Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Gate II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 17, 2018

An inventive and semi-wild overview of backyard hellraising, heavy metal, and suburban survival, 1987’s “The Gate” scored big with a limited budget. It featured engaged performances from its young cast and memorable special effects, with director Tibor Takacs handling a PG-13 horror movie with confidence, making sure to maintain creepiness while selling the fun factor of true minion mayhem. 1992’s “Gate II” (which was completed in 1989, but suffered a distribution delay) does what it can to replicate the inherent appeal of kids fighting miniature demons, but Takacs and returning screenwriter Michael Nankin attempt to age-up the viewing experience, heading in an R-rated direction with even less money to help bring an apocalyptic vision to life. “Gate II” isn’t nearly as wily as the original picture, but the production manages to score with what little they have to work with, offering neat special effects and a renewed focus on wish fulfillment to help reheat the formula.

It's been years since Terry (Louis Tripp) opened a gate to Hell in best friend Glen’s backyard, and he’s been obsessed with perfecting the ritual ever since. Setting up a new ceremony with hopes to manipulate dark magic, Terry’s ritual is disturbed by bullies Moe (Simon Reynolds) and John (James Villemaire), along with Moe’s girlfriend, Liz (Pamela Adlon), with the strangers managing to shoot a minion that’s been pulled from another dimension. Keeping the visitor as a prize, Terry is shocked to witness the minion’s incredible healing power, returning to life and promptly placed into a cage. Gradually understanding the powers offered by the creature, Terry and Liz grow close as they experiment with wish-fulfillment, while Moe and John use their new magical possibilities to celebrate their stupidity, testing the might of overlords “The Unholy Trilogy” as they mess with evil, bringing Hell’s fury back to Terry’s neighborhood.

“Gate II” doesn’t explode with activity, instead focusing on Terry’s domestic issues. Having lost his mother, Terry is concerned about his father, an unemployed, alcoholic airline pilot who doesn’t have the drive to find work. Having survived an initial run-in with the titular hole to Hell, Terry elects to try his luck again, refining his demonology, which entrances gate-crashers John, Moe, and Liz. Nankin’s screenplay only makes room for a single minion for the second chapter, instead focusing on the black magic that comes after messing around with evil, finding the captured demon something of a genie, offering the characters a chance to make their fantasies come to life. For Liz, it’s hope for true love. For Moe, a chance to interact with aliens. For John, it’s a plan to be the king of the world. Terry just wants his dad back, and perhaps an opportunity to feel up Liz.

Reducing the panic of unleashed minions certainly doesn’t help “Gate II,” but Takacs doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room here, stuck with a single demon and a screenplay that never settles on a defined arc for any character. However, select scenes are nicely executed, especially involving the lone minion, who’s brought to life using a combination of woman-in-suit, forced perspective, and stop-motion animation. It’s not always the slickest looking movie, but the illusion works wonderfully at times, keeping “Gate II” invitingly weird and minion-happy. There are equally bizarre asides with the wishes, with the most memorable being their temporary allure, with all objects conjured during the creation phase eventually turned into fecal matter. It’s that type of kooky writing that helps the picture achieve some sense of oddity to combat eventual staleness.

Gate II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is billed as a "New 2K scan of the interpositive," working to give the nearly forgotten "Gate II" a new day on Blu-ray. The results are impressive, displaying a fresh viewing experience, with enjoyable sharpness that does a fine job capturing the original cinematography. Minion and demon activity is easily inspected, along with visual effects, reinforcing technique showcased throughout the endeavor. Facial particulars are strong, with gross-out textures on make-up, while the human characters showcase youthful looks. Colors are tastefully refreshed, with rich primaries giving life to demonology events and costuming, providing deeper blues and reds. Grain is fine and filmic. Delineation is strong. Source shows no significant stretches of damage, with only mild judder encountered during the main titles.

Gate II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides a confident stereo listening event for "Gate II," offering the full force of a low-budget genre offering. Dialogue exchanges carry as intended, finding performances intact, with an inoffensive balance of hysterics and hushed emotional encounters. Scoring maintains support with a synth-based drive, taking control of suspense needs when required to do so. The effort's scattered soundtrack selections offer greater authority and sharp instrumentation. Sound effects are distinct, supplying a full sense of minion and hellgate chaos without softening into muddiness.

Gate II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Return to the Nightmare" (27:21, HD) sits down with screenwriter Michael Nankin, director Tibor Takacs, and special visual effects creator Randall William Cook to discuss "Gate II," but the subjects aren't exactly interested in praising the picture. Still reeling from a difficult shoot, the men offer faint praise for the sequel, which they all feel was hampered by a smaller budget and bigger expectations. Despite sharing a serious case of the blues about "Gate II," the trio manage to unearth interesting nuggets of information about the production, explaining why Stephen Dorff didn't return for the follow-up, how Nankin's directorial ambition caused him to leave the project during its initial planning phase, and detailing the casting of a Hungarian ballerina to portray the head minion. There's also an overview of MPAA rating confusion, creative accomplishments (Cook is really down on the visual effects), and the film's critical reception. Candor is most welcome here, making for an engaging chat.

• Interview (14:46, HD) with special make-up artist Craig Reardon carries the same tone at the previous featurette, with the subject openly disparaging elements of "Gate II," also sharing similar stories about the ballerina and the harsh shoot. Technical achievements are singled out here, explaining the ways of forced perspective, which required the actors to perform at half-speed to help sell the minion illusion. Reardon closes with praise for the Blu-ray release, but he's not very skilled at covering his real opinion of the film.

• Video Promo (1:41, SD) is offered.

• Contest Promo (2:10) is an audio-only look at a chance for video stores to win big bucks by stocking "Gate II" on their shelves.

• Still Gallery (4:37) collects BTS photos, publicity shots, and theatrical, VHS, and DVD art.

• And a Trailer (1:10, SD) is included.

Gate II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's not a satisfying ending to be found for "Gate II," which hopes to summon a major clash between the teens and the forces of darkness, but all that's survives is iffy make-up work and a general dip in intensity, with the movie as a whole losing steam at the very point it should be exploding. There's a lot missing from "Gate II" and it's not as engaging as earlier picture, but appreciated in bite-sized pieces of fantasy horror filmmaking and minion mischief, and the feature retains a faint sense of what made "The Gate" such a joyride.