Viewed – 27 September 2011  Blu-ray

Stop me if you have heard this one before.  A troubled family fleeing from an abusive husband / father relocate to a small town.  Eldest son doesn’t like it, but catches the eye of the hot girl living next door.  One day whilst messing about in their new home’s basement, he and his younger brother discover a hole beneath a trap door … that may just be a gateway to hell.  Yes, it’s just like The Gate frm the 80s.  What you’ve not heard of it?  It was great, trust me.

Director Joe Dante, most famous for Gremlins, makes a sort of come back with this family friendly scare-fest, that although the gimmick of 3D just means there is plenty of stuff being thrown at the screen, piles on enough imagination and energy that I never got bored.  We have an evil jester-puppet, a spooky dead girl, and plenty of things jumping out and going boo (well, kind of).  It’s actually pretty scary in places, but is light enough in tone that I had no fear of nightmares afterwards.  The young cast is all likable, if a little stereotyped, and the story is involving, despite the closing moments feeling like the characters just jumped from one movie into another … and various plot threads are left unanswered.

As an evening’s entertainment though, this will do the job nicely.

Verdict:  3 /5

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