2016 Directed by Jackson Stewart
Two estranged brothers reunite at their missing father's video store to liquidate the property and sell off his assets. As they dig through the store, they find a VCR board game titled 'Beyond the Gates' that holds a connection to their father's disappearance and deadly consequences for anyone who plays it.
Barbara Crampton Jon Kondelik Amanda Mortimer Georg Kallert Jackson Stewart Ian Keiser Rob Schroeder
Beyond the gates, מעבר לשערים, 비욘드 더 게이츠, Dincolo de porți, За вратами, Изван капија, 玩进鬼门关, 勇闖地獄門
USA
Los Angeles Film Festival
USANR
USANR
Denmark15
UK15
Denmark
UK
USA
"ah, my brother. you're late, as i expected from you"
"only 2 minutes, my brother. nice button-up shirt - is it aeropostale? i'd assume as much"
"i see you're still wearing clothes from high school, in contrast to me, the more responsible brother. havent you matured since our (mutual) father left? after all, we are brothers"
Choose your Own Letterbxd Review:
1. Beyond The Gates is a very entertaining
throwback to the 80's and VHS board games.
VHS board games have always fascinated me and I am
always on the lookout for them because I am a nerd who
collects board games and VHS tapes,
Also if you like your horror films with a surprising
amount of heart then check this one out because its
got some emotional weight. By no means great or anything
but if you enjoyed films like The Barn or Dudebro Party Massacre 3
then you will probably get a kick out of this one.
Btw Barbra Crampton is great as usual.
( Shitty poorly written review by Gabriel Jewett)
2. OMG…
15/31: bonus babs crampton
I enjoyed this so much more this time than the first time I saw it! I watched it right after it came out and I guess I wasn’t in the right headspace because with the exception of Babs Crampton, I was generally underwhelmed. This time I found myself watching a movie with some great 80’s vibes and a unique story and Babs still slays. Actually, she slays extra hard here because the whole black and white heavy eyeliner goth lite look on her is working.
Somehow, I didn’t remember any of the gore from the first time I watched it and I must have been high because that’s one of the definite highlights…
Beyond the Gates is a low budget synthy VHS jumanji jam featuring Graham Skipper, Chase Williamson, Brea Grant and Barbara Crampton (also producer) and takes a fun premise from Jackson Stewart & Stephen Scarlotta—mixing in some nice practical effects, a great score, cool visuals despite budgetary trappings, and a cast that goes for it. I only wish the VHS game had more screen time and one can only imagine where they could have taken this with a bigger budget! Despite some tough reviews here on LB I really dig movie... even more-so on rewatch.
It also helps that I had VHS board games as a kid so I was immediately attracted to this picture and I have to mention that Graham Skipper…
Upon finding a mysterious VHS board game, the son of a recently passed video shop owner finds himself, girlfriend, and brother entranced in its analog glow while fighting for his father's very soul.
This proved a pleasant surprise; a quaint mystery that's a highlight among the features born from the '80s video nostalgia wave of recent years. While some splatter resides in the game's ghoulish real world implications, it's best to approach this as a low budget riddle, concerned more with characters than a rollercoaster. Some problems linger; pacing feels suited for a longer feature before hurrying in the third act, characters are still rather bland, and they somehow manage sleep despite increasingly spooky stakes.
Barbara Crampton does a fine…
Frightfest 2016 Film # 9
After their father mysteriously disappears two estranged brothers, responsible Gordon (Graham Skipper) and laid back slacker John (Chase Williamson) come together to sort through his stuff, both at his home and at the old school VHS rental shop he owned. While sorting through stacks of old video's they come across a VCR board game (anyone remember Atmosfear?) entitled Beyond the Gates, deciding to have a shot of the game for a laugh, they soon realise that the sinister board game may hold the key to their fathers disappearance.
Although set in the present day, this is another of those 80's style throwbacks that are becoming so popular. From the synth led score to the video…
Eighties style horror, apparently a love letter to those VHS board games that were popular for a while around the time (I never actually played one). The film focuses on a couple of brothers tasked with clearing out their father's video store after he mysteriously disappeared. They happen upon the titular board game and after they begin to play it, find that it may have something to do with dad's disappearance! Jumanji comparisons are inevitable, this being an obvious horror version of the same concept. The film was obviously made on a budget and has a few problems - but on the whole it is a perfectly charming little horror film. The characters are well drawn and the film has…
The film has a pretty wicked idea but wasn't executed well, I was expecting something more imaginative, thinking the characters would be sucked into the game for most of the runtime, but the fun, interesting stuff didn't happen until the last act. I was a bit disappointed but it has a good 80s vibe with that synth score, and it has some cool deaths and gore but it was a little bit underwhelming and very slow, poorly paced. It wasn't too bad, just a bit meh.
"I just don't want to end up some drunk weirdo with an irrelevant video store."
-Gordon
Let's be honest, no matter how good or bad this movie may be, it was NEVER going to live up to the awesome cover art (This poster was pretty good too).
I can't say I really loved or hated this. It was just okay. It never really got off the ground, to be honest. It's not quite fun, silly, or creepy enough to stand out. It's just there.
Based on the plot, artwork, and even the trailer, I was expecting a fun, grown-up horror version of Jumanji or The Gate, but in the end it wasn't as interesting as either of those movies.
The first half…
Well that was a load of fun. First things first. Barbara Crampton is the boss. She's an automatic 2 star minimum.
The idea of a sentient video 'game' is a lot of fun and the filmmakers have a good time playing with the idea here.
It's a film that is clearly aware of how silly it is. The lead cast play it with a wry sense of humour but it doesn't lean all the way into the comedy. It's a good horror movie in its own right.
Perhaps one for genre fans, it's the sort of film that I'd imagine played well at horror festivals. A really nice surprise. I had this on my watchlist for some time and it didn't disappoint.
I stumbled upon this movie last winter sometime. In the midst of the mad dash, last ditch shopping for the family I came across this while I was looking for the last couple of horror movies I needed as gifts for my brothers. This one came up as a recommendation on amazon and it made me pause for second in my feverish hunt to be fucking done shopping. I stared, transfixed in only the way last minute shoppers can be, at the box and couldn't really figure out if it was an 80's movie or a more recent one. This is a great dilemma for me but I don't know how much my brothers care about such things as “…
After the disappearance of their father two estranged brothers get together to clean out their father's old video store and stumble upon an old VHS board game from the 80's. It's not long before the brothers and a girlfriend discover that it may not just be a game, but something that has an effect on reality.
Beyond the Gates is a great example of a film with an interesting premise that basically throws it away. A huge portion of this film follows the drama between the two brothers, neither of which are likable: one is a total jerk who can't keep a steady job and spends much of his time drinking while the other is so uptight about everything he…
