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Gremlins (1984) - Directed by Joe Dante
"Yum yum!"
There were many horror movies I went through to prepare for a top horror movies list. One that I assumed would be a given for someone with my estranged taste would be Steven Spielberg's Gremlins. In the end, I thought it was overrated like many Spielberg movies from the 80's, like Back to the Future which bothered me for being so liberal with the rules of time travel, and Goonies since it wasn't really one of Donner's most artistic efforts. However, none of the movies I have mentioned in this review are bad by any definition, and this just might mean I need to look at those other movies again sometime soon since now I have another Spielberg-produced classic to compare it to.
The world's cutest horror movie is about an old and failing inventor who "purchases" a weird but cute-looking guy at an old antiques shop, giving it to his banker son, Billy. This creature, known as a "mogwai," needs a lot of care, and there are special rules about taking care of the new mogwai named Gizmo. But when all three are broken, the most unexpected thing happens to the town of Kingston Falls: the mogwai multiplies into many evil, destructive and even murderous little green creatures called Gremlins who wreak havoc on the town, and on Christmas! But Billy knows there one weakness, and is willing to use it to save the town from their reign on disgusting terror!
OK, this 80's classic is diagnosed as a "horror-comedy," and while I have no complaint about such a tag since I believe it describes a lot of movies, I'm afraid I didn't find myself laughing very often at this one. But when I wasn't laughing, I was either fawning over the cuteness of Gizmo or I was amused at the disgusting behavior (or many different kinds of disgusting behavior) coming from the evil Gremlins. The Gremlins were the most entertaining thing about the movie for these reasons, and because their puppetry was not only exceptional when need be, but the obviously fake moments were a part of that "kid's movie" charm like a live-action cartoon. Garbage Pail Kids could learn a thing or two from this movie.
The disgusting moments that infuriated parents nationwide and brought Spielberg to creating the PG-13 rating were actually a bit charming for me. I don't like excessive violence unless it's obviously ridiculous, Sin City / Braindead style, but the way they exaggerated the kid's movie behavior of the violence in my opinion was actually clever filmmaking on Dante's part. The thing is, I was never really impressed with Joe Dante. I'll admit he knows how to make an iconic movie, but not an amazing movie. This was a lot better that most of his movies because it was a horror movie that embraced the fact it was geared towards children and as such it should be treated like a children's movie. That's where most of the heart and comedy come in.
My real problem with the movie comes from the fact that a couple of moments were very predictable. For example, why would any movie tell you exactly how to kill the bad guy at the very beginning? I was hoping the ending scene would provide some sort of fancy twist, like the weakness of Gremlins would be overcome in their monster forms. Nope! And not every scare was original. However, most of the horror was used for progressing the story in both serious and kid-friendly manners, so I'll forgive some of that.
Gremlins isn't the most artsy movie ever made or anything, but it certainly stands out among the crowd for being a cute horror movie, a rare breed of monster. Gremlins influenced a lot of horror in the future, and despite its gross-out behavior in a few instances it remains fun for most kids. It doesn't come close to my top 25 horror movies, but it's certainly a more unique horror movie.
"Yum yum!"
There were many horror movies I went through to prepare for a top horror movies list. One that I assumed would be a given for someone with my estranged taste would be Steven Spielberg's Gremlins. In the end, I thought it was overrated like many Spielberg movies from the 80's, like Back to the Future which bothered me for being so liberal with the rules of time travel, and Goonies since it wasn't really one of Donner's most artistic efforts. However, none of the movies I have mentioned in this review are bad by any definition, and this just might mean I need to look at those other movies again sometime soon since now I have another Spielberg-produced classic to compare it to.
The world's cutest horror movie is about an old and failing inventor who "purchases" a weird but cute-looking guy at an old antiques shop, giving it to his banker son, Billy. This creature, known as a "mogwai," needs a lot of care, and there are special rules about taking care of the new mogwai named Gizmo. But when all three are broken, the most unexpected thing happens to the town of Kingston Falls: the mogwai multiplies into many evil, destructive and even murderous little green creatures called Gremlins who wreak havoc on the town, and on Christmas! But Billy knows there one weakness, and is willing to use it to save the town from their reign on disgusting terror!
OK, this 80's classic is diagnosed as a "horror-comedy," and while I have no complaint about such a tag since I believe it describes a lot of movies, I'm afraid I didn't find myself laughing very often at this one. But when I wasn't laughing, I was either fawning over the cuteness of Gizmo or I was amused at the disgusting behavior (or many different kinds of disgusting behavior) coming from the evil Gremlins. The Gremlins were the most entertaining thing about the movie for these reasons, and because their puppetry was not only exceptional when need be, but the obviously fake moments were a part of that "kid's movie" charm like a live-action cartoon. Garbage Pail Kids could learn a thing or two from this movie.
The disgusting moments that infuriated parents nationwide and brought Spielberg to creating the PG-13 rating were actually a bit charming for me. I don't like excessive violence unless it's obviously ridiculous, Sin City / Braindead style, but the way they exaggerated the kid's movie behavior of the violence in my opinion was actually clever filmmaking on Dante's part. The thing is, I was never really impressed with Joe Dante. I'll admit he knows how to make an iconic movie, but not an amazing movie. This was a lot better that most of his movies because it was a horror movie that embraced the fact it was geared towards children and as such it should be treated like a children's movie. That's where most of the heart and comedy come in.
My real problem with the movie comes from the fact that a couple of moments were very predictable. For example, why would any movie tell you exactly how to kill the bad guy at the very beginning? I was hoping the ending scene would provide some sort of fancy twist, like the weakness of Gremlins would be overcome in their monster forms. Nope! And not every scare was original. However, most of the horror was used for progressing the story in both serious and kid-friendly manners, so I'll forgive some of that.
Gremlins isn't the most artsy movie ever made or anything, but it certainly stands out among the crowd for being a cute horror movie, a rare breed of monster. Gremlins influenced a lot of horror in the future, and despite its gross-out behavior in a few instances it remains fun for most kids. It doesn't come close to my top 25 horror movies, but it's certainly a more unique horror movie.