A morally complex thriller that personally requests audience engagement in its deeper thematic underpinnings, The Gates thrives off the performances of its three black leads in Mason Gooding, Algee Smith, and Keith Powers. Playing opposite them is supremely underrated actor James Van Der Beek as the villain in one of his final cinematic roles before his untimely passing. Those on the hunt for a spicy, racially-charged thriller will find plenty to unpack. Rather than delivering a heavy-handed message lacking subtlety (see: January’s toothless vampire flick Night Patrol), the film leaves viewers to wrestle with its implications, to draw their own conclusions about the current state of affairs. Thought-provoking and unnervingly plausible, The Gates serves as a stark reminder that sometimes the most dangerous of places present as safe havens.
Our central player is ivy league hopeful Derek (Mason Gooding, Scream 7, Heart Eyes), with the opening frame seeing his chiseled face splattered with blood. Offscreen, we hear someone begging Derek to drop his gun. Following the age-old trope of starting at the beginning, we then reverse back eight hours, when Derek’s night turned from quiet time at home to hellish bid for survival. Derek reluctantly agrees to join his friends Tyon (Keith Powers, Uglies, Famous in Love) and Kevin (Algee Smith, Euphoria, Judas and the Black Messiah) for drinks, only to discover they have something bigger planned: a party outside the city. What begins as a carefree road trip takes a wrong turn (literally!) when the trio cuts through a secluded Texas community hidden behind massive security gates. Once inside, they realize the gates have now trapped them inside.
From here, the film pivots into a tense survival thriller. When the group stumbles upon a violent altercation between local pastor, Jacob (Van Der Beek, Rules of Attraction, Dawson’s Creek), and the blonde woman who let them inside, these three outsiders find themselves caught in the crosshairs of an incredibly dangerous situation. For his part, James Van Der Beek truly fits the bill as a charismatic pastor who built a powerful gated community around his church and political influence. Publicly, Jacob presents as a pillar of faith and leadership; privately, he will stop at nothing to maintain the delicate balance of the superchurch he has created. A cat and mouse push/pull dynamic between Jacob and the trio quickly emerges.
As Derek and his friends scramble to escape, the town closes in on them. Neighbors are suspicious, loyalties to Jacob run deep, and a battle rages on over who controls the narrative. Derek seems the most level-headed about the whole ordeal. He understands the stakes immediately: if Jacob reaches the cops first, the boys will be probably be framed as criminals. Derek is the most trusting of the group, wanting to play it nice around the right people rather than cause waves. While Gooding is expectedly great, Smith and Powers also do excellent work once the trio splits up to find a way out of their increasing problematic scenario.
Jacob’s influence stretches far and wide, and his community exists partly to maintain the illusion of safety within its walls. The gates are meant to keep outsiders away, but they also keep uncomfortable truths hidden inside. The audience never roots for Jacob because we are the only other witnesses to his inciting terrible deed. Lest one assumes the film is strictly trying to make an argument that all authority is bad and all white folks are out to shun otherness, the character of old man Christopher (Brad Leland, The Last of Us, 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) makes a solid argument for a good Samaritan who genuinely cares about the truth. Something doesn’t quite sit right with him in the manner that James had once presented. Christopher could be one of the only hopes to help get the boys out of this unnerving community with their souls intact. Derek also comes across a black woman living on her own here who almost feels the opposite. She appreciates the property values that Jacob has brought, and wants to maintain the community status quo, regardless of the truth. By side-stepping specific racial stereotypes, writer/director John Burr’s clever script builds up goodwill as it barrels towards a satisfying finale.
The Gates succeeds as a gripping thriller, ultimately delivering on potent social commentary. The intense pursuit through the streets of this quiet suburb makes those moments of genuine tension taste that much sweeter. The addition of James Van Der Beek as the movie’s sole villain provides a necessary foil for Derek’s positive attitude. Derek clashes with his two friends—especially Kevin, who he doesn’t have the strongest relationship with in the first place. But at the end of the day, the bond of these three aspiring black men helps drive home the greater themes. Their connection underlines the sense of community amongst the sameness. With a powerful throughline and stellar performances, The Gates is a strong bit of genre filmmaking that also acts as heartthrob Mason Gooding’s best performance to date.
Attempt to escape The Gates, exclusively in theaters on Friday, March 13th.
