Beyond the Gates (film)

Beyond the Gates
Official poster
Directed by	Jackson Stewart
Produced by	Barbara Crampton Amanda Mortimer
Written by	Stephen Scarlata Jackson Stewart
Starring	Barbara Crampton Brea Grant Chase Williamson Graham Skipper
Music by	Wojciech Golczewski
Cinematography	Brian Sowell
Edited by	Josh Ethier
Production companies	Destroy All Entertainment Easy Open Productions Lodger Films Thunder Warrior Productions
Distributed by	IFC Midnight Scream Factory
Release date	June 2, 2016 (Los Angeles Film Festival) December 9, 2016 (Theatrical release)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$300,000

Beyond the Gates is a 2016 American horror film directed by Jackson Stewart and starring Barbara Crampton. It premiered on June 2, 2016 at the Los Angeles Film Festival where it won the audience award in the festival's midnight section.

Two estranged brothers, Gordon and John Hardesty reunite at their missing father's video store to clean out the property and sell his belongings after he has been missing for sven months. Gordon is reserved and has stayed away from their hometown, while John is a slacker who hangs out with a drifter named Hank. At the end of the day, Gordon goes to their father's house where he is soon joined by his girlfriend, Margo. Margo and Gordon go to a local place for dinner and there they meet John and Hank, the latter whom makes a few crude comments to Margo, angering Gordon he and Margo to return to his father's home to spend the night. Gordon wakes up all of a sudden at 3:13 hearing a noise and seeing a shadow on the street below. Looking at a shelf in the bedroom, he sees a key labeled office.

The next day, both brothers are back in the store packing up videos when Gordon suggests that they look in his father's office. While searchingthe office, they find a VCR board game called "Beyond the Gates," and the VHS game tape is the last tape their father watching in the office, presumably before he dissapeared. They play the tape, and a woman, Evelyn, asks them if they are willing to risk their souls to play the game. A bright flash and odd noise occur, and the brothers turn off the tape. When they go back into the store, a number of hours have passed.

That evening, John joins Gordon and Margo for dinner. After they tell her about the game, Margo suggests it would be fun to play it. When they put the tape in, Evelyn instructs Gordon ("the blue player") to stand in front of the TV, and asks the brothers if they have the courage to do what is necessary to save their father - namely to locate the "four keys." The gameboard has four key images at its corners. Distrubed by Evelyn's specific knowledge of them, they once again turn the game off. That evening, Gordon wakes at 3:13 again and goes downstairs to find he TV on with a static screen and he is soon joined by John and Margo. They are concerned enough that they call their friend Derek, a police officer, to have him look at the tape. This time, however, Evelyn just looks around the room when they play the tape, and Derek leaves. They find a receipt in the game and decide to go there in the morning.

The store is an odd occult store run by Elric, an odd mannered man. They ask him about the game, and he informs them that they must play the game to completion once it has started. As they are leaving, John steals a daggar resembling one in one of the game images.