw a lot of potential in what they created.

The Gates was a bit of a roller coaster as I saw it. I continually found myself engaged and invested... and the next second I found myself being pulled out of the moment. I think that this was mainly attributed to the script, the acting and some scenery.

While the script wasn't awful by any means, I felt it a bit hokey and underdeveloped at times and certainly didn't do the actors any favors. The acting was extremely hit or miss here. By far the best of the bunch was the uncle. He carried a lot of the weight of what was successful here on his back. Along with some side characters such as some prisoners, the antagonist and the rogue wife. Unfortunately a lot of the other actors were not as successful. The main paranormal investigator guy and his buddy didn't do the production many favors either. The buddy was stiff as a board with extremely stilted delivery but as a side character, that wasn't as detrimental. The main one really had a lot of responsibility here due to the size and importance of his role... and he just didn't do it for me.

I know that it is super difficult and often times expensive to pull off a period piece so kudos for that. The majority of the time it looked really great and convincing. Unfortunately, occasionally our modern day shown through and I was pulled you out of the moment a bit.

I also think that the plot could've been refined a bit. The foundation definitely felt like it was there, but it lost its way at times and became a little convoluted. There were many subplots and interactions that got thrown to the side and felt unnecessary. I noticed this the most with the niece. By not having anything come to fruition with her mother or her potential gift... It almost made her character unnecessary. The ending also fell off the rails a bit and required a good amount of suspension of disbelief... and a bit of suspension of understanding as well.

Now, while I know this feels overwhelmingly negative... while viewing this, you will find that a lot of these issues don't seem to be super detrimental or particularly deterring (at least for me). Also many of these are pretty common while enjoying an indie horror and can be looked past.

I think they swung really big with this movie and while it wasn't 100% successful, I think they created something that was cool, decently entertaining and a production to generally be proud of. While I would love to round up, for me this gets a 5.5 rounding down to a 5, would recommend.

When I stumbled upon the 2023 horror/thriller "The Gates" here in 2024 and seeing that it had Richard Brake on the cast list, then there was no doubt about me sitting down to watch it.

Writers Tim Reynolds and Stephen Hall, with the latter also being the director of the movie, put together an enjoyable supernatural thriller with a good storyline. The storyline included the creation of the EVP (Electrical Voice Phenomena), which was a nice touch. It is an atmospheric thriller, where the writers gradually builds up the suspense and piles up elements of a supernatural dread.

Something that worked against the movie was the pacing of the narrative, because it was rather slow and bland at times, without much of anything thrilling or exciting happening, and that made sitting through 111 minutes of the movie somewhat of an ordeal at times. So either a more round-handed trim in the editing or a more spruced-up storyline would have served the movie well.

The acting performances in the movie were good from the entire cast ensemble, and with the likes of John Rhys-Davies and Richard Brake at the helm, then you're in capable hands. Richard Brake brought his usual devilish charm and sinister charisma, while John Rhys-Davies brought a level of class and Shakespearian atmosphere to the movie. Michael Yare (playing Lucian Abberton) and Elena Delia (playing Emma Wickes) definitely put on good performances as well.

The colors and lighting used throughout the course of the movie were definitely enhancing the atmosphere of the movie tremendously, making it seem and feel like a distinct 1890-period set movie. As did the wardrobe, sets and props department, I liked that level of dedication to making the movie feel authentic. It worked marvelously in favor of the overall feel of the movie.

While "The Gates" certainly is a watchable movie, I was expecting a bit more from a movie with Richard Brake and John Rhys-Davies. And I have to admit that this is not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time, because the storyline just doesn't have the contents to support more than a single viewing.

My rating of director Stephen Hall's 2023 movie "The Gates" lands on a five out of ten stars. It was as if the movie buckled in under its own ambition to deliver more than director Stephen Hall could muster.

John Rhys Davies stars in this. But at the age of 80, the blunderbuss vocal energy of his Raiders Of The Lost Ark days are gone. Then again with the stilted, monologue type dialogue he and the rest of the cast are given to work with, it's not surprising. In fact, it is so uninspiring and dull, that I found it actually painful to listen to, so only lasted 30 minutes of the 1 hour 50.

Which is a pity, as the production quality is decent. Convincing Victorian sets, street scenes, and costumes and a decent soundtrack, show an attempt to be above the B movie bracket.

Plot wise, I cannot really comment much. Victorian death row prisoners, new fangled electrickery, sciency stuff, mixed with dead prisoners ghosts and paranormal shenanigans. It all sounds too familiar.

Go watch penny Dreadful instead.