to descend the staircase, at which point the demon re-emerges. Glen uses a battery-powered launcher to fire his rocket into the demon, causing it to explode. Angus emerges from the front closet, seemingly restored to life. He is followed by Terry and Al, also unhurt. Later, the kids worry about how to explain the wreckage of the house to their parents. Cast Stephen Dorff as Glen Christa Denton as Al Louis Tripp as Terry Chandler Kelly Rowan as Lori Lee Jennifer Irwin as Linda Lee Deborah Grover as Mom Scot Denton as Dad Ingrid Veninger as Paula Sean Fagan as Eric Linda Goranson as Mrs. Chandler Carl Kraines as The Workman Andrew Gunn as Brad Production The first draft of the script was written by Michael Nankin when he was unemployed and recently divorced, basing it on "the nastiest thoughts from [his] childhood". Glen and Al were depicted as being more mischievous than shown in the final film, and the demons spread to the rest of the town, where they would drag neighbors out into the streets to kill them. The gigantic demon was originally envisioned as being made of bloody entrails. The house was a real home in Toronto, but an exterior exit had to be constructed for the production, featuring bricks, stairs, and a bug zapper. Beyond the backyard was a new housing development, so the crew erected a fence around the yard to block the construction vehicles and workers from view. The effects used to create the demons included stop-motion animation as well as forced perspective, wherein actors wearing rubber suits were made to look minuscule by their position relative to the camera and to the human characters. Randall William Cook, the film's special effects supervisor, used his hand and eye to create the scene where an eyeball appears in Glen's palm. Release The Gate opened in the US on May 15, 1987. It ranked second in its opening weekend and grossed $4.3 million. It grossed a total of $13.5 million by the end of its run. Lionsgate released a special edition DVD on October 6, 2009, with audio commentary from the director and interviews. They later released a Blu-ray version via their label Vestron Video on February 28, 2017. It includes commentary from the filmmakers and several featurettes. Critical response Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 60% based on 10 reviews and