Day 31: The Gate 2

The Gate was a special effects/stop motion showcase that had some really impressive sequences. The Gate 2 continues the legacy of great stop motion and special effects, but this time adds much more entertaining characters and dialogue. The results are a movie that's much easier to follow leading into a great finale.

5 years have passed since Terrence and his friend Glenn first opened the gate. Glenn and his family have moved away and Terrence's father has lost his job due to his alcoholism. Terrence now wishes to use the gate to grant wishes that will help his father get his life back. When performing the ritual though, he is interrupted by a group of delinquents. Interested in the ritual John, his girlfriend Liz, and Moe join in and each make their own wishes. The wishes seem to be granted at first, but all is not as it seems with the gate.

Louise Tripp returns to the role of Terrence Chandler. He does a fantastic job portraying the nerdy teen with a vast knowledge of demonology. The rest of the cast does a respectable job with their acting. It's really an entertaining script that helps their characters stand out. The film is full of entertaining  dialogue  and it's characters are just more developed and interesting than in the original.

The real reason anyone is going to give The Gate 2 a watch is for the special effects. It has a lot to live up to since its predecessor has some of the best stop motion animation I've ever seen. The Gate 2 doesn't disappoint. It doesn't really surprise either. As expected, the stop motion remains crisp and impressive here. There are also some great creature effects in the finale. However if I were to compare the sequel to it's predecessor I'd have to give the slight edge to the original in regards to it's animation. Where The Gate 2 makes improvement is in it's set pieces. The finale is nothing short of awesome in it's display of creature effects, stop motion, and set pieces.

The Gate 2 makes improvements in it's characters and plot.  It's final scenes, while impressive, fail to meet up the chaos of the original. The ending is much more coherent, but not more entertaining. But with it's improvements to story and dialogue, they pretty much break even. If you enjoyed the first one, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't like the sequel. This is a great sequel.

Body Count: 0

Side Note: The alcoholic dad sub plot is surprisingly dark. Seeing the dad coming home hammered at least had an effect on me. Happy Halloween!!