In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Gremlins (1984)

There's something appealing about the sort of horrors that can be avoided if you follow a few simple rules. Don't push that button, don't fall asleep, don't feed your Mogwai after midnight. It feels almost Lovecraftian in nature- the easier it is for you to avoid breaking the rule, the more tempting it will be for you to break it, bringing upon your own demise. Gremlins plays with classic ideas in fun and creative ways, and the animatronics are still a delight to watch.

Some of the special effects have aged badly, but as far as I'm concerned, that's part of the movie's charm. I'll never quite understand why the horrifying backstory about Kate's father was included- it haunted me for years and still gives me the creeps now- but maybe that's part of Gremlin's appeal too. It's more a black comedy than a horror film, and the speech shows just how dark the film is willing to go. It's surprisingly subversive for a Christmas movie, and an awesome film in its own right.

4 reasons to hate Christmas out of 5.

5 comments:

budarc said...

I love this review. I'm going to go the blind nostalgia route though and award it...

5 snacks after midnight out of 5

Definitely on my top 10 X-mas movies list. :)

cuckoo said...

4 Bathroom Buddies out of 5 from me.

Wonderful, wonderful little film ruined by that one Kate's dad monologue bit.

budarc said...

I don't know why, but for me that out-of-context speech just enhances the film. You can't really shake it.

Plus it apparently traumatizes little girls. :laugh:

BLACKTR0N said...

I give it a 4 due to the fact that I've only but seen it a few times and it was never a thing for me. I could very well grow though.

Impudent Urinal said...

This is a huge responsibility... Let's let stupid teenagers deal with it. Smart.
4½ just get him a dog like everyone else out of 5