October Horror Movie Challenge: The Gate (1987) and The Gate II (1990)

Heading into the last week! The double feature for tonight is 1987’s The Gate and the follow-up The Gate II. The sequel was made in 1990 but did not see a U.S. theatrical release until 1992. While both are about teenagers opening doors they ought to leave alone, they have very different ideas about how to handle the demons that come through them. I enjoyed The Gate. The Gate II does not quite measure up, but I can appreciate what it set out to do. The Gate fits my theme, so I figure adding the sequel was okay. The Gate (1987)It has a wonderfully simple premise. After a tree comes down in Glen’s (a very young Stephen Dorff in his first movie) backyard, he and his friend Terry (Louis Tripp) find a geode in the hole it leaves behind. Through a combination of blood, strange writing that appears on one of those "magic-slate" tablets. Of course, Terry has a heavy metal album from the band "Scarifyce," whose lyrics hold the key to what they have let loose. It is not long before the boys…