GREMLINS

 

 

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Don't expose them to sunlight. Don't let them get wet. And under no circumstances feed them after midnight.

Those are the rules for the now-legendary mogwai, adorable little fuzzballs who transform if you break the last rule. And "Gremlins" is a gloriously unconventional Christmas movie -- a postcard-pretty view of suburban middle-America, splattered with gore, nasty little gremlins and a truly wicked sense of humour (expressed often in movie send-ups).

Randall (Hoyt Axton) spots a tiny adorable creature -- a mogwai -- in a small Chinatown shop, and wants to buy it as a Christmas present for his son. The owner refuses, but his grandson secretly sells it to Randall.

Randall's son Billy (Zach Galligan) is delighted by the fuzzy lightphobic mogwai, whom he names Gizmo. But it soon becomes clear that Gizmo is full of surprises: when water is accidentally splashed on him, he spontaneously generates a litter of NEW mogwai. The ringleader "Stripe" tricks Billy into feeding them after midnight, transforming them into scaly, dangerous "gremlins.

And after a gremlin tumbles into a pool, Billy realizes that the town is about to be swarmed with them -- attacking vicious old Mrs. Deagle, ramming snowplows, murdering kindly teachers, and trashing a tavern with Billy's love interest Kate (Phoebe Cates). As the town descends into gremlinized chaos, the two humans (and Gizmo) must find a way to wipe out the horde... and if they miss only one, it'll start all over again.

Personally I find most Christmas movies a little too sappy and sentimental. So for people who feel that way, a Yuletide horror/comedy is simply ideal -- it's sort of a mad hybrid of early Peter Jackson splattergore, Frank Capra snow-sprinkled Christmastime, and a bunch of sly movie homages and send-ups ("Forbidden Planet," "Wizard of Oz" and "Snow White" amongst others).

But the real fun is in watching the movie's balance between nasty and cuddly -- Joe Dante happily veers between sweet moments and grotesquely funny violence (such as Billy's mom messily killing gremlins with a variety of kitchen implements), with the best example being the malevolent Mrs. Deagle being flung out an upstairs window by fa-la-la-la-LAing gremlins. Completely sick, and gutsplittingly funn.

And Dante sprinkles it with more G-rated comedy that borders on cartoonish without quite crossing, such as the kid in the Christmas tree costume ("Don't ask!") and the gremlins destroying a local pub when they aren't watching Disney movies (is this a message about Disney?). It all climaxes in some literally explosive showdowns with the gremlins -- and particularly with Stripe, their ghastly little leader.

Galligan and Cates are thoroughly solid as the teenage heroes, especially when Cates gives her heartbreaking speech about the horrible experience that made her hate Christmas. In fact, all the actors do a solid job -- the evil old landlady who serves as a sort of Wicked Witch of the West/Scrooge hybrid, the cranky old veteran, the crackpot inventor and the wise old Chinese guy.

But the showstopper is Gizmo -- tiny, round, fuzzy and wide-eyed, with a babyish squeaky voice and a liking for toy cars and 3-D glasses. Rarely has a puppet been so bloody cute and endearing. His complete opposite is Stripe, a gremlin amongst gremlins -- malevolent and gleefully sadistic, he seems smart enough to revel in the idea of destroying the town.

"Gremlins" is a brilliant horror/comedy that infuses a perfect American town with a little mayhem and gore, as well as some wickedly funny little nasties. Definitely a must-see.

i liked "Gremlins" a lot.i thought it was well acted and funny.it also
had some black humour,which i liked.i liked the look of the
gremlins.they would probably be scary for some children.they are quite
freaky looking.i thought the puppetry was amazing.for the most part it
really looked like these creatures were doing what the movie showed
them doing.the gremlins were hysterical at times in what they said and
how they acted.this is my idea of a good horror/comedy.it balances both
elements well.it think the potential was there for the movie to be
really awful,but good writing makes all the difference.anyway,i really enjoyed
the movie.for me,"Gremlins" is a 4/5

Gremlins is the funny story of a young man named Billy whose inventor father gives him a small, furry, adorible critter called a mogwai. But there are rules to owning a mogwai wicth are, in a string of mistakes, broken, and Billy's gotta get those evil little green things out of his hometown. Every one will love "Gremlins"!

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2.0 out of 5 stars DVD
I ordered a DVD through this seller. It has been over a month and now they tell me it's coming from Italy. It better not be a PAL DVD!

Published 8 months ago by Peter

4.0 out of 5 stars Though the gremlins outside are frightful
Don't expose them to sunlight. Don't let them get wet. And under no circumstances feed them after midnight. Read more

Published on Jun 5 2009 by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars There are just three rules...
1) Buy GREMLINS. 2) Watch GREMLINS 3) Repeat #2 several times

Every time I surf the t.v. and I come across GREMLINS, I will put down the remote and watch it til the end... Read more

Published on July 19 2004 by Rocco Dormarunno

4.0 out of 5 stars Mischief and Mayhem in a Cuddly, Furry Package
An inventor with a penchant for oddities that don't work (Hoyt Axton), while selling his wares in a sketchy section of Chinatown, comes across a young boy who promises to show him... Read more

Published on July 12 2004 by CreepyT

5.0 out of 5 stars Gremlins (1984)
Director: Joe Dante
Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McClain, Polly Holliday, Glynn Turman, Dick Miller, Keye Luke, Scott Brady. Read more

Published on Jun 3 2004 by The Tweeder

5.0 out of 5 stars Gremlins Rocks!
This is an amazing movie. Zach Galligan and Pheobe Cates are a perfect pair. I love thi movie so much. It rocks! Read more

Published on Jun 1 2004 by Frannie

4.0 out of 5 stars DVD REVIEW
Warners has previously issued GREMLINS on DVD twice in different packaging. Both releases featured the same contents, including a very lacking transfer and soundtrack. Read more

Published on May 16 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Great movie.....but the extras's are forgettable :(
Gremlins is a movie that you should have seen already by now, you either love it or hate it, and i love it! Both of them.

by now youve seen 100 reviews of the movie. Read more

Published on April 30 2004 by Micheal Hunt

5.0 out of 5 stars hah this movie is the best!!!!!
this movie is so funny! haha "Billy's on TV!!" lol. when i first saw it i was really little so it gave me nightmares! but it is so hilarious!!! Read more

Published on Mar 27 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Dark Comedy!!
Talk about your strange films! This one is in that category, and it's kind of a cult favorite, although I wouldn't call it "cultish. Read more

Published on Mar 6 2004 by Gregory Nyman

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