Reel Terror: Ankle-Biters and Model Rockets – A Look Back at The Gate (1987)

10-year old Josh did not care for the frightening design of the one-sheet theatrical poster for ‘The Gate’. Seeing it hanging near the door at the Super Saver Cinemas 6 in Moline, Illinois, I noticed those devilish red eyes peering from underneath a wooden covering to a hole in the ground. This reminded me of the designs for both the Six Flags Great America ride ‘The Demon’ (my first rollercoaster) and the graphic novel image for the creature in Stephen King’s ‘Creepshow’ segment ‘The Crate’.

‘The Gate’ has an incredibly simple and familiar story- kids get into things they shouldn’t when their parents are gone, the older sibling tries to manage the chaos, the protagonist boy (Dorff) faces his fears, and the effectiveness of the film hinges on the creepiness of the creatures and tone of the horror. The creatures are designed well enough to stick with you- imagine a horde of demonic Pillsbury Doughboys coming out of the ground and into your closets and walls, ankle-biting their way to taking your soul. To boot, the tone does occasionally work, especially near the end, where it really does seem like the ‘bad guys’ are going to win. Thank goodness for simple model rocket kits!

There’s also a fun ‘Final Boss’ animatronic beastie, doing its best to impersonate the Harryhausen-created sea creature from ‘Clash of the Titans’. We’re not sure what this Final Boss’ powers are, but it does ‘infect’ our protagonist in such a way that I checked my palms consistently for the next few months after my first viewing. If you know, you know. Interestingly, Dorff would later *become* a similarly-styled ‘Final Boss In the Middle of a Room’ in his role as Deacon Frost in ‘Blade’.

A few years ago, I discovered this film had a whole sequel, this time starring the neighbor friend from the first (Louis Tripp). I haven’t seen it, but remain intrigued as to what else this ‘world’ has in store. Taken a bit more seriously, I think the story has legs. Of all the remakes generated from 70s and 80s horror flicks, many of which are unnecessary/don’t improve upon the original, ‘The Gate’ seems like a fine candidate for an update, this time with a harder angle and more teeth, so to speak.