Gates of Darkness

Gates of Darkness

source: Gates of Darkness

Shallow and generic. It plays out like it was written by an occasional chuch goer/lifetime movie enthusiast that wanted to try to tackle the topic of exorcism. I would probably classify it more comedy than horror or drama.

I must admit that I picked up the 2019 horror mystery "Gates of Darkness" as I saw the cover. And when I saw that both Tobin Bell and John Savage was on the cast list, of course I sat down to watch director Don E. FauntLeRoy's 2019 movie. And while I did manage to sit through the entire movie, then writers Robert Hickman, Lesley-Anne Down, Chris Kanik and Randolf Turrow just didn't collectively manage to write an overly interesting or compelling storyline. Sure, it was watchable, but this movie was hardly an outstanding foray into the demonic possession and exorcism subgenre of horror movies. It felt like the writers were trying to accomplish more than they were capable of delivering, and it definitely felt like they tried to cram everything that worked in previous demonic possession and exorcism movies into one movie, and that would be "Gates of Darkness". Yeah, well the movie just didn't really play out that way. In fact, the storyline in the movie felt forced, wooden and as it was lacking a natural fluidity to it. It felt staged and awkward actually. And this reflected poorly on the actors and actresses, as they were struggling with an inferior script and storyline. And the fact that the character gallery in the movie was pretty weak didn't exactly boost their chances of delivering something grand either. Now, it should be said that "Gates of Darkness" actually have a rather good ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list, which includes the likes of Tobin Bell, John Savage, Adrienne Barbeau, Lesley-Anne Down and Mary Mouser. Just a shame that they had so very little to work with in terms of script, story and characters. Visually then "Gates of Darkness" had nothing grand to offer. There weren't exactly an abundance of special effects or CGI effects in the movie. And whatever were there served their purpose well enough, but don't expect to be blown away by a grand display. Ultimately then "Gates of Darkness" is not an impressive foray into the horror mystery genre, and this is the type of movie that you will watch once, and never again, only to completely forget about the movie existing. My rating of "Gates of Darkness" lands on a three out of ten stars.

I love Tobin Bell (from the SAW movies) and Adrienne Barbeau (the original Rizzo from the live production of Grease and cult classic horror queen) so I definitely jumped at the chance to see this one. It's dark subject matter and I found the creepiness to be a bit lingering, I watch a lot of horror but haven't seen anyone take this direction before.

First off the acting by the "diverse" family members was laughable. The main protagonist, Stephen, was a kid with severe issues and personal problems way before he got possessed. Secondly, the special effects really looked like they were from the 1970's. And thirdly, why would a demonic entity be upset about the wrong doings of humans anyway? Yeah the whole plot/production was weak. I gave it two stars since the actors kept straight faces while filming it.

A lot of attention is given to facial expression. It's hard telling good vs. Evil by the look alone, so this makes their attraction all more captivating (though the main character does have outlandish features, it will become a point of significance in the end). The editing makes it seem like the story jumps around. We are given quick clues as to the progression, as important scenes can be missed easily from the sequence. The main story arc resolves the pacing issues with background images. Whether this works as an effect may depend on your interpretation. After all, this movie leaves open the possibility that much of their spiritual phenomena occurred in the mind, although the exorcism and preternatural powers as limited in reality can still be observed. It's an interesting technique using the apparitions and praise must be given for tackling the issue of domestic/child abuse among the catholic clergy. The horrifying part is thinking it's inspired from real events and how it is not far from the truth in what could happen. Artistic liberties no doubt were taken. I'd rather watch digitally to control easier which scene you skipped.

Positive: now i know there's a plastic surgery centre for nuns. Negative: 1h31min.

Stephen Tade (Randy Shelly) is your typical teenager which means he acts possessed. His mom (Alexandra Davies) has remarried but is in love with Smirnoff silver. Alexa (Alisha Boe) is his hot step-sister which doesn't create any problems for him. Along with his sister Michelle (Mary Mouser) they all attend Catholic school. Stephen has numerous issues and the family and church have secrets. This is said to be inspired by true events: Tobin Bell, John Savage, and Adrienne Barbeau all have fading careers. I liked the special effects at the end more than the silly ending. Guide: F-word (not many). No sex or nudity.

Tobin Bell crushed his role in this movie. I enjoyed seeing him play a character that he typically is not known for portraying. This movie was intriguing and created good insight to the secrets of the Catholic Church.