IMDb RATING
5.1/10
6.5K
YOUR RATING
Two estranged brothers reunite at their missing father's video store and find a VCR board game dubbed 'Beyond The Gates' that holds a connection to their father's disappearance.Two estranged brothers reunite at their missing father's video store and find a VCR board game dubbed 'Beyond The Gates' that holds a connection to their father's disappearance.Two estranged brothers reunite at their missing father's video store and find a VCR board game dubbed 'Beyond The Gates' that holds a connection to their father's disappearance.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
Ryan Kunert
- Young John
- (as Ryan Kunart)
Stu Jefferson
- Voice on the Phone
- (voice)
- …
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
It was an okay movie. I did like the effort and obvious affection for the Retro 1980's Horror vibe, and of course it is Always nice to see Barbara Crampton.
Heh, I thought that was funny that the three characters all said in effect, 'Who's the babe!' : ) I guess with Crampton being one of the executive producers, she might've had some sway in the dialog department. But hey, don't get me wrong, she still looks pretty dang good!
So, about the movie... The characters were fine, nothing stellar or Oscar worthy, but decent for the type of low budget Horror movie that it is. Some nice practical effects, some good atmosphere and lighting.
But, all 'n' all, still even with those nice trimmings the film is rather average. Not terrible by any means, just rather simple and straightforward.
I think the one weakness which brought it down a little was the pacing. I mean, I know it has a runtime of only about 1:22 with credits, but I'm thinking that the director deliberately drew out many of the pauses a bit long, maybe to pad out the time a little. Nothing awful, but I feel that if they had maybe put a tad more thought into enriching the background or Mythology or added a little more depth instead, that would have made it more effective.
Like I say, not too bad, kinda fun, kinda Retro Horror. I Did really like the Retro soundtrack I will say. So, as long as you are not expecting too terribly much, there are far, Far worse ways to spend your time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just a note as to how I do my reviews... I usually don't repeat the basic plot since almost everyone else does that (Claudio Carvalho is an excellent example of this. He writes about 6 paragraphs of a synopsis, and then adds maybe 2 sentences as an actual review... :/ ) and you can get the basic synopsis from a bunch of other places, to me that is a waste of time and honestly is not that helpful. So, what I concentrate on in my reviews is hopefully putting across whether I think it is a Good film, or if I think that it is an Entertaining movie and what I feel it's strengths and weaknesses are in the way it is made.
That way, Hopefully it will be of more benefit and actual help to others as to whether I feel it is worth watching (and also perhaps what 'Type' of film it is and what type of people may enjoy it)
My Particular Way of Rating:
5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.
6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.
7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.
And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )
Heh, I thought that was funny that the three characters all said in effect, 'Who's the babe!' : ) I guess with Crampton being one of the executive producers, she might've had some sway in the dialog department. But hey, don't get me wrong, she still looks pretty dang good!
So, about the movie... The characters were fine, nothing stellar or Oscar worthy, but decent for the type of low budget Horror movie that it is. Some nice practical effects, some good atmosphere and lighting.
But, all 'n' all, still even with those nice trimmings the film is rather average. Not terrible by any means, just rather simple and straightforward.
I think the one weakness which brought it down a little was the pacing. I mean, I know it has a runtime of only about 1:22 with credits, but I'm thinking that the director deliberately drew out many of the pauses a bit long, maybe to pad out the time a little. Nothing awful, but I feel that if they had maybe put a tad more thought into enriching the background or Mythology or added a little more depth instead, that would have made it more effective.
Like I say, not too bad, kinda fun, kinda Retro Horror. I Did really like the Retro soundtrack I will say. So, as long as you are not expecting too terribly much, there are far, Far worse ways to spend your time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just a note as to how I do my reviews... I usually don't repeat the basic plot since almost everyone else does that (Claudio Carvalho is an excellent example of this. He writes about 6 paragraphs of a synopsis, and then adds maybe 2 sentences as an actual review... :/ ) and you can get the basic synopsis from a bunch of other places, to me that is a waste of time and honestly is not that helpful. So, what I concentrate on in my reviews is hopefully putting across whether I think it is a Good film, or if I think that it is an Entertaining movie and what I feel it's strengths and weaknesses are in the way it is made.
That way, Hopefully it will be of more benefit and actual help to others as to whether I feel it is worth watching (and also perhaps what 'Type' of film it is and what type of people may enjoy it)
My Particular Way of Rating:
5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.
6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.
7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.
And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )
I really wanted to like this but I gave up with 30 minutes left. The acting and writing is horrible. The story is boring. The characters are bland.
Overall a not unwatchable effort, a story line with certain potential is littered with some enjoyable blood-fest elements. Unfortunately Beyond the Gates is marred by slow paced dialogue, between one dimensional characters, who all clunkily perform their way to the end. The issue here is that before anything begins to get going, you're likely to be half out of your mind with boredom. The 88 minute run time, which was reduced to about 80 after the exclusion of the opening and closing credits, still felt drawn out.
When things did get going, Beyond the Gates takes some particularly odd turns to create none too convincing or all that scary "monsters". In retrospect the film could well have borrowed more themes from greats such as Hellraiser and utilized them to bolster its own version of hell (assuming that's what the movie was trying to get at).
This may well appeal to die hard horror fans, but you're likely to be disappointed.
When things did get going, Beyond the Gates takes some particularly odd turns to create none too convincing or all that scary "monsters". In retrospect the film could well have borrowed more themes from greats such as Hellraiser and utilized them to bolster its own version of hell (assuming that's what the movie was trying to get at).
This may well appeal to die hard horror fans, but you're likely to be disappointed.
Horror movies are my favorite movies. My wife gets tired of me suggesting them. So it had been a week or so and we decided to give Beyond the Gates a spin.
I understand some of the negative reviews. The pace of the first half is a little slow, but the character development and plot are still interesting enough. The acting can be wooden at times, sure. The 80's feel to modern day is somewhat puzzling, but since it's all about a video store, forgivable.
The two requirements I have for horror movies is that they have to at least be a little scary and they have to be fun. This movie succeeds at both.
The actress who plays the host for Beyond the Gates knocks it out of the park. Her performance is one I won't soon forget - creepy and diabolical.
The overall feel of the movie reminded both my wife and I of the recent Creepy Pasta adaptation Channel Zero: Candle Cove which was just about the same level of scary and fun.
Give this one a go, it's worth a watch for sure.
I understand some of the negative reviews. The pace of the first half is a little slow, but the character development and plot are still interesting enough. The acting can be wooden at times, sure. The 80's feel to modern day is somewhat puzzling, but since it's all about a video store, forgivable.
The two requirements I have for horror movies is that they have to at least be a little scary and they have to be fun. This movie succeeds at both.
The actress who plays the host for Beyond the Gates knocks it out of the park. Her performance is one I won't soon forget - creepy and diabolical.
The overall feel of the movie reminded both my wife and I of the recent Creepy Pasta adaptation Channel Zero: Candle Cove which was just about the same level of scary and fun.
Give this one a go, it's worth a watch for sure.
It has the vibes of Hellraiser and some of Fulci's "Gates of Hell" trilogy, mixed with some obvious similarities to Jumanji (though purely owing to the subject matter) but with some nice comic touches, which allows the movie to get away with a few of its budgetary constraints.
Our central characters, Gordon, John and Margot, play a retro VHS board game and unlock a gateway to some dark netherworld, in an attempt to discover what happened to Gordon's missing father. Needless to say opening such portals can only lead to trouble!
Fortunately for us, trouble of the gruesome kind.
The film is very much an homage and tribute to many things from a previous generation of entertainment, such as the board game, the VHS rental store and some cool gore effects which nod to the era of the video nasty. This is its strongest element because the story and setting is a tad threadbare, without feeling amateurish.
Fans of the genre and such from-the-heart productions are bound to enjoy what this film has to offer as it nicely projects the infectious sense of fun and creativity that led its creators to make the film in the first place.
It's not going to change the world of horror as we know it but I bet it will inspire other startup movie-makers to make that movie they have in them.
Our central characters, Gordon, John and Margot, play a retro VHS board game and unlock a gateway to some dark netherworld, in an attempt to discover what happened to Gordon's missing father. Needless to say opening such portals can only lead to trouble!
Fortunately for us, trouble of the gruesome kind.
The film is very much an homage and tribute to many things from a previous generation of entertainment, such as the board game, the VHS rental store and some cool gore effects which nod to the era of the video nasty. This is its strongest element because the story and setting is a tad threadbare, without feeling amateurish.
Fans of the genre and such from-the-heart productions are bound to enjoy what this film has to offer as it nicely projects the infectious sense of fun and creativity that led its creators to make the film in the first place.
It's not going to change the world of horror as we know it but I bet it will inspire other startup movie-makers to make that movie they have in them.
Did you know
- TriviaThe 'rules' for the game are actually the set of rules for Ouija.
- Quotes
Gordon Hardesty: Jesus Christ.
- Crazy creditsA few seconds after the end credits, the woman from the game appears onscreen and silently stares ahead for a few moments before the screen cuts to black.
- ConnectionsFeatures Messiah of Evil (1974)
- SoundtracksOutrun With The Dead
Written and Performed by Vincenzo Salvia
- How long is Beyond the Gates?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 勇闖地獄門
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $300,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 24m(84 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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