Can I really be objective about this film. Things we see in childhood are perceived differently.This movie is what it means to be 13 years old, up late at night, and finding yourself engrossed in a world of fantasy, horror, and magic. A film to cherish.What is about this film. The stop motion animation, the eye, metal band lore. The ending and what kills the demon. This isn't a movie of cliché, and not about people doing stupid things while the villain tracks them down. I think people underrate it, b/c in a way it is a silly fantasy film, but it does take itself seriously and is not campy garbage.

A young boy Glen (Stephen Dorff) and his best pal Terry (Louis Tripp) discover a portal to a hellish world where the old gods have waited since the dawn of time to claim the Earth as their own; meanwhile, Glen's older sister Al (teen cutie Christa Denton) invites her friends over for a get-together blissfully unaware that demons are about to crash the party.With everything from a creepy telephone call, monstrous hands reaching from under a bed, ghostly moths, melting parents, a zombie in the walls, diminutive demon minions, a massive, multi limbed, four-eyed Lovecraftian beast, and even that hoary old horror cliché, a Satanic album revealing magical incantations when played backwards, The Gate is a messy hodge podge of tried and tested ideas tied together by that most uninspired of premises—the 'entrance to Hell'.Inconsequential fluff though it may be, the film still succeeds in being an enjoyable piece of family friendly horror thanks to its likable young cast and a whole slew of impressive pre-CGI special effects, including some excellent stop motion animation and clever use of forced perspective during the scenes involving the tiny minions (I always wondered how they did those—thanks IMDb!).6.5 out of 10, rounded up to a 7 for IMDb.

Gate, The (1987) ** (out of 4) Lightening strikes a tree, which leaves a large hole in the ground, which just happens to be a gateway to some demons. Three kids (Stephen Dorff, Christa Denton, Louis Tripp) eventually have to battle these demons when their parents leave them home alone for the weekend. This has a large cult following and even though I grew up watching horror films throughout the 80s, this is one I never got around to checking out. While watching the movie I really could see why some might love this thing as it's pretty much another clone of THE GOONIES and I'm sure many watched this as a kid, connected with the kids in the film and just liked the idea of fighting off these small creatures from Hell. With that said, the movie just didn't work for me. There were a number of reasons why but the biggest is that nothing really happens until the fifty-minute mark and then we get a couple action scenes and then it appears the film is over only to then kick it into another gear for yet another 25-minutes worth of action. Another problem I had with the film were the actual demons. They're small, unscary and way too cute to be very menacing. Not for a second did the film ever build up any type of suspense and not once did I feel that any of the characters were in danger. Some might say there's nothing wrong with that but we are watching a horror movie and a horror flick without any danger is pretty pointless. Yet another problem is that the screenplay takes the subject matter way too serious and yet it never makes a bit of sense. We're given a "story" as to what's going on but it'll just leave you scratching your head. Fans of gore aren't going to find much here, although we do get one terrific sequence where the boys goes to jump in his father's arms only to eventually have his head melt off! What I enjoyed most about the film were the performances by Dorff, Denton and Tripp. All three fit their roles quite nicely and they're all charming enough from start to finish. They're certainly not Oscar-worthy but they're good enough for this type of material.

Nice kid Glen (a fine Stephen Dorff in his film debut) and his amiable heavy metal music nerd best friend Terry (a solid and likable performance by Louis Tripp) inadvertently release a powerful supernatural force from another dimension through a mysterious hole in Gleen's backyard. If the boys don't figure out a way to close said gate right away, these lethal demonic beings will bring about hell on earth. Director Tibor Takacs and writer Michael Nankin eschew the usual graphic gore and cheap nasty scares found in a majority of 80's slasher fare that was trendy at the time in order to put a welcome and refreshing emphasis on eerie mood and nerve-jangling suspense. The gradual build-up in the opening half leads to a delightfully surreal and nightmarish second half which culminates in a lively and exciting climax. Moreover, the main characters are well developed and genuinely appealing: Dorff and Tripp make for engaging leads while Christa Denton brings an endearingly spunky charm to her role as Glen's sweet older sister Al. Jennifer Irwin and Deborah Grove are amusing as the vapid Lee sisters. Nankin's screenplay boasts several cool offbeat touches: Terry learns about the gate by listening to a hard rock album from an obscure band, the telephone melts, a shambling zombie workman bursts out of the walls, and Glen winds up with an eyeball in the palm of his hand. Kudos are also in order for the dazzling array of excellent and impressive special effects: The giant stop-motion animation beast seen towards the end is truly gnarly while the diminutive demonic minions are quite creepy and funky. Takacs and Nankin bring a positively infectious go-for-it enthusiasm to the material that's impossible to either dislike or resist. Tomas Vanes' slick cinematography and the spirited shuddery score by Michael Hoenig and J. Peter Robinson are both up to par as well. Best of all, there's even an upbeat central message about how the power of pure love can effectively conquer evil. An incredibly fun and worthwhile 80's creature feature winner.