BEYOND THE GATES - streaming on AMC+
Third time's a charm...
So, I started the day off watching a film called Proxy. While entertaining and coming out the gate strong, ultimately I felt it was more of a Lifetime-styled psycho thriller (albeit one jacked up on meth) than a horror movie.
Next I checked out Francis Ford Coppola's first official feature film, Dementia 13. While dripping with gothic overtones and a rabid killer vibe, I thought it was more mystery/psycho drama than horror.
Not one to be daunted, I queued up a third film, Beyond the Gates, and scored a winner!
This flick is like a bugged out mash-up of House, Phantasm, and Jumanji. Comin' in hot on the low-budget tip like a 1980's direcct-to-VHS jammy, it’s creepy, funny, and weird. While it can bog down at times with some meandering "dramatic" exposition, the quirk factor is high enough to keep you watching for the duration. Plus it stars that cool kid from John Dies at the End, the one who played Dave. Here he's like the uber nerd-hip, sad sack stoner bro.
Also, how the hell did I miss out on VHS board games? The crux of this film's story hinges on a bugged out “interactive” Ouija type game.
Oh, and as an added bonus, cult scream queen Barbara Crampton injects some wonderfully campy and macabre ambiance to the whole proceedings. Oh, and there’s some pretty decent practical splatter gore to keep things appropriately ewwy and gooey.
If you spent any time in the 80s and 90s pouring over the faded covers of horror films at your local video store (we're talking pre-Blockbuster, yo!), then this jam's for you.
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