Gremlins

Gremlins (1984)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Joe Dante

Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman, Hoyt Axton

From: Warner Brothers/Amblin

Here is a movie that I haven’t seen in at least 20 years (no kidding) but I finally got around to seeing it… due to the theatre at Universal Studios in Orlando showing it. The past week they showed National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which is a “new classic” Christmas flick, but I’ve seen that enough times that I didn’t need to go out and see it. But, with this flick, seeing it on the big screen would be nice for a flick where I only remember the first few minutes and the one scene with the chair. It ended up being an old film print rather than a DVD projection, which was nice, even though the print was at times on the sketchy side. I ended up being one of four people there to see this, and of course, two of the four decide to chat with each other at random points during the screening, like a bunch of Troglodytes. That is a common occurrence for a movie at this theatre, let me tell you that much. Universal seems to be a beacon for the rudest most ignorant people. But, they left with like a half hour to go. Why, I don’t know. Then again, I can’t explain why the other person left with about 15 minutes to go; that’s right, I saw the final 15 minutes of this by myself in the big auditorium. What losers.

As for the movie, I was more familiar with the really strange sequel rather than this, but I still remembered the basic rules of the mogwai and what you’re not supposed to do with them, and I’m sure most readers will be familiar with those rules too. Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this, but it was a horror comedy (a lot of the humor black in nature) that-despite some of the creepier stuff-is for most ages. I mean, it has to be for kids when you see gremlins dressed up in clothing, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, and singing Christmas carols! The gremlin flashing Phoebe Cates* is something for the adults, though.

Overall, it’s a movie that I ended up enjoying. The special effects still look nice 25 years later and while some of the characters/situations were broad in nature (the “evil old lady” was just that) it was something that I shut off my brain for and I liked this tale of how creatures wreaked havoc on an idyllic small town. There were some surprising moments along the way, such as which character managed to memorably kill a few gremlins in one scene. So, if you haven’t seen this before or haven’t seen it in a long time, it’s worth it to check it out, I say. I presume that in the next few weeks Universal will continue to show Christmas-themed movies so depending on what films they show I may return back there before this year is over with.

• In the 80’s, Phoebe Cates was a babe, no doubt about it. She looked great here but her best moment was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, a movie I’ve seen once before and to be honest, thought was quite overrated. However, the one scene of her in the red bikini… wow! That was clearly the highlight of the film for me.