‘Gateway’ Review: A Chilling Mumblegore Haunted House Story
Mary Beth McAndrews
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Niall Owens’ feature film debut Gateway is a combination of Brad Anderson’s underrated masterpiece Session 9 and Kill List with a splash of cosmic horror. His suburban Irish drama about low-level drug dealers quickly becomes a chilling tale about an abandoned house with a terrible past.
Mike (Tim Creed) is a desperate dealer looking for a place to secretly grow weed. He and four other dealers find a seemingly normal abandoned house perfect for growing weed plants without getting discovered by law enforcement. As they move their operation into the house, each man slowly reveals their own particular brand of trauma, from dead partners to horrible divorces to estranged parents. Not a single man here is happy and they aren’t afraid to share their misery. While it certainly isn’t a happy film, it’s refreshing to see men being a bit more open about sharing their emotions. There’s also quite a bit of typical male repression in Gateway, but mostly in service for Owens to also examine male relationships and how anger and regret can manifest.
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As the hours pass, something strange seems to be luring them one by one into a mysterious room. Whatever lurks there is trying to attract its prey. Owens keeps everything very vague from the beginning, which only adds to the cosmic horror of it all. There are just enough clues to help the viewer create their own thoughts and theories about what’s truly going on in this house but no solid answers are ever given. But for fans of slow, bleak horror stories about desperate men and desperate situations, this is a must-watch.
Creed in particular is a stand-out in this ragtag group, looking appropriately haunted as he floats through life, looking for that next paycheck. His stare is intense yet distant, the eyes of a man not fully tethered to reality. Creed embodies desperation through silent strength, playing Mike as a man who isn’t quick to shatter, but when he does, it’s a nightmare. Everything about Mike feels haunted, which only adds to the film’s tension.
Filmed almost entirely in a small, abandoned house, cinematographer Ger Murphy is still able to make the cramped space feel visually interesting from start to finish. It’s not often we get a haunted house film about a space in lower-income neighborhoods. The gothic mansion is traded in for an abandoned house in town, and the lone Victorian hero is exchanged for a desperate drug dealer on the fringes of society. It’s an interesting update to the types of ghost stories we’re accustomed to in the subgenre.
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Owens directly addresses poverty and the working class in modern Ireland, with each man putting themselves in danger to continue to participate in the vicious cycle of capitalism. In a way, the film mimics such a cycle as men are pushed to the brink in the name of barely surviving, only to be consumed by the tools available to them to supposedly beat the system. While nothing about Gateway is trying to preach about class politics, by focusing almost entirely on the working-class character, Owens very clearly makes his statement about economic struggles and class dynamics in his home country.
Overall, Gateway is the perfect watch for those seeking out tense Irish slow burns about low-income families and financial desperation. Owens’ story is chilling and hypnotizing, keeping you guessing until the puzzle slowly and loosely falls together. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s destined to find a small but mighty audience now that it’s hit Shudder. So check it out and get sucked through the Gateway.
Gateway is streaming now on Shudder.
Summary
‘Gateway’ is chilling and hypnotizing, perfect for those who love a bleak Irish slow burn with a gut-punch ending.
