elliotte2 Better than expected, not so much so that I would recommend. The story definitely is not what you expected it to go. This is really not a horror as it being described.Story: Interesting Acting:DecentOverall: it was about two decisions from being a 7 out of 10. The ending leaves you slightly unfulfilled. It was almost as if they were purposely preparing for a sequel.Overall, it did what it was supposed to do, pass time and not make me regret watching.

Platypuschow Set in the fictional town of Devil's Gate a federal agent teams with a local officer to investigate a missing wife & child. Trouble is their investigation leads them to the unbalanced husband and his trap filled home.I expected horror, it was advertised as horror..........it's not really.Milo Ventimiglia and Shawn Ashmore star in this interesting but ultimately flawed sci-fi movie which looks great but lacks in too many areas that matter.Jonathan Frakes from Next Generation also stars and is particuly good, shame his role was a tad too small.I liked the plot I did, even though I'm not a big sci-fi guy I think they did a good enough job here and left it open for potential sequels. Sadly it doesn't flow all too well and something just didn't sit right for me.Watchable effort and this may really appeal to some, for me it was a deeply average offering.The Good:Decent plotJonathan FrakesGreat opening sequenceThe Bad:Poorly pacedSeriously, stop killing pets in every damn movieThings I Learnt From This Movie:Milo Ventimiglia plays unhinged characters far too wellI would happily live in that house, yes I'm weird

omendata From the opening shot to the last frame this film excels.Love the eerie atmosphere, creepy sound effects and the dark and mysterious mood created right from the beginning.Great acting from all involved especially Amanda Schull who really carried the film well and reminds me of Sharon Stone (With the addition that she can actually act that is!). I really hope she goes places as she really impressed all of us at the showing and we were all Movie Geeks and there wasnt a single one of us who didnt rate this film at the showing! Even good old Jonathan Frakes from Star Trek played his part well!Special effects were superior and the story wended its way down the road to the conclusion - even the final scene which usually kills most films was welcome and wound everything up nicely - Loved the bible quote too!The other reviewer KOSMASP is spot on its a 7/10 and the current rating of 4.5 is disgraceful.If you are looking for a good scifi horror with amazing photography, acting and a decent story for once then give this a try - I guarantee if you are a fan of the genre you will not go away disappointed.

S. Soma What exactly is it that the farmer has locked up in his basement?DEVIL'S GATE establishes its atmosphere with its very first shot which is an eye line down an arrow-straight dirt road that proceeds to the vanishing point. There is just the road, endless vistas of flat, featureless hectares of dirt on either side, and all beneath a monotonous sky. Barreling down the dirt road, an early model muscle car suddenly dies just as it passes a ramshackle farm. This farm will be the focal point of the majority of the movie.As there is nothing else but this farm as far as the eye can see, the driver of the car seeks assistance at the farm, which, as it turns out, is very unfortunate for the driver. In the fullness of time we learn that what happens to the driver is just an unfortunate case of wrong place, wrong time.And that is an example of the strength of this movie. Something strange is definitely going on, but we don't know exactly WHAT is going on for some time. On the face of it, what we THINK is sequentially unfolding is a more or less mundane investigation by an imported FBI agent come to assist the local sheriff's office in a missing persons (or perhaps murder) case. It's never very clear why the FBI is called in on what should be a local missing persons case, but there is a vague reference mentioned that the local sheriff's department is "under scrutiny" right now and we viewers conclude that this scrutiny has led to the involvement of the FBI agent.Apparently, on the face of it, a local farmer, the same farmer were the driver met his unfortunate end, has blown a head gasket which has resulted in the disappearance of his wife and son, and the disappearance has been reported by the sister of the disappeared woman. In a clear, sequential fashion, a collection of scenes and circumstances lead us to believe that the monotony and difficulty of farm life in this desolate place has caused the farmer to become unglued and to do something unspeakable to his wife and son which may be either outright murder or, as we are led to believe, he has perhaps locked them in the basement in unpleasant circumstances. The farm itself looks like it has been transformed by the farmer into a barricade situation. What happened to the driver we viewers would probably conclude is simply an unfortunate side effect of the farmer's mental illness and hostility to the outside world's interference.The reality of the true circumstances of the situation are much, much different. Seeing where this movie is going to go is a big part of the fun.While the horror/supernatural/paranormal movies are the cultural red-headed bastard children of the movie industry, they are my personal favorites. Unfortunately, the vast majority of such movies, especially with the rise of the "found footage" sub genre, are unmitigated crap. Only a tiny fraction are any good and, very happily, DEVIL'S GATE falls into this tiny fraction. Within this class of movie, DEVIL'S GATE is pretty much as good as it gets. Cinematography is excellent, atmosphere is taught and sustained, the relatively small quantity of special-effects is exceptionally well done, satisfyingly scary, and does not usurp the storyline, the music contributes well and appropriately to excellent effect, etc. This movie is just a very well done, well thought-out and executed example of this genre.Of course the individual plot elements have all been done before because, at this point in mankind's history of storytelling and moviemaking, pretty much every plot element has already been used. But this particular combination and expression is original as far as I know. And most satisfyingly and rather unusually for this genre, it's not just dripping with gaping plot holes. It's actually pretty tight.A particularly nice touch is that the movie came to its conclusion in a very reasonable way, but also left the door just enough open that a sequel could easily be made. Personally, I very much hope this happens.