Movie Review - Gremlins (1984)

Christmas Movie a Day #10
Gremlins
Starring Phoebe Cates and Zack Galligan
Directed by Joe Dante

I was a deprived child (apparently) when it came to entertainment in the 80s. I don't know if I've seen a single movie starring a Brat Pack member. People are always shocked when I say I've never seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And I was once again told I was crazy when I said I'd never seen Gremlins. Having watched the monster movie for the first time now for this Christmas Movie a Day thing, I must say that I do feel slightly let down that I wasn't able to watch this flick earlier in my life...I may have enjoyed it more then.

Not that it's a bad movie by any means. Found at a Chinese store in some big city's Chinatown, a dad brings home a tiny rodent-like pet to his twenty-something son for Christmas. There were only three rules that needed to be followed, and, unfortunately, his son inadvertently breaks them all, causing this cute little pet to reproduce, creating nastier and more evil versions of itself that wreak havoc across a small town.

I guess my issue with the movie is that I feel like it's unsure of what it wants to be. It seems a little too scary for kids (if I recall, this was one of the movies that helped to usher in the era of the PG-13 rating after parents complained of the PG rating for this flick), but not nearly creepy enough for adults. Still, it certainly kept me interested all the way throughout, I just wish it veered either more kiddie or more adult, because at the moment, it feels like a movie in search of an audience.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed Gremlins quite a bit. There's several well-done scenes (I particularly enjoyed when the mother attacks the gremlins with kitchen equipment) and the gremlin animatronics were quite impressive. And, as a sure sign that I enjoyed it, I may be renting Gremlins 2 in the future (speaking of renting, thanks to Justin for allowing me to keep the movie on the list as I definitely wasn't going to be able to get it via Netflix).

The RyMickey Rating: C+
The Christmas Spirit Scale: 3/10
(The Christmas Spirit Scale is a totally pointless rating that is simply my feeling about how "Christmas-y" the movie felt to me)