[yasr_overall_rating]
Eternity (aged 10) lives in a haunted gatehouse at the edge of an ancient forest. She likes to dig for buried treasure in the woods, but one day she digs up something she shouldn’t and the forest wants it back.
The woods can be a scary place in general. Imagine having an entire community living in the woods. This is what you get when you tune in to watch “The Gatehouse.” Jack Winter (Simeon Willis) is a struggling writer and single father. His daughter, Eternity (Scarlett Rayner), is as scrappy as a kid can possibly be. Jack’s wife and Eternity’s mom Eloise (Zara Plessard) died in a boating accident while Eternity was younger. Jack still has nightmares about the accident, which leads to his struggles. Jack and Eternity have a wonderful father-daughter relationship, but constantly butt heads due to their fighting natures. Eternity loves Jack and loves exploring. She explores the woods surrounding her home daily, digging for treasure to help Jack. Jack works hard constantly but never seems to get over the hump. Eternity, seeing all of this, just wants to help her dad and has been collecting these pieces of treasure and keeping them in her room. This brings us to the best part of the film.
Still down on his luck, Jack is convinced by a friend, Mary (Melissa Knatchbull), to call his agent (Hannah Waddingham). Well, she actually does the calling, all the talking and gets Jack a meeting with his agent. Jack accepts a deal to ghostwrite a book after meeting with his agent. The book is about “The Legend of the Black Flowers” and no other authors will take it. Jack reluctantly agrees to finish the book. Mysterious circumstances surround the disappearance of the book’s original author Evelyn (Paul Freeman). Jack is given the material, which includes information about five locations to visit to research things for the book. Mary’s daughter Daisy (Vanessa Mayfield) goes to a party with her friend Poppy (Samantha White). While walking home from the party they are attacked by the mysterious “Forest Monster.” Daisy manages to get away with help from Poppy, but Poppy isn’t as lucky.
Mystery plays a big part in this film. A mysterious neighbor also appears with a shotgun as Eternity is searching for treasure. Here we meet the creepy Algernon (Linal Haft). This guy brings a whole different type of weird to the movie. He’s just all creep and no help. He does teach Eternity how to shoot a gun. Creeps have to have a purpose, right? Eternity unknowingly has collected one of the black flower stones by accident. This leads to strange things happening around her home. Jack, working hard as always, and attempting to complete his novel, must seek a babysitter. Mary suggests Daisy as the sitter and she agrees to watch Eternity. Jack visits an asylum where he meets the book’s original author, Evelyn. Evelyn tells Jack the story of the black flower stones and how they were created by the spirit of the forest. The stones send out messages and the forest will do whatever it takes to get the flower stones back!
Back at the house, Eternity discovers Daisy’s flower-shaped scar. It’s similar to the same scar that Jack discovers on Evelyn and Eternity has seen before on one of her treasure stones. Daisy is freaked out and calls her psychic friend Jadis over. Jadis says a ghost is in the home and she smudges the house for spirits because ghosts don’t like the smell of burnt sage. Daisy discovers that Jack’s house is a gatehouse and informs Jack when he returns home. The home has a basement that Jack isn’t aware is there. Before Jack returns home, Daisy goes to get her mom Mary to help her and Eternity. Jack, Daisy, Mary and Eternity all go into the basement. While searching the basement they find another black flower stone. Upon returning upstairs, they find Algernon the creepy neighbor. This guy has perfect creep time.
Jack’s home is discovered to be the original center of the forest. Algernon, Jack, Daisy, Mary and Eternity then go into the forest to fight it. They use the black flower stones to find the Forest Monster and it also leads them to Poppy. Poppy is still alive but as part of a tree. The Forest Monster then appears to retrieve the black flower stones. Algernon tries to shoot the monster but accidentally shoots Daisy as they try to stop him from shooting the monster. Algernon then kills Poppy. Daisy and Mary give the Forest Monster the black flower stone they are holding as Algernon begins to hunt Jack and Eternity to steal the other stone. Algernon shoots Jack in the stomach rendering him helpless. The Forest Monster comes to the rescue & tells Eternity that Algernon is the real monster.
The brutally amazing end is next. The Forest Monster throws an ax and hits Algernon in his back. Eternity shoots and kills Algernon. Algernon is discovered to have been collecting all the black flower stones and killing the forest. Eternity returns all the black flower stones to the Forest Monster. Jack and Mary get married. Daisy survives the gunshot and is now Eternity’s step-sister and Mary is her stepmom. Honestly, this movie was cool. It has a nice mix of suspense, horror and a hint of comedy. It was good and I totally enjoyed it. Hopefully, you will too.
Available on VOD December 5th from Uncork’d Entertainment
