The Gateway

John V. Soto co-wrote and directed this small budget sci-fi thriller about a particle physicist who discovers why parallel worlds should remain parallel.

Jane Chandler (Jacqueline McKenzie) and her research partner Regg (Ben Mortley) are on a quest to achieve teleportation. Spurred to risk blowing the grid when their investors threaten to pull funding, they successfully make an apple disappear inside a chamber, however it fails to reappear in the receiving chamber several feet away. They can only conclude that it’s been transported to a parallel universe.

Meanwhile, Jane’s patient, supportive husband Matt (Myles Pollard) is killed in an accident, leaving her to grieve with their teenage daughter and son. On the chance there may be another version of Matt in a parallel world, Jane transports herself, does indeed find “another Matt”, brings him back with her and…well it’s not the happy ending she’d anticipated.

It’s a movie with unfulfilled potential. The script – in particular the dialogue – is clunky. The actors seem uncertain and their performances border on melodramatic and so it’s hard to be truly invested in any of the characters.

★★1/2

Reviewed by Rita Bratovich.