LogFAQs > #979950506

13. Gremlins (1984 / 184 points)
Directed by: Joe Dante / Written by: Chris Columbus
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/a5107475.jpg
Why Its Significant - A Christmas classic (released when else but in June), Gremlins influence is easy to see and pretty self-explanatory. Any film with little creatures causing havoc somewhere, sometime? Its Gremlins. Its that simple. The film relies heavily on puppetry and animatronics, creating a tangible threat. Gremlins feel real, their movements grotesque and unpredictable making their on-screen debut instantly iconic & memorable. The Christmas theming also contributes to this factor, making it such an easy film to throw on and watch every year for those like me who just have to have a bit of horror in their Christmas! The film received a sequel, amusement park rides, video game appearances, and dozens of cameo appearances over the years, turning the Gremlins and particularly Gizmo and Stripe into minor horror icons & mascots for WB. Gremlins also holds notability for being one of the primary films that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.

The Rankers
Inviso - 2
Lightning - 6
Mythiot - 8
Bitto - 10
Snake - 10
Karo - 13
Rockus - 13
Seginustemple - 13
Plasmabeam - 15
Fortybelowsummer - 18
Jcgamer107 - 23
Evilordexdeath - 25
Johnbobb - 28

Inviso - As I write this, I had trouble deciding to rank Gremlins as high as I have, because I was worried whether it truly deserves the placement. But screw it, this is my ranking, and I ranked Peewees Big Adventure at the top of the road comedies list, so what of it? I like goofy, funny, cutesie shit. And this is a GREAT PG horror movie, because a lot of the time, PG, or even PG-13 doesnt translate to horror all that well; theyre too restrained by trying to play it safe. The Gremlins themselves are JUST monstrous enough to be scary, but not SO monstrous to be a complete turnoff to younger audiences. It rides the line, and I like how this movie works as kind of an introduction to horror for kids.

But yeah, this is just well done across the board. The movies has a decent start, with all of these town scenes and the introduction of numerous characters and how they deal with life in the town, and you get Mrs. Deagle being the WORST. But what I really like is how the Gremlins themselves are hyped up by Murray Fudderman as having sabotaged machines during the war, and then we go to Billys house and his car is a piece of shit, and his dads inventions are all terrible across the board. It feels like hes living in a world plagued by gremlins (small g) already. So then, when the Gremlins show up and start wreaking havoc, it showcases how truly terrible things can get.

But theres just so much to talk about with this film. For me, the Gremlin theme is one of the most iconic horror movie themes of all time. Its right up there with Halloween, because its extremely catchy, but it also manages to convey the whole chaotic havoc element of the Gremlins with that high-pitched, screechy singing. When it kicks in as the Gremlins start attacking the Fuddermans with Murrays snowplow, thats a brilliant score to set off the events of the chaos rampage scene of the film.

Also, I want to give a shoutout to Billys mom, because in short order, she manages to take out three out of the five Gremlins that invade her home, all in different and creative ways (in a blender bowl, via straight-up stabbing one, and via microwave). She comes across as a total badass throughout that entire scene, and its a shame she gets taken down on the fourth Gremlin in the Christmas tree, because I think she couldve held her own and really allowed Stripe to prove why hes the badass leader of the bunch.

The general transformation is great too, turning these cute little Mogwi into demonic reptile monsters, complete with gross-looking alien eggs (that hatch into monsters creatures). Seriously, the first kill of the movie, you see that hatched egg and its so disgusting alongside the biology film reel of a beating heart, and then the science teacher just gets straight-up murdered off-screen. Poor guy just wanted to run a simple blood test, and he winds up one of the only two confirmed human kills in the entire movie (alongside the well-deserved death of Mrs. Deagle).

Theres also the goofiness of Phoebe Cates tending bar even as the Gremlins are going on a rampage, the bar scene itself has a bunch of little gags and sound effects (plus a hilarious poker scene where one of the Gremlins is wearing Mrs. Deagles wig), and then you also get the out-of-nowhere monologue from Phoebe Cates about her dad dying on Christmas. Its so weird, but its so wacky and fun (well, aside from the revelation about the dad) that it really manages to inject just that little bit extra character into the film. Oh! And Mike from Breaking Bad is in this movie as a chickenshit cop. Guess he got over that cowardice in order to work for Gustavo Fring. Yeah, great movie all around.

Lightning - And thats how I found out there was no Santa Claus.

Gremlins represents an absolute Christmas classic that shows that Christmas movies dont need to slot into a certain genre yet can still have plenty of heart. This is a really over the top horror comedy with a slightly mean sensibility to it that is loads of fun and has that real tender sentimentality to it also that you want in a holiday movie. Although it is very well directed by Joe Dante, Spielbergs influence is all over this.

Frankly this movie is just incredibly entertaining, possibly the most fun to watch of any on the list. I also do appreciate it that its successfully pitching horror to a younger audience, its not too much but has some pretty good scary sequences like the kitchen scene. It also really gets you on the side of the characters, the leads are so likeable here, and that Santa Claus monologue will long live in my memory. It also does a good job of satirising the consumeristic and neoliberal nature of the 1980s, the social commentary is surprisingly strong here. Unfortunately it also shows its 80s nature in the opening scene which leans very hard on Chinese stereotypes and is probably the biggest flaw of the film.

Of course it would be remiss of me to not mention the Mogwai (and the Gremlins) themselves. The whole film hinges on them and they really work. The designs are great, and the puppets are even better. The transformations look suitably spooky, and I like the way each is subtly characterised through variations in their look. Gizmo of course is one of the most adorable characters ever and you really root for him throughout. Overall, this is a film that is just lovable for almost its entire runtime.

4/5

Bitto - Rating: B-

Really stretching the definition of horror here...but it's fine. This is a great movie. The mogwai are obviously fun to watch, kinda being like evil Muppets once they transformed. Them wrecking havoc in the town could be seen as horrifying, but the characters they're attacking are usually caricatures. The main family are all incredibly likable. We spend the most time with Billy, but I love the dad and the mom. The dad being a goodhearted, but bad inventor and the mom continuing to use the inventions despite clearly not finding them useful is just really fun characterization. The mom gets the best scene when it probably becomes the most like a horror movie when the mogwai just transformed. It's wild seeing how much the tone changes for just those few scenes.