Gremlins (1984)
Can’t always trust the “PG” rating.
Brief Backstory
Spielberg, one of the world’s most revered directors has brought timeless classics to the screen over and over with Jaws and Indiana Jones. During his career in the early 1980s, two of his movies, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Gremlins (which he produced) raised some serious eyebrows – as if having a kid saying penis breath and an opened ark annihilating criminals didn’t already push it with the PG rating. Nevertheless Gremlins doubled as both a movie for Halloween and the holidays, and often comes up as a favorite in both genres.
Story
A kid named Billy is given a mogwai, but fails at responsibility as the mogwais (except one) turn into murderous critters known as gremlins.
Random Facts
Howie Mandel, host of Deal or No Deal and voice of Little Howie in the Howie’s Fun House series on PC, voices Gizmo, while Frank Welker voices Stripe.
Although considered horror, Gremlins, like Die Hard, is often dropped into the holiday section where it belongs.
A reference to E.T. is seen when one of the gremlins attacks the phone line.
Chuck Jones – yes the very same man who made numerous classic cartoons for Warner Bros. and several animated adaptations of Dr. Seuss books, is Dr. Jones.
Random Opinions
I should have put this in the comedy section. Once the Gremlins arise this movie gets hilarious in many scenes.
Also I find Gremlins a little more into the holiday spirit whereas Die Hard on the other hand just so happened to take place in December.
This caused the PG-13 rating to be made? Temple of Doom was more deserving of creating the PG-13 rating alone, not along with Gremlins.
Pros
- Unbelievably hilarious scenes
- Amazing effects were used to create the mogwais and gremlins.
- I like the overall cartoony nature of this movie. It looks like something that could’ve been made into a great animated feature in the 80s, but at the same time it works well as a live action movie. It’s been about 40 years, maybe an animated remake (2D, not CGI shit) would be amazing.
Cons
- None really, but some may be put off by the kitchen scene.
Rating: 9.5/10 – Amazing
One of my all time favorites of the 1980s, and probably one that should be watched every holiday season. Although not something that’s suitable for Halloween, it can serve as a last resort for a horror movie but it’s better for the holidays.
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