The Gates

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2:07

The Gates

R

Mar 2026

1h 38m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

52%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

The Gates follows three college students -- Derek, Kevin, and Tyon (Mason Gooding, Algee Smith, and Keith Powers) on a road trip gone wrong, as the three young men take an ill-advised shortcut through a remote gated community, where they find themselves trapped behind the walls after witnessing a murder. Over the course of the night, they find themselves blamed, hunted, and fractured by their own differing belief systems, while the perpetrator--James Van Der Beek, at his most charming and terrifying--emerges as the cunning patriarch that holds the entire community under his influence.

Peter Travers

The Travers Take

Mar 14

2.5/4

In his final film, James Van der Beek raises the bar on a standard-issue thriller through the sheer force of his talent and magnetism.

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William Bibbiani

TheWrap

Mar 13

'The Gates' is constantly on the verge of getting better, sometimes on the verge of getting good, but it never quite gets there. It’s a missed opportunity for thrills, social commentary, humor and/or horror.

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Bob Strauss

San Francisco Chronicle

Mar 13

2.5/4

“The Gates” benefits from simple, straightforward plotting and understated social commentary that’s as effective as shouted outrage.

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

3d

As a crime thriller, The Gates falls short of its potential because it takes a detour into some laughably bad plot developments. This unrealistic movie also mishandles its intent to have socially conscious messaging about racism and classism.

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George and Josh Bate

ScreenAnarchy

5d

4/5

By couching relevant, albeit heavy-handed, racial commentary in a tense and contained thriller, The Gates operates effectively both as a cinematic thrill-ride and thought-provoking endeavor.

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Joe Friar

Fort Worth Report

Mar 18

3/4

John Burr's sophomore film is a worthy thriller with solid performances, including James Van Der Beek as the villain. The late actor gives us one more memorable role.

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John S

@JohnSala 3h

Decent premise, good cast, cheaply executed.

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Shannon P

@Shannonquiz 14h

This is not my normal genre, but I was highly entertained the whole movie. The acting was great, the story was smarter than most cat and mouse films, and the social commentary was beautiful. There were also some great lines that stuck with me days after viewing. I would watch again!

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John D

@JohnDelgado 2d

Low budget rip off of Judgement Night

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Manoel C

@ManoelC 4d

What a waste of a great cast, expected so much more

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Michelle A

@RT81242428 4d

Fantastic movie. Too true, relatable, and deep. We need more of these. The people who comment negatively must me be on the wrong side, IYKWIM. Play this in schools. 🙏

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Cherry M

@CherryM113 5d

Too slow without a payoff

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John Burr

Director

Mason Gooding

Derek

Algee Smith

Kevin

Keith Powers

Tyon

Jack Snyder

Thad

Sofia Hublitz

Roxy

The Gates: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The Gates follows three college students -- Derek, Kevin, and Tyon (Mason Gooding, Algee Smith, and Keith Powers) on a road trip gone wrong, as the three young men take an ill-advised shortcut through a remote gated community, where they find themselves trapped behind the walls after witnessing a murder. Over the course of the night, they find themselves blamed, hunted, and fractured by their own differing belief systems, while the perpetrator--James Van Der Beek, at his most charming and terrifying--emerges as the cunning patriarch that holds the entire community under his influence.

Director: John Burr
Producer: Nancy Leopardi, Ross Kohn, Gary Glushon
Screenwriter: John Burr
Distributor: Lionsgate
Production Co: Indy Entertainment, Core 4 Films
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 13, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 38m