The gate - la fissure

A classic in the eighties genre of horror. It features goofy heavy metal music and demons. Stephen Dorff plays young Glen, who discovers a hole in his backyard is a doorway for demons. After his friend Terry plays his metal album backwords and they coincidently bury the family pet(you always need a sacrifice) in a hole in the backyard, they awaken demonic spirits which destroy the home and try to kill them. A funny take(even if not meant to be) on back masking and the influence of rock music on children. This film features some classic stop motion in the lines of Jason and the Argonauts. They are attacked by reanimating dead, droves of tiny demons and a head demon the size of a bus, which bares a strong resemblance to a Clash of Titans creature. This all stemming from a movie that would normally be a dud given the time period. It shouldn't be taken too seriously, but will amuse you for about 85 minutes. This is yet another underrated, hardly seen eighties gem.

If you are ever in the mood of seeing a funny and thrilling 80's horror movie, please watch The Gate! Don't trust IMDb with the 5 rating it's much better than that! I love the opening scene, the monsters and the thrilling scenes it contains.

The movie is about a Gate to hell or something which lies in a young boy and his sisters garden. Suddenly when it's dark, monsters emerge from the gate and attack the boy and the girl. The monsters are small latex beasts which also like incredible good and monster like. And there are some scenes with a zombie dude which are totally outstanding! I'm not going to spoil the end because this is a special effect extravaganza! Must see!

Overall, I liked The Gate because of it's weirdness. Plus, the special effects were eye-catching. Especially when the handyman tumbles over then transforms into tiny demons that scatter about. My favorite scene is when the parents return home late at night and Glen's father says "You've been baaaaaad!" and tries to strangle him while slime drips out of his face. Weird stuff. My only complaint is how it ended. But I won't give it away. I recommend seeing this one but keep in mind that those dwarf demons are "older than the Bible".

Believe it or not, this was much better than I initially anticipated. I expected one of those God-awful, cheesy special effects, mindless eighties horror films - a decade I think was a low ebb for that genre in general. I got to see a 35mm print of The Gate and was impressed with several things. Now before I get out of control here, make no mistake, this is not a great film even in terms of the horror genre, but it is a bona-fide campy, cult favorite from the eighties with good reason. The story is ridiculous about some hole, as a result of an old tree being destroyed in a family's backyard, having demons living down deep in its bowels. A rock band that died tragically also is involved, or at least the record album on hand complete with a huge history of demonology attached. Add a couple more-than-precocious boys, a bunch of teens, looking dreadfully eighties-style, attending a party while the parents are away, and some freaky little demons and you have much of The Gate. The little demons are cute and spooky and the director Tibot Takics actually visualizes them rather nicely - particularly in an era when special effects for horror and science fiction films were quite low in terms of quality. The director was also able to create some suspense and some interesting characters with the 2 small boys in particular. Stephen Dorff and Louis Tripp play Glenn and Terry respectively and give the film some heart. There is not much to recommend as far as the remaining cast is concerned, but The Gate delivers some solid scares, some atmospheric settings and direction, and some surprisingly good special effects. Good campy fun!

The boy Glen (Stephen Dorff) and his best fried Terry (Louis Tripp) accidentally open a gate to hell when a rotten tree is removed from the backyard of Glen's house. When his dog die and a friend of Glen's sister, the teenager Alexandra (Christa Denton), buries the animal in the hole, demons from an ancient civilization are released, seeking for two human sacrifices to dominate the world. Glen, Al and Terry, who are spending the weekend alone in the house, fight to save their lives and close the hole.

I do not recall how many times I have seen "The Gate" on VHS and now on DVD. The funny story has a terrible conclusion, but the special effects were amazing in 1987. This cult-movie is very underrated inclusive in IMDb but who cares? I still love this little gem of the fantastic cinema. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Portão" (VHS) / "O Portal" (DVD) ("The Gate")