Fun little monster flick

Rating: 8/10 (22 August 2005)

Gremlins is the fun little monster flick that spawned a slew of ripoffs {Ghoulies, Critters}, a sequel, and the PG-13 rating. Its fun, funny, and noisy all at the same time.
The film centers around a postcard-ish little town, with all the usual characters: The nice kid, the pretty girl, the arrogant fool, the grouchy old woman, the stupid police officers, and the friendly neighbors. When Billy's dad, a struggling inventor, wanders off to Chinatown to get his son a gift, he has no idea what he's in for when he finds a box with a furry little creature named Gizmo. There are some rules surrounding Gizmo: Don't expose him to sunlight, don't feed him after midnight, and don't EVER get him wet. Of course, rules were meant to be broken...
The madness that ensues is, sometimes frightening, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes gross. The violence was enough to help spawn the PG-13 rating. The performances are likable despite a clichéd and a bit silly script, and the film has a nice holiday feel to it that makes it fun to watch around Dec. 25. Its also not a bad children's horror movie, with plenty of funny scenes {carroling gremlins, drinking gremlins, Snow White gremlin fans}.
Gremlins is by no means a flawless film, but its just what the doctor ordered. It gives you a nice, fun story, and some likable characters {and creatures}. It helped give a rebirth to the little green monster genre that fired up in the 80's, and continued to show Joe Dante's talent as a director who blended absurd horror and absurder comedy.
8/10