Director: Joe Dante
Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Corey Feldman
Year: 1984
Gremlins starts out as a cute little creepy creature movie and stays that way for about half the film. Lulled in by that false sense of security, I think we may have watched this when we were far too young, because boy is the second half much more wild. Gremlins stays a family frolic in its own way, but when the creatures get wicked so the does the film, and that wild second half is what gives the movie its edge. To be fair, Gizmo’s adorable fluff balances things out nicely, leading to what can only be called pure entertainment.
As a present for his son, a traveling inventor buys a small creature called a Mogwai, a very unique species that has a very unique set of rules: don’t let it in the sunlight, don’t get it wet, and never ever feed it after midnight. The adorable little monster quickly becomes a part of the family, but when Billy makes some mistakes, his pet Gizmo spawns more of his kind, little dudes that aren’t quite as nice. As they pupate, the town will have a real problem on its hands, as hundreds of evil little critters take over and party down.
What a strange little movie (written by Chris Columbus, produced by Steven Spielberg), with a cute first half and a dark second, with not much sense made but with a ton of fun had. Gizmo is so cute, so iconic, and his mates later are so gross and horrendous, it makes for a nice juxtaposition between the two. The town is wild, the way people and creatures die is bizarre, I love that they just let loose in the second half, and the end result is just nuts, but so enjoyable. This is a classic creature feature with incredible music and imagination that can still be a hoot today, as long as you are ready for some bizarre morbidity and a lot of deadly insanity.
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆