Beyond The Gates

Back in the 80's and 90's there were some really interesting innovations for table top games by way of glorious VHS tapes. There existed such board games that I remember as Atmosfear, Nightmare and D&D DragonSrikte which at the time were more interactive than your average board games because, well, they had GM's (or game masters) that told specific players certain tasks or quests to do in said games as you watched them on your VCR. That's mainly what Beyond The Gates' concept relies on, but there's much more of a backstory to it than just a bunch people playing this VHS game because they can. The Hardesty brothers reunite after their father disappears some years later, and they have to figure out what happened to him. Gordie is the hard-edged "chip on my shoulder" brother that just wants to close down his father's video rental store because he just doesn't give a shit, and his brother is of course the opposite "no direction nomad" type where he wants to keep it open because it was their dad's store and there's a lot of memories and nostalgia there. Gordie's girlfriend Margot also gets pushed in the mix as she sort of mediates between the two and keeps them both level with one another as they try to figure out what's going on. Of course, they find dad's key to his office in the video store-and they find a VHS board game called Beyond The Gates.

You have to be proud at the grand opening.

Inner workings of the almighty VCR. Classic.

Who cares. Lighten up, man.

I would soil myself If I walked into a video rental store like this.

Gordie needs to learn how to have some fucking fun. Jesus Christ.

Hank is a dirt bag. I want to punch Hank in the mouth.

Why would anyone have a gun? For protection maybe??

  

That's on helluva cheesy VHS for a board game. And Barbara Crampton is still hot.

 I can't lie-that was really weird and awkward.

 Good morning really creepy antique store owner. Go out and get some sun.

Sweet-I was hoping that voodoo doll would be for Hank.

 After all of these years with seemingly endless stacks of horror films out there, I'm still blown away that no one has ever done one that revolves around VCR board games. But here it is. Beyond The Gates stepped way over the level of integrity I thought it was going to go, and this has to be one of my favorites that I watched this year. The scenes where Gordie, John and Margot are all on the couch watching the VHS and playing the game are very engrossing and kind of strange because Barbara Crampton as the GM for the game was just damn perfect. After giving any of the three of the main characters specific instructions on what to do next, the way her eyes just burn through the screen at them and you during those scenes actually made me not want to look at the screen. The shit was creepy and unnerving, and I kind of wanted to put this film down for a minute, but I couldn't. Loved it. Zits and zombies-go on Netflix and give this a whirl. You can only pray that it's just a game.