Some "serious" movies don't last in time. Some fun movies do.

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 2009)

I recently re-watched Gremlins and loved it! I have no idea why this isn't considered a masterpiece of the horror/comedy genre. It is a pleasure to watch in 2009 so it should have been seen as groundbreaking back in 1984. Perhaps that is an overstatement but this movie is great entertainment.
The structure is very smart. First, we observe the life in this small town where everyone and everything is so nice and innocent. Except an old lady but she is a caricature so she is not really scary.
The central family is as sweet and nice as you would expect. The father is an ambitious inventor (In the "some day I will be successful" kind of way) and he decides to buy a little creature as a Christmas present for his son. There is probably no biologist in the world who is aware of this species' existence but who cares? The town is sweet and innocent, the family is sweet and innocent and guess what? The little creature is even more sweet and innocent. The reason I called the structure smart is because there is a gradual change in the mood and things start becoming slowly darker and creepier. There are some rules concerning the little creature (Alright, they call it Gizmo) which must be followed but do you really think everything goes according to plan? The rules are broken one by one and here we are. The Gremlins are finally in the picture. You want me to describe them? Analogy: Gremlins are to Gizmo what Cain is to Abel.
The great thing about the Gremlins is that they are not just bad. They are not pure evil. Their habits bare a resemblance to those of regular people. They are evil alright. But they are like the evil in all of us. Our dark side. They like to drink, smoke and make a mess. Alright they also kill people as well as one another but there wouldn't be a movie without that.
It is so much fun to watch these creatures laugh hysterically at everything. Their sole purpose in life is to enjoy themselves especially in expense of others. Not very extraterrestrial, wouldn't you think? The acting is great but only by the Gremlins. I'm kidding. But not so much. The girl is good but the boy is not very charismatic. The others, well, not important.
The music is very effective. Innocence alternates with creepiness in a way that fits the film perfectly.
This movie certainly deserves not to be forgotten. All people between 12 and 30 will have a great time watching it.