Writer-director John Burr grew up in Dallas, where he set his sophomore film, “The Gates.” The story follows three Black college students—Mason Gooding, Algee Smith, and Keith Powers—who take a shortcut through a gated community and end up trapped after witnessing a murder. Late actor James Van Der Beek plays the villain, a charming pastor who founded the mostly white suburb to keep out the undesirables. As the young men soon realize that everyone is armed, including the children, they try to escape the Texas Hold’em scenario in this thriller with themes of racism, sexism, and class.
Burr opens the film with “Scream 7” actor Mason Gooding as Derek, holding a gun, face covered in blood. We see he’s in a tense standoff, but with whom? The story then rewinds to eight hours earlier.
Derek, a law student, gets convinced by his childhood friend Tyon (Powers) to drop his studies for a night of serious partying. Tyon’s athletic scholarship is in jeopardy after the football player was caught in a scandal involving a stripper. Needless to say, he feels the need to unwind to forget his problems. Kevin (Smith) is the designated driver, a car salesman who thought it was a good idea to take a sports car off the lot as their celebration transportation.
A traffic jam on the interstate forces the men to take a detour through side roads, leading them to a gated, upscale community. Do they decide to turn back? No way. Especially since they’re eager to join three women who already started the party without them. Luckily, a mysterious blonde arrives, enters the gate’s code, and lets them in. Problem solved, right? Wrong. The nightmare is just beginning.
When the friends realize they need a code to get out of the neighborhood north of Dallas, they try to ask for help. But as three strange Black men in a mostly white neighborhood, they’re met with guns drawn, including a child armed with a rifle—welcome to Texas.
Remember that blonde who let them in? They spot her car parked outside a huge mansion. Thinking she’ll remember them, they approach the home only to witness her head getting bashed in by a man who spots them. That man turns out to be Pastor Jacob (Van Der Beek), the spiritual leader of the community he founded to keep out people like Derek, Tyon, and Kevin. Yes, he’s a racist, and so are most of the residents, but Burr throws in a couple of atypical characters, including a Black neighbor (Natacha Ellie) drunk on Pastor Jacob’s Kool-Aid, and a religious, retired football coach (Brad Leland) who bonds with football player Tyon, while, of course, holding him and his friends at gunpoint.
The gated community even comes with its own police department. Kylr Coffman plays this story’s version of Deputy Dewey Riley, a local cop named Bobby who tries to figure out what’s going on. When the boys accuse Pastor Jacob of murder, a search of the preacher’s home results in no evidence of a crime.
The film begins as a tense thriller. As the boys run from gun-toting neighbors, hide behind bushes, and try to devise a plan, it feels as though we are watching a suburban version of “The Warriors.” When they stumble across a house party and get befriended by one of the guests, Roxy (Sofia Hublitz), I couldn’t help but think of the all-female gang The Lizzies luring in the three members of The Warriors for a shindig at Union Square. You know how that turned out.
Roxy is another one of Burr’s characters who surprises us. She may need just as much rescuing as our three protagonists. The rich teenagers hosting the house party at a mansion, complete with its own recording studio, are menacing, and there’s the expected sexist jerk. I didn’t expect a rap scene out of nowhere, and while it doesn’t quite work, it is a clever spit bars-for-your-freedom twist.
Many of us remember James Van Der Beek as the good old-fashioned romantic titular protagonist of “Dawson’s Creek.” Now he’s the baddie leader of a racist community called Creekview. Nice touch. Over the years, Van Der Beek has given us many memorable performances, including “Varsity Blues” and “The Rules of Attraction.” We lost him a month ago to colorectal cancer. He left us with one last memorable performance, bringing depth to Pastor Jacob beyond a one-dimensional character. See the film for his performance.
I enjoy films set entirely at night, which is challenging and requires the right lighting, filters, and exposure, but Burr pulls it off. We’ve seen films with similar scenarios, like “Judgement Night” and “Get Out,” so “The Gates” from Dallas filmmaker John Burr may not be groundbreaking, but it is a worthy thriller with solid performances.
(3 stars)
Now showing in theaters
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