The Gate II: Trespassers -- 1990 -- PG-13

So I opted to suffer through the sequel to a film I didn't think was very good to begin with. How's that for dedication? What I found was a film that actually measured up to itself pretty decently, and was actually crafted quite a bit better than the first one if you can get past some rather sloppy contrivances.

Terry, from the first film, is having some problems at home with his father in a slump of a depression and needing work something awful. To help his father, Terry decides to do the remarkably intelligent thing of going to Glen's house which (like all good former horror movie house) still stands in pieces where it left off at the end of The Gate in exactly the same state, but fenced in. I guess the city couldn't bring itself to tear the place down? There's your sloppy contrivance, nevermind the idea of someone who was practically killed the first time around willingly summoning something out of The Gate.

Anyway, he is discovered during his chanting by a group of rowdy teens who make fun of what he's doing before joining in with the summoning for some reason. What they get is one of those little demons and use it like a genie out of a lamp to fulfill wishes...and wishes it does fulfill, but with a bit of a humorous price.

What this one does that the original fails to do is keep the pace up enough to maintain interest in this mess. The original was slow, and made you wonder if anything was ever going to happen. This one starts right off with stuff going on and keep us moving through the questionable plot right through to its weird and somewhat unbelievable (and I don't mean that in a good way) conclusion.

Another thing this film does right is try to paint us some actual characters. Since body count is not the goal here, it works to create some characters who feel real enough and have a consistent personality throughout the duration of the film. You want Terry to succeed in fixing the mess he created even if you think he's dumb for making the problem to begin with. Even the little demon critter is given a bit of a personality, and I admit to even feeling a bit sorry for it in the midst of its treatment from our human characters.

But, ending = corny. Quite ridiculous there.

So it's a sequel in the classic sense of not being as believable as the original, but at the same time, doesn't make the same mistakes as the original...no, it makes all new mistakes. I guess no one's perfect, huh?