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Gate II (1990)

** (out of 4)

This sequel tries to follow on from the original movie and now it features Terry (Louis Tripp) trying to close the doors that were originally opened. Things don't go as planned as soon he and three friends unleash the minions and two of them decide to try and get some wishes granted.

I must admit that I really wasn't expecting too much out of this sequel and especially since I wasn't overly thrilled with the original movie. There's no question that this film had a much smaller budget to work with and this is obvious during the special effects scenes. With that said, I really thought the movie was entertaining for what it was. Was it a masterpiece or an Oscar-winner? Of course not but it wasn't trying to be. I'm guessing fans of the original aren't fans of this one but for the most part I found it to be entertaining.

For me the best thing about the movie were the four lead characters and performances. I thought Tripp, Simon Reynolds, James Villemaire and Pamela Segall were all very good in their roles and I thought their performances helped make the film all the more entertaining. There's not always monsters or action on the screen so we needed the characters to keep us entertained and for the most part they did. I liked hanging out with them and felt they added to the entertainment value.

The special effects aren't as good as the first film but they are practical ones and for the most part they look good enough for this type of "B" movie. If you're expecting a lot of gore then you'll be disappointed because there isn't much, although there is a great sequence where one character begins to melt in a bathroom. With all of that being said, there's no question that the material wasn't the greatest and there certainly wasn't anything overly original here.

GATE 2 isn't a great movie or even a good one but it's pleasant enough and worth watching.

Obviously not learning his lesson from "The Gate", the young man from the first movie again opens a gateway to another dimension. This time he uses the power to get wishes, but the demons don't give you wishes for free, you know? (Obviously, he hadn't seen "Filthy McNasty" at this point.) While I would have liked to see Stephen Dorff return for this sequel (his absence is poorly explained), at least we are treated to Louis Tripp, who is just as geeky as ever (though no longer sporting the Angry Dwarfs jacket or rocking out to Sacrifyx). As I say in my introduction, he thinks that opening a gateway is a good idea... and brings along three people for the ride. A hot chick by early 1990s standards (Pamela Adlon) and two greasers.

Some aspects of this film were really fun and I enjoyed it a lot. The demon (or "minion" to use their term) getting high and causing a serious car incident was nice, and the idea of wishes turning to feces gives a whole new twist to the idea of "wishes in one hand, poo in the other". I really liked the visual of a minion in the jar -- where can I get a pickled minion? And if the stop-motion technology is this advanced in 1992, where was it for "Basket Case"? (Granted, that was much earlier, but how hard could it be?)

What I didn't like about the movie was how forced it seemed, how dull most of it was, and the fact that a fair amount of the plot just doesn't make any sense. Tripp knows how to conjure demons and how to send them back, but waits for the right climactic moment to do so instead of finishing the job right away (not unlike how James Bond's villains don't shoot him when they have the chance). For example, he creates a box that has to be thrown into a pit (like the ring that must be thrown into Mount Doom) but just waits until after his girlfriend is almost sacrificed to Satan. Why? The end is also really cheesy (but I won't say what it is, you'll have to rent this one from Netflix).

Despite my feeling this is a shadow of the original, it was still entertaining and I would have gladly welcomed a third film. There's a certain mythology about this series that I enjoyed, and I would rather sit through something like this than a film of a similar idea that just has no sense of itself. While this movie is not a comedy, clearly the crew wanted to have fun and it shows.

If you really liked the original, this is worth a view. Unlike other sequels, this has the same director and star, so the continuity is very decent (how many sequels spin off from the original intent -- "Leprechaun" comes to mind). If you thought the first one was "just alright", I'm willing to bet this will greatly disappoint you. But hey, a bad 1980s or early 1990s film is still better than the average film today, in my opinion.

Sequel to the surprisingly good first film boast the return of the original film's director, Tibor Takacs , and writer, Michael Nankin. However, this sequel is minus a before-he-was-famous Stephen Dorff and instead has supporting actor Louis Tripp taking over as the lead. He was a pretty funny supporting character in the original, playing the heavy metal nerd who accidentally opens a gate to hell in his friend's backyard by playing a metal album backwards and reading ancient words off of the album. This sequel picks up after the events of the first film, and Tripp and some new friends once again opens the titular gate to have the little demons do his bidding. As you'd expect, things don't go as planned and the new group of teens find themselves running for their lives and trying to figure out how to once again close the gate. This sequel features more stop motion special effects, as well as more monsters, which was a lot of fun. However, lost in this sequel is the childlike Steven Spielberg sensibility. The first film felt like a horror movie version of "E.T." "Explorers" or "The Goonies," but this sequel felt more like a straight horror movie. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but that was a strength of the original film. Overall, despite note being as good as the original, this sequel is well worth watching for fans of 80s horror films (even if "Gate 2" was released in 1990).

While this movie could have been much better, it is what you might expect for a low budget sequel to a b-movie.

With that being said, I think the film recalls enough of the charm that made the first a borderline cult classic to hold the interest of those who were fans of the original. One returning character, one returning plot line, one returning minion.

So for fans, its a nice hidden rental when your Netlflix Que runs low on must-sees, especially if there other fans out they're like me who didn't even know there was a sequel. I happened to be looking to rent the original and saw this as well. It sat at the bottom of my list for a while but finally I decided to give it a chance and while not blow away, I was satisfied enough by the nostalgic cheesiness this film provided.

this movie was slower than freakin' 12 Angry Men. but at least 12 Angry Men had a god damn story line or climax. I am confused, a little angry, bewildered to the brink of exhaustion, and want to punch the sequel in its face. The first movie was incredible! it had a creepy element and included interested effects and top notch gore. this one's blood drive is dry as a whistle and the effects seem to be used as filler. actually, the whole movie seems to be a bunch of filler strung together with little scenes with the cool little demon and the actor from the first one, just to try and keep our attention. and THE ENDING. the ending is like me saying that my entire life did not matter when I spent my entire life walking in circles and pulling on my crank. so... my mind is completely numb and bleeding. thank you GATE TWO!