Jackson Stewart’s Beyond the Gates was one of the highlights of the horror festival season this year, particularly for VHS lovers and fans of retro scares. The riotous spooker hits US VOD this Friday and ahead of then, distributor IFC Midnight has put together this great little promo vid for the titular video board game that forms the centrepiece to the film.
Acutely recalling 80s toy adverts and spooky kids’ TV, the fake ad foregrounds horror icon Barbara Crampton in her role as the host of the game. As well as starring, Crampton produced Beyond the Gates, which harks back to VHS-era classics such as Poltergeist, The Gate and The Beyond. The lead cast is rounded out by Chase Williamson (The Guest, SiREN), Graham Skipper (Carnage Park, The Mind’s Eye) and Brea Grant (Halloween II, Dexter).
Two estranged brothers reunite seven months after their father’s disappearance to liquidate his anaemic video store. While there, they unearth an old VCR board game that acts as an inter-dimensional hub to a nightmare world where their Father’s soul is trapped and can only be saved by playing the game. The film is an adventure horror that pays loving tribute to the VHS format, video stores, and board games of the era.
IFC Midnight snapped the film up at its Los Angeles Film Festival premiere in June. While US audiences can enjoy Beyond the Gates as a bit of yuletide viewing, the UK will have to wait a little longer, with the film scheduled to hit DVD shelves on February 20th. Hopefully the latest promo vid will be included as an extra.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
