Stranger Things is now over — Quantity 3 dropped on New Yr’s Eve, and it will in all probability take me some time to course of all of it. Whereas I pour one out on the curb for the Duffer Brothers’ hit Netflix collection, I am left questioning about their extremely anticipated spinoff project and the way forward for Hawkins, Indiana. Should you’re something like me, you are in all probability having Upside Down withdrawals. Nicely, relaxation straightforward: I’ll have an answer.
What if I had been to inform you there is a weird-yet-fun ’80s horror film you may stream proper now to maintain the Stranger Issues vibes going? Like Stranger Issues 5, the movie I am referring to additionally takes place in 1987 (it got here out that yr, as effectively), has an analogous title card aesthetic (that very same crimson on black font) and for those who return and revisit Season 2, you may even discover an episode named after the flick.
The Gate is the film in query, and if you will get previous the dated results and cheesiness of a few of the scenes, I am right here to say the 85-minute film is the proper companion to Netflix’s international hit collection. It is at present streaming totally free on Tubi.
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The Gate stars Stephen Dorff (sure, that Stephen Dorff) as a 12-year-old boy named Glen who, alongside together with his heavy metal-loving, nerdy buddy Terry, discovers a gateway to Hell in his yard. The elimination of a pesky tree opens the portal, and as quickly as Glen’s dad and mom head out of city for the weekend, weirdness ensues.
Stephen Dorff and Louis Tripp star in 1987’s The Gate.
Glen’s sister, Alexandra, is left in cost, and, as with most ’80s teen films, she throws a celebration. What higher approach to pit a bunch of mismatched teenagers towards a demonic drive with no parental intervention in sight!
The youngsters find yourself banding collectively right into a crew of unlikely heroes, able to fend off the forces of the underworld. Sound acquainted?
The Gate was a kind of films from my childhood that felt like a spookier model of Poltergeist, because of the ethereal behind-the-camera work by style director Tibor Takács (anybody keep in mind I, Madman?). There is a delicate, smoky really feel to the film’s manufacturing high quality that makes it simpler to just accept its loopy premise. These youngsters live in a nightmare, and demons are knocking on the door.
I suppose the principle factor that makes The Gate work effectively is Dorff’s portrayal of Glen. As weird as issues get — there is a sequence in The Gate that’s on the identical stage of traumatizing because the face-melting scene in The Raiders of the Lost Ark — Glen stays grounded. You’re feeling his trauma, his terror, his resolve. The Gate is an early instance of Dorff’s expertise as an actor who can command the digital camera’s consideration. He carries this film with each tortured response he delivers.
I generally discover myself pondering the important thing components that make Stranger Issues so profitable. On one finish, there’s the Stephen King-style horror of all of it. On the opposite, the ’80s interval tone and setting have infused the present from the very starting. Melding these aesthetics collectively, whereas incorporating popular culture references from The Terminator to A Nightmare on Elm Street, and nonetheless delivering a present that may tug on the heartstrings and enchantment to a variety of ages, is kind of the achievement.
Tiny demons run amok in 1987’s The Gate.
There are seeds of that type of tonal mashup in The Gate. It is completely a horror film, however there’s additionally childlike surprise. One second, you’ve gotten Terry dorking it up for levity’s sake, solely to need to film flip the script and discover the chums attacked by large fingers that come out from beneath Glen’s mattress. It is a scene that performs into actual childhood concern, and the movie’s sensible results obtain terror efficiently.
Keep in mind, this film was shot within the ’80s, so the particular results are completely dated. But it additionally delivers some standout moments. In certainly one of The Gate’s most well-known scenes, tiny demon minions erupt from a bigger demon because it collapses to the ground. It is a scene that, together with the massive unhealthy reveal within the third act, would in all probability make particular results legend Ray Harryhausen tip his hat in approval.
Ultimately, Glen and crew find yourself defeating the demonic threats with nerdy grit. Earlier than the Hellfire Membership challenged the Demogorgons in Hawkins, Indiana, these youngsters used their data of heavy metallic lyrics and rocket-making abilities to provide monsters the what for.
No, I am not making an attempt to inform you that The Gate is on the identical stage as Stranger Issues. As a low-budget movie made almost 4 a long time in the past, it is restricted by the assets out there on the time. That stated, you may see the tonal breadcrumbs that result in Netflix’s genre-bending hit.
Earlier than youngsters’ leisure had the guardrails we see at this time, The Gate got here via with a mix of horror and fantasy that each appealed to and unsettled the youngsters of my era. It is a film that leans into some intense moments of dread whereas throwing collectively younger heroes who thwart evil. For a cult ’80s horror film, it was surprisingly inspirational to me as a child. And all these years later, I am stunned to say, it nonetheless holds up.
