In
today’s secular age, the FBI has replaced the Catholic Church as the institution
protecting us from the uncanny (The
X-Files and Fringe are just two
of the most obvious examples). The problem is the G-Men do not always believe
in the evil they are investigating. Special Agent Daria Francis is the latest
Fed who comes in as Scully but will leave as a Mulder, assuming she lives
through the investigation. Frankly, there is no reason to have confidence in
anyone’s survivability (except maybe Jonathan Frakes’ character, thanks to his
impenetrable beard) in Clay Staub’s Devil’s
Gate, which premiered
at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
Obviously,
Francis’s career is not going so great, considering she has been assigned a
case in Devil’s Gate, North Dakota. Jackson Pritchard’s wife and son have been
kidnapped, but the farmer is acting oddly.
Grizzly Sheriff Gruenwell has his earnest deputy, Conrad “Colt” Salter escort
her to the Pritchard dirt patch, where they find it tricked out with booby
traps.
Pritchard
makes it abundantly clear he does not want them there, but Francis is in no
mood care about his feelings. Of course, they will have to admit Pritchard isn’t
so crazy after all, but only when it is too late to make a tactical retreat. It
turns out the Pritchard homestead is parked right over some sort of
supernatural portal. The next time it opens, he hopes to grab back his wife and
son.
Devil’s Gate was probably the
truest midnight movie programmed at this year’s Tribeca. There are some
wonderfully gopey practical monster effects, which are nicely complimented by
the attitude-drenched dialogue. Basically, they convince us it is a real hassle
to find yourself under siege from slimy demonic creatures.
Amanda
Schull really helps elevate Gate a
notch or two. She is not just there to be an obtuse skeptic. She is a smart, hard-charging
Federalli, who develops some nice fox-hole chemistry with Shawn Ashmore’s
laidback Salter. As Pritchard, Milo Ventimiglia glowers with such intensity,
his gaze could make house flies combust, which is perfect for a film like this.