Curtain

This is a quirky, independent comedy masquerading as a surreal horror film. It gets the surreal part right but the rest of the staging and execution is so cheap as to make this feel like a Troma movie. It doesn't do much for a film's realism when you have actors in support who go around mugging for all their worth, actors linked to a storyline which is so slight as to be not worth bothering with in the first place. Basically, a frightened young woman discovers that her shower curtain is hiding a portal to another dimension. That's it; that's the set up, although not much is done with it.

One of the most arresting parts of the film are the weird dream visions that the protagonist experiences. These are a mish mash of similar bits in THE EVIL DEAD and THE RING, and quite weird, although not as just plain bizarre as other elements in the film. At times I felt that I really should like it, and perhaps with better resources the writer/director could have done something truly special here, but sadly the acting is just too poor and the script so sub par that I couldn't stand it. It feels like nothing more than one of those "make it up as you go along" type movies.

An independent film which has an original sort of story but isn't able to deliver much for its audience. This doesn't look as cheap as a Troma movie or a Hammer house movie but by the same token it's not glitzy and glamorous either, not by a long way. A struggling nurse moves into a new flat, strange things begin to happen and she finds a space/time portal in her bathroom. There are some really surreal parts to the film, random dreams and flashbacks, crazy confrontations with weirdos. I found myself wondering what the hell I was watching and having a dilemma trying to figure out if I was enjoying the film or not. Decent pace, interesting enough characters, an original idea... I wish I could have liked this more but unfortunately it felt like something was missing. Whatever it was that was missing really stopped me from really enjoying this, which is a pity really. Close, but no cigar.

All I want is my time back. It is worse then I thought. The final twist will make you say "Really?"

Just save yourself......

Now this is something you don't see every day; a portal manifesting in a small bathroom.

Truth be told, then I didn't really know what to expect when I sat down to watch "The Gateway" (aka "Curtain"). I had initially thought it to be a horror movie, but found out that it was labeled as a horror, mystery and Sci-Fi movie here on IMDb. And I must admit that the horror aspect of the movie was not prominent, much to my disappointment.

Actually there was an adequate pacing to the movie, especially because it starts out in a high gear, then slows down a bit but continues on in a fairly good pace.

Story-wise then "The Gateway" definitely was a deviant from what I am used to watching, for better or worse. I found it to be somewhat interesting because it was so different, and because it was somewhat offbeat. While the movie was entertaining enough, the storyline wasn't the most thrilling or riveting of story lines.

The cast ensemble in the movie was relatively small, which meant that the actors and actresses in the movie had to carry more weight to support the movie. And I will say that the acting talents were actually doing good jobs with their given roles and characters.

The characters in the movie were good, especially because they were detailed and memorable. Writers Carys Edwards and Jaron Henrie-McCrea certainly did create some outstanding characters to appear in the movie.

As for the effects in the movie, well this wasn't a major Hollywood production with a multi-million dollar special effects budget, that much is obvious. But it should be said that the special effects that actually were in the movie served the movie quite well. The effects when the shower curtains are pulled through the wall (gateway) actually looked quite good and realistic.

The music score in the movie was quite interesting. It was fitting to the mood of the movie and it had somewhat of a 1980's horror movie to it, which I personally did like, as it added a unique flavor to the movie.

When Danni is having her nightmarish dreams, it was just a bit too reminiscent of the visuals used in the "Evil Dead" movies. I like that, though, but it was a bit unoriginal.

"The Gateway" is a somewhat odd movie, but interesting enough for a single viewing. The movie is hardly the type of movie that you will watch more than a single time, as it just doesn't have the quality that supports multiple viewings.

I found The Gateway to be an excellent indy movie. The story is good and it kept me entertained the whole way through with trying to figure out what's going on with this portal in the bathroom that sucks in shower curtains! I highly recommend this one, especially if you like indy horror/sci-fi films!

I have a couple of issues with it though... 1. It's only about 72 minutes long. I appreciate a movie that doesn't overstay its welcome, but I think this one would have been better if they spent a few more minutes explaining how the 'gate keepers' came to be. These appear to be young men who wait in the woods for things to happen and we somehow chosen to do this.

2. What happens in the last 10-15 minutes is telegraphed. It doesn't take away much from the movie, but I think just with some different editing, that at least there might have been a better reveal at the end.

Regardless though, I think this is worth the watch!