Devil's Gate (2017)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

"You both need to clear off my property, or as god is my witnessI will not be responsible for what happens! Colt, If she goes in there Maria and Jonah are as good as dead."An onrushing hot rod that suddenly breaks down near an awful looking, abandoned farm with lots of barbed wire and warning signs. There are squeaky doors and you can hear a howling wind while the person with car trouble is looking for someone who can help him. And then he experiences that awful moment. Something he did not see coming. I immediately sat straight up in my chair and expected an intense horror. Especially when the title of the film is "Devil's gate". The poor, dilapidated farmstead and the desolate environment immediately reminded me of "The Texas chainsaw massacre". A no-man's-land where a psychopathic, crazy family terrorizes and kills lost tourists so they can brew a hearty one-pan meal afterwards. To my disappointment, the movie title turned out to be the name of the town where the story takes place.To be honest, the first part of the movie was tremendously fascinating. A missing woman and her son. The F.B.I. Agente Daria (Amanda Schull) who, together with the local policeman Colt (Shawn Ashmore), investigates the disappearance of both persons. And the downright suspicious acting Jackson Pritchard (Milo Ventimiglia) where the two enforcers of the law finally arrive. And when the two law enforcement officers make a rather disconcerting discovery in the Jackson cellar, the film will take a completely different turn. That's the biggest plus of this film. The surprise effect is huge. You are repeatedly misled. One moment you expect a sort of "Silence of the Lambs" serial killer scenario. Then you come to the conclusion that this film has an "X-Files" vibe. Such a movie you'd come across on some SyFy channel.Unfortunately, the quality of this indie SF drops as the film progresses. I wasn't interested in the religious aspect. The "an eye for an eye" principle was rather laughable. Despite the sometimes high-quality special effects and generally not so bad acting (with even a cameo of the Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes), this film didn't really appeal to me. It seemed as if a whole arsenal of ideas and proposals were being collected and subsequently they didn't know anymore which direction it should go. In the end it felt as if I had watched a pilot episode of the umpteenth television series. "Devil's gate" is such a film where the story doesn't really match the footage when it comes to quality. Unfortunately. Because it had potential.

FBI Special Agent Daria Francis (Amanda Schull) is assigned to travel to Devil's Gate, a small town in North Dakota, to investigate the disappearance of Maria Pritchard (Bridget Regan) and her son Jonah. Her prime suspect is the husband and father Jackson Pritchard (Milo Ventimiglia), who lives in a farm in the middle of nowhere. However Sheriff Gruenwell (Jonathan Frakes) asks Francis to let Jackson alone since he would be a good man. Deputy Conrad 'Colt' Salter (Shawn Ashmore) heads with Francis to interview Maria´s sister and she leaves her house convinced that Jackson may be hiding them. When they arrive at his farm, Jackson assaults Maria and she enters the house to investigate, and finds a weird thing. What is Jackson hiding?"Devil´s Gate" is a surprisingly good and underrated sci-fi film. The screenplay is intriguing and the lead cast (Amanda Schull, Shawn Ashmore and Milo Ventimiglia have good performances. The conclusion after the initial credits is a cliffhanger for a possible sequence. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): Not Available

Rather than just a bad plot, film had some good aspects. Milo ventimiglia and Shawn Ashmore did good justification with their characters. Very nice cinematography but Direction could've been better if the shot slection were more accurate. We may miss the good jump scares after a well built suspense. Average movie with some good on-screen performances.

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.