Beyond the Gates

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.

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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... : )

To get it out of the way - i rated the movie a 4/10 for being pretty forgettable.

But that does not mean i do not appreciate some things it tried to do. It does however fall with its totally and utterly ridiculous story; a story that is so silly that it most probably is intentional. In short - the story feels like one of those cheap books that tells you to keep on reading on a certain page once you made a decision or like an amateurish table-top-rpg - all along with actors that both underact and overact. (kind of like many roleplayers i feel) Then there are the character archetypes that are so flat and one dimensional... they do not have a sliver of personality about them; and of course a story that lacks any logic.

Once you get that out of the way - you can start to appreciate some neat details though. There is a certain 90s vibe going on, which is dismissed by the rather modern still shots in many scenes. There is some 90s colouring and scenes - and then again more modern ones.

There is what feels like a certain homage to Lynch movies (curio shop owner and camera works in that shop) and some raw, low budget slasher core movies.

The tone of the movie itself is almost somber with extreme gore sprinkled in (that mostly looks deliciously fake) The dialogue consists of meaningless one liners for the most part - and the actors hardly act scene-appropriate.

But the movie actually was kind of funny to watch - utterly forgettable but fun - in all its cheesiness. And sometimes one wants to watch some cheese i guess.

However - i cannot recommend it. Maybe as part of a horror video night with friends (and alcohol...) There are "gems" in the movie that certain people may love and appreciate though. It has a very narrow target audience. (i am not it) But if you are - you may well very much enjoy it.

Two estranged brothers, Gordon (Graham Skipper) and John (Chase Williamson), reunite to liquidate the assets of their missing father's video store. As they sort out the contents of the shop, the brothers discover a strange old VHS board game—Beyond the Gates—that seems to have some connection with their dad's disappearance. Together with Gordon's girlfriend Margot (Brea Grant), they pop the game's tape into the player and are greeted by a mysterious woman (scream queen Barbara Crampton) who guides them through the horror that ensues.

Take the basic premise of Jumanji and give it a horror twist, and what you have is Beyond the Gates, except that Jumanji was, and still is, a whole lot of fun (despite some horribly dated CGI effects), whereas Beyond the Gates is a crushing bore for most of its running time, with long periods where absolutely nothing of interest occurs (the first 45 minutes are a real test of patience). About the only things the film has in its favour are a few decent gore effects (best being an exploding cranium), a cool synth score, and Grant's impressive rack (the actress wears a tight vest but fails to do a Crampton, keeping those puppies under wraps).

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.

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.