A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Cast:
- Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer
- Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer
- Hoyt Axton as Randall “Rand” Peltzer
- Polly Holliday as Ruby Deagle
- Frances Lee McCain as Lynn Peltzer
- Judge Reinhold as Gerald Hopkins
- Dick Miller as Murray Futterman
- Corey Feldman as Pete Fountaine
- Howie Mandel as Gizmo
- Frank Welker and Michael Winslow as Stripe
1984 viewing
I first saw Gremlins in the theater multiple times. It was a great movie.
I miss watching movies in those old movie theaters. Today’s fancy mega-plexes don’t have the same feeling, actually they don’t have any feeling. They are a sterile environment.
Watching a movie while bats flew through the air, in a balcony with bad sound was a great experience. Half the time my sisters were screaming at the bats and not the movie.
Let’s see how this heartwarming Christmas movie holds up after 40 years.
40th Anniversary Re-watch
Still awesome, nothing will It’s still a great movie and worthy of the 4th highest grossing movie of 1984.
Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) buys a Mogwai while in Chinatown as a Christmas present for his son Billy (Zach Galligan). Apparently ‘Mogwai’ is the Cantonese word for Devil, but nobody knew that while watching the movie. Billy loves his furry little friend and names him Gizmo. There are three rules to follow when owning a Mogwai;
- Keep them out of bright light
- Don’t give them water
- Never feed them after midnight
The first two rules seem easy enough to follow, but the last rule is tough. In what time zone do Mogwai exist? Is it midnight Greenwich Mean Time? Eastern? China Time Zone, which would make sense. What about Daylight Savings time, do Mogwai follow it, or are they like Hawaii? And how long after midnight? 5 hours? 12 hours? They truly are the Devil!
It doesn’t really matter though because Billy breaks all three rules the first night…thanks Billy! When Gizmo gets wet tufts of fur pop off his body and create other Mogwai, then Billy feeds them after midnight and they transform into evil, reptilian Mogwai, led by Stripe. Stripe and his band of evil Mogwai escape and go on a killing spree throughout the town. Billy and his girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates) try to stop them before they cause to much Christmas havoc.
Gremlins was the second movie written by Chris Columbus, hiss first movie Reckless, was also released in 1984. Columbus would go on to write and direct some of the best movies of the 80s, 90s and beyond including; The Goonies (1985), Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Home Alone (1990), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), a couple of Harry Potter movies and many more.
Director Joe Dante gave us a fantastic horror movie in 1981’s The Howling and Piranha in 1978. He would go on to direct The Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), Gremlins 2 (1990) and multiple TV episodes for The Twilight Zone (1985), Amazing Stories (1986), Eerie, Indiana (1990), Night Visions (2001) and many, many more.
Quick detour, Eerie, Indiana is a great TV series that you should watch. It’s like The X-Files for teenagers. One episode the main character, Marshall suspects the school nurse of turning kids into zombies, another focuses on a heart transplant patient taking on the characteristics of the donor. It was a short lived show, only getting one season and nineteen episodes. It’s a fun show worth watching.
Favorite Line:
You say you hate Washington’s Birthday or Thanksgiving and nobody cares, but you say you hate Christmas and people treat you like you’re a leper.
Gremlins is a great horror Christmas movie. Kate’s disdain for the holiday is tragically summed up in her recounting the reason to Billy.
Gremlins is one of the reasons the new PG-13 rating was created. Along with other movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Red Dawn; Gremlins and the others pushed the envelop of PG movies causing the MPAA to create a new rating.
Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom released before the new rating took effect. Red Dawn would be the first movie to receive the new rating in August 1984.
Gremlins is a dark movie, the cuteness of Gizmo is quickly replaced by the gruesome, evilness of Spike.
Some call this a horror movie, some call it a comedy horror. I call it a Christmas movie. However you classify this movie you need to watch it, or watch it again.
Gremlins was released on 08 June 1984. It made a killing at the box office making over $148 million on a $11 million budget. It clawed it’s way to the 4th highest grossing movies of 1984.
Did you watch Gremlins? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on X(Twitter). The main Geekster channel is @GeeksterMedia and I’m @MileHighSamurai You can also find me on Bluesky @MileHighSamurai
8/10 stars
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