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June 26, 2018

Movie Review: Beyond the Gates (2016; Destroy All Entertainment; Shout/Scream Factory)


…OK, then. This next beauty on the lot…just know will appeal to one’s embraced nostalgic fervor…yes indeed, my fine folks, we have this finely restored ‘80’s model…very unconventional looking, though absolutely perfect, for one who appreciates that which suggests a measure of weathered, low-brow independent sylye…as opposed to slick, polished and princely…and not-totally-abandoned-nor-forgotten obscurity, once having meandered in a bygone age of excess. Why, just look at that wildly imaginative, albeit random array of curves, corners and points…that varied and eclectic pallet of bleached, though still madly vibrant and contrasting colors, shades & hues. There’s no mistaking it…absolutely screams ‘80’s, doesn’t it?? Hell, yes…feel free to kick the tires…really, aren’t they oh-so uncompromising…so unyielding, and yet, measurably restrictive and reserved, in the sense that they know very well what they are and aren’t capable of. Oh, and by all means, please…feel free to step inside, and take a seat. Yes, take a deep and elating whiff of that interior…that distinctly familiar and provocative air of a time when opportune and spontaneous chances taken…were daring, unconventional, and oh-so imaginatively pretentious…

…it may not be an actual 80’s original, but in pulling out all of our trump cards,…dammit to all hell...uh, quite literally, that is...we’re gonna convince you that it is

…and so, considering all that…uh, do we have a deal…Hmmmmm!!! (…with widened fiery eyes, and gnarled hands wringing…over, and over, and over again…); oh yes, please think about it…

…and yes, folks...we are going someplace with this, be rest assured...heh, heh, heh...


…an estrangement-laden reunion ensues…thick with an awkward, sardonic air of discomfort...between two brothers, John and Gordon, as they reluctantly get together, after years apart, to close and pack up their father’s dank and dusty old video rental store, strewn with an endless library of tapes…having long become remnant of technological past. Barring the long unfortunate phase-out of the VHS technology…giving all the more cause to close shop…it seems that the brothers’ father has not so much passed on, but rather, has mysteriously disappeared, without a trace…and as such, left the video store abandoned, unkempt and unclaimed…
…some time before this unfortunate and mysterious revelation which invariably drew the brothers together…after so many years, John had long since become a sort of tethered and tattered, cynical, going-nowhere-but-devil-may-care ‘drifter’ staple of the town…taking odd jobs, here and there…boarding himself with whomever he associated with, about town…despicable types, mostly. In contrast, a much more reserved and meekish Gordon had afforded himself the opportunity to bate a hasty retreat from the town, early on, in an effort to find his nitch in life, and invariably face his personal demons. He now returns to his hometown…determined to the cause at hand, though shielding underlining scars of personal defeat…and at the same time, wholly exasperated at how his brother, John, appears to have wasted his life. Accompanying Gordon on this excursion…his devotedly empathetic girlfriend, Margot…
…a couple days into packing up the video store, and having chance stumbled upon a key, John and Gordon finally afford themselves access to one of the shop’s locked-away back office storage rooms; a flick of a light switch reveals a small and sparsely furnished room, with creaky wall shelves, displaying dusty old boxes, clunky-old VCR units (…oh yes, those premiere top-loader models, which were heavy enough to induce a hernia)…and a countless number of what appear to be board game boxes…
…one particular game box…a familiar, albeit old and crusty 80’s VCR board game (…yeah, one of those where a VHS tape is played, in conjunction with the game taking place on the respective gaming board, to facilitate a more imaginative, if not more unconventional gaming experience) called…yes, folks, “Beyond the Gates”, catches their attention and curiosity…even more so when they see that the specific VHS tape for the game is sitting in the carriage of the nearest VCR machine within reach…
…and after Gordon and John, with a shoulder shrug, push the tape into the machine…a creepy, though alluring pre-game intro by a rather smoking hot and sexy-looking, though grim and deadly-serious mannered ‘host’, flickers on the TV screen…and immediately after…a strange and unearthly flash of light, which the brothers again shoulder-shrug as weird, but ‘eh, so what’. However, in the days that follow…with the strangest progression of dreams and visions…enticing further, though cautious examination of the game, which oddly enough, becomes more and more familiar & personal with the brothers…John and Gordon begin to realize, with growing horror and dread, that they just might have inadvertently set something terrifying and other-worldly into motion…something that may not only explain the mysterious fate of their father…but also something that affords them no choice whatsoever, but to play the game to it’s invariable and death-defying finish…fearfully resigning themselves to a most harrowing and terrifying inevitability, that to lose the game, may well suggest that they lose their very souls
…ya’ know?? There’s something distinctly unique about what the 80’s had to offer, as far as horror cinema…something that, unless one is a seasoned veteran of that era, either behind the camera, in front of the camera, or just a mere appreciative and knowledgeable study…which may well be seen as hard-pressed to be imitated by those who have since marched forward, or those who were not even born in that nostalgic era, but still have that gleam of appreciation of the era. The best of what the ‘80’s had to offer…even the more obscure and under-appreciated stuff…wore a creepy mist of unconventional intrigue and mystery over it’s well-wrought standard of shock and horror. The air itself, in many of these films, appeared thick with a subtle haze, which accented the overall creepiness of whatever horrors are taking place, or about to take place (...yes, we're looking back at you, "The Boogens", "The Godsend", "The Hearse", "The Unseen", "The Incubus", and (...ugh) even "Boarding House", just to name a meager few)…

…character-wise, one was never really sure how any of the singularly eclectic and individual roles would play out in the ghastly proceedings of these films; varying across a pretty broad spectrum, initially-seen-as-weak characters, often times find an almost indomitable inner strength, given whatever circumstances laid before them…strong characters, those hero types, thinking themselves beyond fear, were often times complacent, arrogant and self-centered (…nope, no help there). And just about anyone had the potential…as well as a sneaky, underlining motive, depending how the film events unfolded…to be the killer. And everyone in between…well, for the most part, we’re talking mere fodder for the blade…

…and why exactly are we exhaustingly peeling away the layers of 80’s horror genre films, in a roundabout journey of getting to the ‘meat’…the actual review of the film in question, herein…given the suggestive and clearly inspired title, “Beyond the Gates”?? Well, it seems that first-time director Jackson Stewart clearly loves the ‘80’s brand of horror film, as suggested in having eagerly viewed “…Gates”. Not the slick, higher profile, big-big money stuff, mind you...but the more obscure, subtle, hazy, tarnished, slightly color-faded, and wholly under-appreciated independently produced ‘jewels’ of that era…so much so in fact, that with “Beyond the Gates”, it almost seems that he’s quite literally tapped into feel, and gradual ‘under the skin’ creepiness of some of those bygone classics. The film itself doesn’t even come across as some kind of copycat homage or knock-off of 80’s horror films; rather, as cleverly conceived, written and executed, it lovingly captures the subtle creepiness and eerie atmosphere of that decade’s indie horror offerings…so well, in fact, that it to play out more like some sort of tarnished ‘lost and forgotten’ 80’s horror gem…one that might have been seen by few, ‘back in it’s day’, then inexplicably ‘suppressed & lost’…for whatever reason…and only recently ‘re-discovered’…
…the varied characters in the film are minimal…as minimal as might be expected, especially in knowing that each of them have a sinister, albeit respectably narrative and designated role in the mysterious and macabre game, which said characters directly and indirectly engage themselves in, during the course of the film. Considering this, even the minor characters manage to stand out, and prove more integral to the film’s sinister proceedings, rather than being outright forgettable…with Brea Grant (…of Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween II’) as Gordon’s hapless, confused, though supportive girlfriend, who sort of doubles as an objective mediator and empathetic optimist between the two estranged brothers…Matt Mercer (…best recalled from 2013’s horror offering, “Contracted”) as one of Gordon & John’s friends from youth, and now a somewhat narrow-minded and disbelieving law enforcement officer in the town, who gets caught up in the nightmarish proceedings…Justin Welborn (…a standout in the 2010 remake of “The Crazies”), as a brash, combative, bullying and punkish friend of John…Jesse Merlin, as a rather grim and sinister, almost stereotypical antique shop curator, who when queried, seems to know more about the tainted board game, than he’s willing to tell, outright…
…in a strikingly awesome, albeit diabolical turn, veteran scream queen Barbara Crampton…who adorns herself with two ‘hats’ in these proceedings…one, as producer of “…Gates”…is deliciously dark and creepy, in a most captivating way, as the game’s harrowing ‘host’, as seen through the game’s accompanying VHS component…a host who, during the enigmatic  and other-worldly game play...well, tends to get way too personal, in a creepy ‘under the skin’ manner, and demands a precise regiment of the game rules, even though cryptically rendered…for, to not follow the rules…well, let’s just say that her ensuing stern facial expression, is clearly one to be denied, and not easily shaken from the mind…
…but as unconventionally integral, stand-out and non-throw-away that the supporting cast of characters is, in “Beyond the Gates’…well, the film’s focus, being the main protagonists, are the two estranged brothers…and the grating differences between the two…physically, behavior-wise, and attitude-wise…are wonderfully rendered and volleyed. Genre actor Chase Williamson…a standout in the horror genre, despite a minimal filmography, having made a greatly marked introduction, in 2012’s “John Dies in the End”…is John, the more roguish, sarcastic and rebellious of the two brothers, herein…left behind to ‘hold the fort’, when his brother bate a hasty retreat from town, and moved away…never really having the respect of loving, caring patriarchy…despite having to watch that patriarchy inexplicably degradate and waste away, up to the point where John’s father disappeared altogether…and now, the derelict ‘handyman’ of the town…going from place to place…from job to job…
…in contrast, there’s Graham…looking like a troubled cross between the bespectacled Herbert West character from 1985’s ‘Re-Animator’, and the retro-‘90’s Toby Radloff ‘nerdy’ persona…who indeed ‘escapes’ the confines of his hometown…an opportunist’s move, in seeking that much desired nitch in life, away from the shanty town he grew up in. However, when we first meet Graham…having returned to assist his brother in boxing up and closing their dad’s shop, as well as trying to figure out what happened to him…he appears to be hiding a broken and tortured self behind a slightly jittery, though defensive standoff persona…the success he thought he’d found and embraced, having faltered to the point where Graham, like his father, embroiled himself to substance addiction, having almost lost his loving and supportive girlfriend, in the process…

…now, given the passionate ‘80’s vibe to the film, as well as the exceptional performances from all…well, let’s just say that it would be quite outright remiss, inexcusable and unforgivable if, with regards to the macabre visuals and special effects, the filmmakers contradict themselves, and inject even the most substandard of CGI. In that, my friends, the film…well, not necessarily excels per say, but more so satisfies, as for the most part…probably thanks to the overall economy of the film…the effects are of the more practical and directly material-rendered meld. The lighting, smoke, opticals and overall visuals, though quite well executed, seem more akin to what one might find in a well-constructed haunted house attraction. The more striking and unnerving effects come about through the more gorier moments, as might be expected in…yes, an ‘80’s flavored horror film; in the case of “…Gates”, these moments are few and far between…but well worth the shock factor inflicted, when they do occur…
…even the oh-so deliciously subtle, albeit shuddering soundtrack...rendered here, by the talented Wojciech Golczewski…a nicely adapted melding of John Carpenter-like riffs, and the similarly haunting synthesizer tonals of Fred Myrow & Malcolm Seagrave (…yes, those very under-appreciated fellows who exquisitely concocted the ‘Phantasm’ themes)…perfectly accents further the overall nostalgic ‘80’s atmosphere of the film…even in the most remote and seemingly trivial of moments. For instance, the underlining and barely audible melodic creepiness of seeing one of the brothers, slowing saunter amidst the dark and dusty, wall-to-wall, floor-to ceiling shelves of old videotapes…aisles and aisles of them…definitely recalls the first ‘Phantasm’, and the film’s early mausoleum scenes…
…ya’ know something?? It would be so damn easy to dismiss this exquisitely creepy and horrific genre entry as merely ‘a horror version of ‘Jumanji’ (…and damn!! I promised myself, throughout this exhaustingly extensive, albeit passionately endearing overview, that I wouldn’t bring up that obvious comparison); however, this tried and true ‘gimmick’ is so cleverly incorporated, and written into “Beyond the Gates”, that it almost seems fresh, in a way…like perhaps, suggesting as was mentioned before, that “…Gates” feels like a forgotten and lost ‘80’s horror entry, rather than just a homage. Could it be that, in an alternate light…an askewed timeline…a reversed exposition and exchange of ideas…that “Beyond the Gates” itself, inspired “Jumanji”?? Really not that far-fetched, if one considers the notion…

…at any rate…oh hell, enough already!! Long story short (…too late), “Beyond the Gates”…an irresistibly tasty, flavorful and atmospheric love letter to classic ‘80’s horror…yes, that brand of obscure, edgy & unconventional, independent cinema of dark fantasy, the bygone dissidents of which, even to this day, cry out for re-discovery, re-examination and rightful embrace…"...Gates" itself equally cries out for immediate and most highly recommended viewing…the kind of film which will invariably take one back to a cherished and nostalgic time, when writers/filmmakers were considerably more imaginative in their scribe, were daring risk-takers, and…well, had a lot of guts, in one splashy form or another…
 ...and a final shout-out to director Jackson Stewart, for his ideal choice of locales for his film...in particular, one of the last oasis' of the home video rental market...a stylishly nostalgic place that has just about anything and everything (...and if they don't have it...by reputation, they will find it!!), and a famous landmark staple of the greater Los Angeles area, for both local average viewers, as well as countless celebrities abound. We're talking Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee video store, located in the heart of North Hollywood. For this privileged reviewer, having been born and raised in the greater Southern California area...been to Eddie Brandt's dozens of times, over the past few decades...and as such, it is a most recommended, must-see prerequisite stop, should anyone happen to be in the area...



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