Noutions
Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Haven Kaycee
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
Michael_Elliott
Gate II (1990) ** (out of 4)This sequel tries to follow on from the original movie and now it features Terry (Louis Tripp) trying to close the doors that were originally opened. Things don't go as planned as soon he and three friends unleash the minions and two of them decide to try and get some wishes granted.I must admit that I really wasn't expecting too much out of this sequel and especially since I wasn't overly thrilled with the original movie. There's no question that this film had a much smaller budget to work with and this is obvious during the special effects scenes. With that said, I really thought the movie was entertaining for what it was. Was it a masterpiece or an Oscar-winner? Of course not but it wasn't trying to be. I'm guessing fans of the original aren't fans of this one but for the most part I found it to be entertaining.For me the best thing about the movie were the four lead characters and performances. I thought Tripp, Simon Reynolds, James Villemaire and Pamela Segall were all very good in their roles and I thought their performances helped make the film all the more entertaining. There's not always monsters or action on the screen so we needed the characters to keep us entertained and for the most part they did. I liked hanging out with them and felt they added to the entertainment value.The special effects aren't as good as the first film but they are practical ones and for the most part they look good enough for this type of "B" movie. If you're expecting a lot of gore then you'll be disappointed because there isn't much, although there is a great sequence where one character begins to melt in a bathroom. With all of that being said, there's no question that the material wasn't the greatest and there certainly wasn't anything overly original here.GATE 2 isn't a great movie or even a good one but it's pleasant enough and worth watching.
hellholehorror
Some of the scenes were missing sound atmosphere. The special effects were mostly impressive especially for the age. Dialogue was sometimes a little quiet. The aspect ratio was a bit ugly. Slightly slow pacing in the middle. It followed the first movie well. It took the story a bit further and was quite original in the intense kid's horror area. The ending was a bit horridly happy. There aren't many films like this. It didn't have the brilliance of the first movie but I did enjoy it a lot especially as it had that awesome eighties vibe. What a fantastic ending. Demons for kid's and I like it!
gavin6942
Obviously not learning his lesson from "The Gate", the young man from the first movie again opens a gateway to another dimension. This time he uses the power to get wishes, but the demons don't give you wishes for free, you know? (Obviously, he hadn't seen "Filthy McNasty" at this point.) While I would have liked to see Stephen Dorff return for this sequel (his absence is poorly explained), at least we are treated to Louis Tripp, who is just as geeky as ever (though no longer sporting the Angry Dwarfs jacket or rocking out to Sacrifyx). As I say in my introduction, he thinks that opening a gateway is a good idea... and brings along three people for the ride. A hot chick by early 1990s standards (Pamela Adlon) and two greasers.Some aspects of this film were really fun and I enjoyed it a lot. The demon (or "minion" to use their term) getting high and causing a serious car incident was nice, and the idea of wishes turning to feces gives a whole new twist to the idea of "wishes in one hand, poo in the other". I really liked the visual of a minion in the jar -- where can I get a pickled minion? And if the stop-motion technology is this advanced in 1992, where was it for "Basket Case"? (Granted, that was much earlier, but how hard could it be?) What I didn't like about the movie was how forced it seemed, how dull most of it was, and the fact that a fair amount of the plot just doesn't make any sense. Tripp knows how to conjure demons and how to send them back, but waits for the right climactic moment to do so instead of finishing the job right away (not unlike how James Bond's villains don't shoot him when they have the chance). For example, he creates a box that has to be thrown into a pit (like the ring that must be thrown into Mount Doom) but just waits until after his girlfriend is almost sacrificed to Satan. Why? The end is also really cheesy (but I won't say what it is, you'll have to rent this one from Netflix).Despite my feeling this is a shadow of the original, it was still entertaining and I would have gladly welcomed a third film. There's a certain mythology about this series that I enjoyed, and I would rather sit through something like this than a film of a similar idea that just has no sense of itself. While this movie is not a comedy, clearly the crew wanted to have fun and it shows.If you really liked the original, this is worth a view. Unlike other sequels, this has the same director and star, so the continuity is very decent (how many sequels spin off from the original intent -- "Leprechaun" comes to mind). If you thought the first one was "just alright", I'm willing to bet this will greatly disappoint you. But hey, a bad 1980s or early 1990s film is still better than the average film today, in my opinion.
Joseph P. Ulibas
The Gate II: Trespassers (1992) was a tired sequel to the sleeper video hit The Gate. That movie made enough money to warrant a sequel. But the distributors left this film sitting on the shelf for a few years. When it was finally released, nobody cared. The film as disappeared into obscurity ever since. The same director and as co-star from the first film return for the sequel.Louis Tripp reprises his role from part one. His life has continued to go south. His father has become a total drunk and he has no friends. He has moved on since the last movie. The death of his mother has greatly contributed to the decline in his father's health and job status. One day he reminisces to the dark power that he saw that came from The Gate. Will this depressed and desperate teen temper with the "black arts" one more time?I can see why this film sat on the shelf. They should have released it when they had the chance. But now it's too late. Many fans of the first film have moved on. Should have struck whilst the iron was still hot.Not recommended.
