Gremlins

1984 • 106 minutes
4.5
1.99K reviews
86%
Tomatometer
PG
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

With its Christmas lights and dusting of snow, Kingston Falls is an idyllic small town--until the gremlins take over. A father returns from Chinatown with an unusual pet, a Mogwai--a gift for his son. The rules are simple: Keep your Mogwai away from water, bright lights and, most importantly, never--never--feed him after midnight. But the rules are inadvertently broken, and the consequences multiply at an alarming rate.
Rating
PG

Ratings and reviews

4.5
1.99K reviews
Kyle Vansteelandt
September 6, 2021
In this horror comedy, there is a bizarre creature called a "Mogwai." Owning a mogwai can truly be a risky dare, because there are three rules: No.1: They don't like the bright light (for the mogwai, the bright light is venom that causes excruciating pain, and even a slow death). No.2: Don't get them wet (if one gets wet by water, the wet mogwai produces and multiplies more and more of these creatures). And No.3: No matter how much they beg and cry, don't feed them after midnight (that will make them turn into terrible mischievous terrors called "Gremlins"). These three rules amp up the tension of the movie. One mogwai in particular has a name: "Gizmo" (Howie Mandel). A young bank teller named "Billy Peltzer" (Zach Galligan) has gotten Gizmo for Christmas from his father (Hoyt Axton) who is a struggling inventor. Gizmo is charming little fella with smart pleasant abilities, like speaking, doing fun stuff that humans like to do, and without giving anything away, he did something so surprisingly compelling in the third act. The friendship between Billy and Gizmo is so cute to watch. Until one day Gizmo was accidentally soaked by water. He produced and multiplied more mogwais. One specific mogwai has a white striped hairdo. He has a white striped hairdo, He is their leader, and ultimately, he is the main antagonist. His name is "Stripe" (Frank Welker). He is a dastardly devil with intimidating features that set him apart that makes him so scary; he has quick wits and he has a thuggish attitude. The wacky destructive antics of Stripe and his gang of gremlins lead to disastrous results. The cast did such a good job with their performances from the actors Hoyt Axton, to Polly Holliday, to the voice actors Howie Mandel, to Frank Welker. During the suspenseful moments, they tread with cation and fear. Howie Mandel sounds cute as Gizmo, and the other voice actors who voice the gremlins has offered some growls and laughs that make them sound vicious in a deranged way. But that's not all, Billy's love interest named Kate (Phoebe Cates) has a sympathetic backstory to the answer why she hates Christmas. Joe Dante's direction is good, if not actually first-rate; to start off, the first act has mostly unfunny humor involving accidents with Randall's inventions, except one that has to do with the eggs because how this comedic moment really sells the funny humor due to how well it has been cut, and the well-utilized tone. This camera cut and surprising tone has also been used for the suspense as well, and these well-made suspenseful scenes are memorable, especially when Chris Columbus (writer) has provided a superbly-written screenplay that displays some ominous moments. The whimsical and dramatic score by Jerry Goldsmith is a pitch-perfect support for the whole movie. The movie has amazing practical effects from the puppetry to the emotionally convincing animatronics. In conclusion: As a piece of filmmaking, the majority of the craftsmanship is impressive (including the convincing practical effects), and as for entertainment, it is a deranged horror comedy that successfully offers frightful fun. Highly Recommended.
Asif A. Ali
January 15, 2021
Kinda reminiscent to The Small Soldiers movie. The first original Gremlin was cute--and the ones came after were all nasty, creepy, funny and destructive! This is one of those goofy/scary/funny movie that you enjoy despite having no solid script/storyline. Two scenes I loved: 1. When his mom goes all Ninja on them freaky gremlins. 2. Gremlins at the bar. Hahahaha... They were hilarious! So yeah, it's a fun movie to watch!
Sahara Anne Burns
March 25, 2017
I saw this for the first time back in 2014, and I loved it. I wasn't scared at all, because the little dudes were so cute to me! And I'm a major scaredy cat. I laughed so many times during this movie. I got a cat in 2014, after watching this and his name is Gizmo. Because I absolutely adored the gremlin so much. The only downside I can think of, is that Gizmo gets mildly mistreated. I mean, the owner, could have done a way better job. You had one job man. Overall, cute movie, funny moments for comic relief, and I loved it.
21 people found this review helpful