Stranger Issues is now over — Quantity 3 dropped on New Yr’s Eve, and it will in all probability take me some time to course of all of it. Whereas I pour one out on the curb for the Duffer Brothers’ hit Netflix sequence, I am left questioning about their extremely anticipated spinoff mission and the way forward for Hawkins, Indiana. For those who’re something like me, you are in all probability having Upside Down withdrawals. Properly, relaxation straightforward: I could have an answer.
What if I have been to let you know there is a weird-yet-fun ’80s horror film you may stream proper now to maintain the Stranger Issues vibes going? Like Stranger Issues 5, the movie I am referring to additionally takes place in 1987 (it got here out that 12 months, as properly), has the same title card aesthetic (that very same purple on black font) and if you happen to return and revisit Season 2, you will even discover an episode named after the flick.
The Gate is the film in query, and if you will get previous the dated results and cheesiness of a number of the scenes, I am right here to say the 85-minute film is the proper companion to Netflix’s world hit sequence. It is at present streaming at no cost on Tubi.
Learn extra: 44 of the Finest Netflix Films You Ought to Stream Now
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The Gate stars Stephen Dorff (sure, that Stephen Dorff) as a 12-year-old boy named Glen who, alongside along with his heavy metal-loving, nerdy buddy Terry, discovers a gateway to Hell in his yard. The elimination of a pesky tree opens the portal, and as quickly as Glen’s mother and father head out of city for the weekend, weirdness ensues.
Stephen Dorff and Louis Tripp star in 1987’s The Gate.
Glen’s sister, Alexandra, is left in cost, and, as with most ’80s teen films, she throws a celebration. What higher strategy to pit a gaggle of mismatched teenagers towards a demonic pressure with no parental intervention in sight!
The youngsters find yourself banding collectively right into a crew of unlikely heroes, able to fend off the forces of the underworld. Sound acquainted?
The Gate was a type of films from my childhood that felt like a spookier model of Poltergeist, due to the ethereal behind-the-camera work by style director Tibor Takács (anybody bear in mind I, Madman?). There is a delicate, smoky really feel to the film’s manufacturing high quality that makes it simpler to simply accept its loopy premise. These children live in a nightmare, and demons are knocking on the door.
I suppose the primary factor that makes The Gate work properly is Dorff’s portrayal of Glen. As weird as issues get — there is a sequence in The Gate that’s on the identical stage of traumatizing because the face-melting scene in The Raiders of the Misplaced Ark — Glen stays grounded. You are feeling his trauma, his terror, his resolve. The Gate is an early instance of Dorff’s expertise as an actor who can command the digicam’s consideration. He carries this film with each tortured response he delivers.
I generally discover myself pondering the important thing elements that make Stranger Issues so profitable. On one finish, there’s the Stephen King-style horror of all of it. On the opposite, the ’80s interval tone and setting have infused the present from the very starting. Melding these aesthetics collectively, whereas incorporating popular culture references from The Terminator to A Nightmare on Elm Avenue, and nonetheless delivering a present that may tug on the heartstrings and enchantment to a variety of ages, is sort of the achievement.
Tiny demons run amok in 1987’s The Gate.
There are seeds of that form of tonal mashup in The Gate. It is completely a horror film, however there’s additionally childlike marvel. One second, you’ve Terry dorking it up for levity’s sake, solely to must film flip the script and discover the chums attacked by large palms that come out from beneath Glen’s mattress. It is a scene that performs into actual childhood concern, and the movie’s sensible results obtain terror efficiently.
Bear in mind, this film was shot within the ’80s, so the particular results are completely dated. But it additionally delivers some standout moments. In considered one of The Gate’s most well-known scenes, tiny demon minions erupt from a bigger demon because it collapses to the ground. It is a scene that, together with the massive dangerous reveal within the third act, would in all probability make particular results legend Ray Harryhausen tip his hat in approval.
In the long run, Glen and crew find yourself defeating the demonic threats with nerdy grit. Earlier than the Hellfire Membership challenged the Demogorgons in Hawkins, Indiana, these children used their information of heavy steel lyrics and rocket-making abilities to present monsters the what for.
No, I am not making an attempt to let you know that The Gate is on the identical stage as Stranger Issues. As a low-budget movie made practically 4 many years in the past, it is restricted by the sources obtainable on the time. That stated, you may see the tonal breadcrumbs that result in Netflix’s genre-bending hit.
Earlier than children’ leisure had the guardrails we see at the moment, The Gate got here by way of with a mix of horror and fantasy that each appealed to and unsettled the youngsters of my era. It is a film that leans into some intense moments of dread whereas throwing collectively younger heroes who thwart evil. For a cult ’80s horror film, it was surprisingly inspirational to me as a child. And all these years later, I am shocked to say, it nonetheless holds up.
