Gremlins

80s movies have a certain flair to them that can draw people in for how grungy and slightly disturbed they can be, but in a good way. It seemed like the time where kids’ movies were horrifying, adult movies were intense and action-oriented, and that unique atmosphere left an impression on many people. A movie that seems to perfectly mix that dark messed up intensity with a charming creative premise is the 1984 ‘’Christmas classic’’, Gremlins. Just before the night of Christmas, Teenager Billy Peltzer (played by Zach Galligan) is gifted a special pet by his father Randall (played by Hoyt Axton), which is a little creature known as a Mogwai. Being tiny and fluffy and so easily marketable, the new pet named Gizmo (voiced by Howie Mandel) fits right in with the family, yet his kind is connected with three critical rules that were warned to the father by the man who sold him the Mogwai, Mr Wing (played by Keye Luke). These rules include keeping them away from water, that bright lights will hurt them, and don’t under any circumstances feed them after midnight. Because something has to happen in order for the plot to get rolling, Gizmo comes into contact with water, which causes baby mogwais to start popping up. However, these babies eventually eat food after dark which makes them transform from soft and sweet Mogwais into mischievous and cruel Gremlins, who quickly multiply and start causing havoc all over the town. Billy and his girlfriend, Kate (played by Phoebe Cates) have to stop the spread of the Gremlins and take out their leader named Stripe before they grow enough to take over the world. Since this movie was created during a time when horror and comedy was being mixed in a lot of films (making rating pretty difficult to pin down for certain movies), this movie exists in this wonderfully confused bubble where it is both simultaneously a charming and entertaining family film and an intense darkly comedic horror film. It has the workings for a great scary story, yet the world’s rich atmosphere, its sweet comforting aesthetics, and amusing and satirical tone, it creates a truly unique monster movie that’s incredibly entertaining to view.

The director of the movie, Joe Dante, has been attached to projects that featured elements of horror like The Howling and Piranha (which was more of a horror comedy already), but he would later prove to work well in more light-hearted coming-of-ages films with a movie like Explorers (which he would release a year after this film). With Gremlins being only his 5th movie that he had directed, his style may have still been unknown, but it was arguably the one that gave him a distinct style and showed that he could combine these two conflicting elements and make something pretty unique. While not a huge name nowadays and leading movies that aren’t always the most successful, his form of mixing humor and horror in a film has been used by many other directors after this demonstration and for good reason. The film’s tone is perfect; it takes the classic set-up of ”adopting a new pet and adjusting to their wild ways” and turns it into a maniacal onslaught of tiny savage creatures, working as simultaneously a spoof on the archetype while still being that kind of narrative. It manages to feel crazy yet down-to-earth, brutal but realistic, dark but charmingly so. The film’s writer, Chris Columbus, is someone who is able to emulate a film’s atmosphere perfectly, gifting this quirky horror comedy set-up with the wonderfully pleasant vibe that is chill and even kind of relaxing (despite the chaos that unfolds). Though this film is quite gruesome and even pretty intense in the right scenes (it was actually so worthy of its PG rating that it received criticism for its open portrayal of violence, which led to Steven Spielberg (who acted as an executive producer for the film) convincing the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to alter their rating system, which in turn gave birth to PG-13. Despite this however, the film is surprisingly considered a Christmas movie by some because of how well it captures the familial connection, the decorative spirit, and the overall mood of the time period, it just happens to be connected to a less than cheery subject matter. Even though the premise itself has very little to do with Christmas and several scenes that try to connect it to the story just feel out of place and weird (Kate is given a backstory surrounding her hatred of Christmas that is so out-of-left-field and weirdly dark that it has to be a joke of some kind), it honestly benefits the movie overall. The pace is spot on, as no moment is wasted in its almost two-hour length, and while it might not be the most complicated story to follow, the script manages to tie a lot of stuff together to make sure that everything comes back in either a humorous or terrifying way. However, the ending is a bit of a pointless downer and doesn’t feel that warranted even after everything that’s happened.

The characters have so much personality whether they are given a lot of screen time or not, and considering the kind of film that it is, their colorful identities and even somewhat cartoonish portrayals does bring a sense of goofy life to the overall picture. They all seem like they have more to offer to the movie that is just hiding away or has already been addressed and everyone missed it, it keeps the world feeling more alive and leaves the audience intrigued to know more. A lot of this comes from the cast surrounding the film and becomes even stranger when you its discovered that the film is staked with tons of famous people essentially playing background roles. People like Polly Holiday, Glynn Turman, Keye Luke, Judge Reinhold, Dick Miller, Scott Brady, Corey Feldman, Jonathan Banks, Edward Andrews, Jackie Joseph, and Harry Carey Jr. are all featured and not many of them are given substantial parts, but it’s this very idea of casting bigger people in smaller roles that helps breathe life into supporting roles, and it does help that the leads are still done well enough. Billy is likeable enough lead, Phoebe Cates as Kate feels slightly weak due to her limited screen time and main purpose of only being the love interest, but she’s still harmless enough, and Frances Lee McCain as the Billy’s mother gets a really awesome scene where she takes down all the morphed gremlins in the kitchen (a pure horror survivor in the making). The acting from everyone is exactly what it needs to be for a movie like this to work; it never feels too dramatic so there’s no emotional powerhouse performance, but they feel believable and emotionally resonant, it’s exactly what the film requires. In a movie all about Gremlins, it’s fitting that they are also decently realized characters as well, inhibiting enough personality both as Mogwais and as Gremlins to be distinct, effective, and even acting as a nice play on the idea of consumerism (it may be a crazy film, but this commentary is decently constructed). Gizmo feels like such a perfect creation for merchandising to go insane on, but he is still genuinely cute and likeable in moments (not just an animal put in to make toys for) and Howie Mandel, who provided the minimal dialogue, seems to be the right choice as he’s made a living out of providing for characters with incredibly high voices.

The movie’s main premise required a lot of puppetry and in a time where it would all be done with computers nowadays; the effort deserves a lot of praises especially from the designer of all the various Gremlins, Chris Walas, who is mostly known for his effects work on the 1986 film, The Fly. Each mogwai has a distinct look and facial structure that, though unneeded, helps to expand each one out into a separate creature with its own look and identity. The mogwais never look particularly real and definitely feel more like toys that are being moved around, but that strangely works to the film’s advantage as it gives these creatures their own unique look and texture against the Gremlins which are scalier and creature-esque. Some of the gremlins were performed by various actors, even though their only sounds would be various grunts and growls, but getting talent like Frank Welker, Michael Winslow, Peter Cullen, Bob Bergen, Fred Newman, Mark Dodson, Bob Holt, and Michael Sheehan does allows for a lot more character and energy to come through on each individual one. It’s a very visually pleasing movie, with several shots from John Hora that do a decent job making this town look small, but still full of personality and life, and the Christmas atmosphere does allow for a lot of pleasant festive imagery with the snow covering the streets and Christmas decor in most of the houses. The film’s humor is lovably effective, never coming off too cheesy or even too wordy and the movie relies heavily on its ability to satirize and reference other classic stories along the same vein (even so much that the film’s sequel would became an almost direct parody of itself) The references can sometimes be a bit too drawn out (particularly when the Gremlins get drunk in a bar) but when they work, they are smart and well thought out. The theme for the movie provided by composer Jerry Goldsmith is a memorable jingle; mixing a festive-like melody with the instruments but also matched with a dueling melody that adds an additional layer of mayhem and mischief, very much like what the movie is like overall.

Gremlins is a charmingly scarily fun movie that can be viewed at Christmas or any time that someone wishes to watch pets become the predators. It mocks the tropes of familiar movies, but also goes about those tropes in its own way and builds upon them to make their own unique creation with enough recognizable elements and charming attributes to draw people in, but also enough dangerous situations and creepy visuals to bring that small adult edge to what could have been an easy kids’ product (like its titular Mogwai). With great atmosphere, impressive effects, good acting, and enough humor and jumps to satisfy both, Gremlins weirdly enough is a great Christmas present for the family. Just for the pleasure of the visual of a cinema full of Gremlins singing along with Snow White, definitely look forward to getting this gift for the holidays.