Devil's Gate Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Devil's Gate Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson August 24, 2020

A ramshackle of a farmhouse sits in the middle of nowhere in Devil's Gate, North Dakota. Pearce Bacca's (Adam Hurtig) car has sputtered along this rural road. As he approaches and slowly wades through the heavily wired entry-gate to the farmhouse, he's unaware of the booby traps set on his way to the front porch.

FBI Special Agent Daria Francis (Amanda Schull) has traveled from out of town and arrives in Devil's Gate where she'll teem with local deputy Conrad "Colt" Salter (Shawn Ashmore) on a special assignment. Sheriff Gruenwell (Jonathan Frakes) tasks the agent and officer in locating a missing woman and her son. Theresa Locke reported that her sister and nephew went AWOL since being at the old Pritchard farm, which is where Pearce sought help for his vehicle. Jackson Pritchard (Milo Ventimiglia) has an unsavory reputation for being gruff and he's an old friend of Colt's since they attended the same high school together. The sheriff would rather Daria and Colt not get too involved in the case but the new partners drive out to the Pritchard's. Daria uncovers an old volkswagen in the barn which she takes belongs to Jackson's wife, Maria (Bridget Regan). But she can't do anymore digging because Jackson has a loaded shotgun pointed at her head. Fortunately, Colt and Daria are experienced enough in law enforcement to force it out of his hands. Jackson has someone or something locked in his basement but warns Daria not to go down there. Does he have his wife and son caged up in the basement?

Devil's Gate (aka Abduction) is a briskly paced sci-fi/horror thriller that employs some stunning f/x courtesy of a visual effects group called Alchemy 24. The angels, demons, extraterrestrials, and lightning strikes exhibit "A"-list craftsmanship throughout this "B" indie. What lags behind the excellent effects work is a thin story and lack of character back stories. The audience learns that the Pritchard family and homestead has a mysterious history of mystics that inhabited its land but learns little about Jackson and Maria's past except the disappearance of their son. Director/co-writer Clay Staub and his fellow scribe Peter Aperlo present only one piece of background info on Daria. Except for a couple anecdotal experiences in his teen years with Jackson, scant facts and details are told about Colt.

Devil's Gate reminds me of Jeff Nichols's Midnight Special (2016) in that each boy in the film may or may not harness supernatural powers. In the case of the latter, it's much more clear cut that the boy does but it's more of a mystery in Devil's Gate if the extraterrestrials endowed Jonah (Spencer Drever) with any special abilities. In the Nichols picture, Alton (Jaeden Martell) feels that he belongs on a different planet. Does Jonah visit such a planet with the aliens and come back to earth to demonstrate those?

Devil's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory's release of Devil's Gate comes as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and slipcover. The movie appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25. April Wolfe of The Village Voice succinctly describes the visual palette as "puffy, low-hanging clouds pack the pale-blue sky and frame a sepia landscape." Colors have been completely desaturated and look washed out. Dark grey clouds hover ominously atop the Pritchard farmhouse (see Screenshot #14). Some sunlight creeps in during daytime shots (capture #s 15, 18, & 19). Interiors are practically pitch black with candlelight to provide some illumination. No print defects, source flaws, or compressional artifacts are present. Scream has encoded the feature at a mean video bitrate of 26113 kbps.

Scream delivers a dozen chapter selections for the 95-minute feature.

Devil's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (2605 kbps, 24-bit) and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (1587 kbps, 24-bit). While I would have preferred a higher bitrate higher on the former, I was very impressed with how the tiniest of ambience makes its presence felt on the surround channels. Wind gusts, the osculating windmill, bells, creeks in the floor, and general whooshing sounds are accented along the rears. Dialogue is crisp and comprehensible. Keefus Ciancia's score goes so well with the sound design that I hardly noticed it.

Scream has provided optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

Devil's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (2 min., 1080p) - an original theatrical trailer for Devil's Gate framed in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen.

• Bonus Previews - some other IFC Midnight trailers load after the disc is inserted.

Devil's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Devil's Gate is an atmospheric sci-fi/horror hybrid that's most successful in delivering the requisite visual effects but not in the storytelling department. It makes some cryptic references to Stephen King's writings (his short story, "Children of the Corn," and novella, Four Past Midnight: Secret Window, Secret Garden) that I enjoyed picking up. Scream Factory delivers a stellar transfer and a sonorous sound track in lossless 5.1. Unfortunately, there are no extras. This release remains in print. RECOMMENDED to general sci-fi and horror fans.