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the Strange things The victory lap is about to continue with the premiere of Season 5, Volume 2, dropping this week. Nine years after the strike Netflix The Duffer Brothers creation is coming to a grand finale, leaving me wondering: What’s next? Sure, there is Subproject In the works, but if you’re like me, you probably want to keep the positive vibes going after the credits roll.
Let me suggest a weird, fun kids’ horror movie from the 80s that premiered in the 80s. Like this season of Stranger Things, the movie I’m referring to is also set in 1987, has a similar aesthetic to the title card (same red on black font) and if you go back and check Season 2 again, you’ll also find an episode named after the flick.
It’s called The Gate, and if you can get past the dated effects and cheesiness of some scenes, I’m here to say that the 85-minute film is the perfect companion to Netflix’s hit global series. It is currently streaming free on tubes.
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The Gate stars Stephen Dorff (yes, That Stephen Dorff) as a 12-year-old boy named Glenn and his heavy metal-obsessed friend Terry discover a portal to hell in his backyard. Removing a pesky tree opens a gate, and once Glen’s parents leave town for the weekend, a strange situation arises.
Stephen Dorff and Louis Tripp starred in the 1987 film The Gate.
Glenn’s sister, Alexandra, is left in charge and, as with most ’80s teen movies, throws a party. What better way to pit a group of mismatched teens against a demonic force with no parental intervention in sight!
The kids end up banding together into a crew of unlikely heroes, ready to fend off the forces of the underworld. Sound familiar?
The Gate was one of those films I saw as a kid that felt like a terrifying version of Poltergeist, thanks to the ethereal behind-the-camera work of genre director Tibor Takacs (anyone remember I, Crazy?). There’s a soft, smoky feel to the film’s production quality that makes it easy to accept its crazy premise. These children are living in a nightmare, and demons are knocking on the door.
I suppose the main thing that makes The Gate work so well is Dorff’s portrayal of Glenn. As strange as things are, there’s a scene in The Gate that’s on the same level of shock as the face-melting scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark – Glenn is still on the ground. You feel his shock, his horror, his determination. The Gate is an early example of Dorff’s talent as an actor who could hold the camera’s attention. He carries this movie with every tortured reaction he gives.
Sometimes I find myself thinking about the key factors that make Stranger Things so successful. On the one hand, there is Horror in the style of Stephen King Of everything. On the other hand, the ’80s tone and atmosphere helped infuse the show from the beginning. Merging these aesthetics together, incorporating pop culture references into everything from The Terminator to… A Nightmare on Elm StreetStill, putting on a show that can tug at the heartstrings and appeal to a wide range of ages is a major accomplishment.
Little devils wreak havoc in the 1987 film The Gate.
There are seeds of this kind of tonal mixing in The Gate. It’s a horror movie, sure, but there’s also a childlike wonder. One moment finds Terry taking advantage of it for fun, only to have to flip the script and find the friends being attacked by giant hands emerging from under Glen’s bed. It’s a scene that plays up to real childhood fear, and the film’s practical effects successfully achieve the horror.
Remember, this movie was filmed in the 80s, so the special effects are quite dated. However, it also offers some standout moments. In one of the portal’s most famous scenes, the young demon’s minions revolt from a larger demon as it collapses to the ground. It’s a scene that, along with the big bad reveal in the third act, would make special effects legend Ray Harryhausen tip his hat in approval.
In the end, Glenn and his crew end up defeating the demonic threats with maniacal courage. Before the Hellfire Club took on the Demogorgons in Hawkins, Indiana, these kids used their knowledge of heavy metal lyrics and rocket-making skills to give the monsters a target.
No, I’m not trying to tell you that The Gate is on the same level as Stranger Things. As a low-budget film made nearly four decades ago, it is limited by the resources available at the time. However, you can see the tonal breadcrumbs that lead to Netflix’s incredible success.
Before children’s entertainment had the guardrails we see today, The Gate came with a mixture of horror and fantasy that both attracted and disturbed children of my generation. It’s a film that leans into some intense moments of dread as it brings together young heroes who thwart evil. For a horror film from the 80s, it was surprisingly inspiring to me as a kid. After all these years, I’m amazed to say it’s still holding up.