Films: The Gate (1987), The Gate 2: Trespassers (1990)

Alias: Minions, the Old Gods

Type: Mystical

Location: Haunted home/Eldritch location

Height/Weight: Ranges from that of dolls to small buildings.

Affiliation: Evil

Summary: Hell has interesting ways of unleashing its evil upon the world. Sometimes, it takes a cult. Other times, it takes a backyard, some unearthing, and a myriad of bad ideas.

History: After a tree is uprooted from someone's backyard, it reveals a strange rock from within. And within that rock is some incantations. But the new hole in the backyard is more than it seems. It is in fact a gateway to Hell, and sacrifices are required to open it up. One accidental dog corpse later, demons are crawling out of the gate, tormenting the kids that live in the house as they scramble for a way to seal away the portal.

Notable Kills: Nothing special.

Final Fate: Young Terry manages to banish an Old God demon with a rocket he received for his birthday, and the rest of the demons by extent. But the strain the experience puts on his life proves too much later down the line, and he kidnaps a Minion to grant him wishes for family stability. It inevitably goes awry before he ends up sealing the gate again with his mother's old jewelry box.

Powers/Abilities: Possession, rapid multiplying, reality warping.

Weakness: Artifacts of true love and compassion, no matter how mundane.

Scariness Factor: 4-For the Minions, imagine Gremlins without any of the humor and twice the bloodlust. Then the demons get bigger and nastier. You'd better hope you’ve treasured something in your life, because it might be useful to repel these grotesque beings.

Trivia: -In the original draft, the demons would attack the rest of the town, and the Old God would have been made out of human entrails.

-Writer Michael Nankin claims to have been inspired to do this film by his childhood traumas, and the fact that he had been both unemployed and divorced at the same time.