Highly Overrated But Still Good

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

They don't make 'em like this anymore. Horror that's focused on kids and just ramping up the weird and putting kids in situations that would terrify them. Great effects, solid acting, believable characters, and super nice model work all add up to a solid time. If you like Gremlins or Monster Squad, this should be up your alley.

Considering the large debt it owes to 'Poltergeist', this Canadian horror film stacks up remarkably well to repeat viewings with a similar plot about a house where odd things begin happening after forces are inadvertently summoned from below. One thing that really works in 'The Gate''s favour is the lack of adults with the film instead focusing on two young boys and a teenage sister warding off demons and goblins and protecting their family home while their parents are away on vacation. Their experiences give the brother and a sister a chance to really bond for the first time as well as wrestle with the responsibilities of adulthood, left in charge of the house and expected to take care of it. The best aspect of the film though is unquestionably the special effects; the film achieves a refreshingly different sort of creepiness by having tiny demons to fend off as opposed to more traditional large and ferocious monsters. Sequences in which a human head falls off and smashes and in which the boy discovers an eye inside the palm of his hand are very well done too. It is not a particularly frightening film, with many scenes that feel as if they have been toned down to achieve the film's PG-13 rating, but it is unsettling to watch all the same, full of moments (Louis Tripp realising he is holding the dog) that are still effective even when one knows that they are coming.

Glen and Terry (Stephen Dorff, Louis Tripp) inadvertently open a gate to hell in Glen's backyard, releasing ancient demons. The boys and Glen's sister Al (Christa Denton) must find a way to send the demons back and seal the gate. Very fun kids horror movie from the '80s. The cast is likable. The special effects are very cool. The script is good. The '80s had some great movies with kids as the heroes fighting against the forces of evil. Despite some inevitable cheese, these movies were way smarter and more "real" than similar movies of today. The kids seemed authentic and not overly precocious or popping off pop culture references right and left. The Gate's a fun movie that anyone should enjoy, except maybe gorehounds.

Three young children (including Stephen Dorff and Christa Denton) accidentally release a horde of nasty, pint-sized demons from a hole in a suburban backyard...This is a film many people of my generation grew up with. Certainly the movie takes a place in my heart. Whether it is a good film or not is open to debate. I think it is good, but maybe my judgment is clouded by the nostalgia, the fond memories of the film. I just watched it for the fourth time, and it still seemed good to me. The special effects are pretty strong for their time, and really should be praised.The film is a 1980s film, clearly, with its bright colored clothes and unusual love for heavy metal music. But it really is something more -- a timeless story of kids and monsters (very different from, but in the same spirit as, "The Monster Squad"). The film is scary in many ways (the workman, the demon king, the eye) but yet still has that childlike sense of fun and adventure. You never really feel anyone is in danger.A modern classic? Perhaps. "The Gate" is the high point of Tibor Takács' career, who made "Gate II" and "I, Madman" before moving to television and cheesy SyFy movies. This was also a great feather in the cap of visual effects master Randall William Cook, who went on to work on those other two films, and then bigger things like "Ghost Busters" and the "Lord of the Rings" franchise (where he won three Academy Awards).While Stephen Dorff went on to bigger things, Christa Denton faded away. She appeared in a handful of television episodes before retiring from acting in 1992 at age 20. Louis Tripp came back for "Gate II" an then he, too, faded away...