Joe Dante RULES!

Rating: 10/10 (4 August 2005)

Joe Dante is one of my favorite modern-day schlock filmmakers. When you think about it, that's what he makes. 'Gremlins' is the jewel in his crown, a wickedly funny horror/comedy that still charms me every Christmas.
Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) is a nice young man with a loving family. His inventor father (Hoyt Axton) gets him a little creature called Gizmo (voice of Howie Mandel) that looks like a cross between a teddy bear and Yoda for Christmas. There are three rules to keep in mind when taking care of Gizmo: 1. Keep him away from bright lights, they hurt him. 2. Don't get him wet, he'll multiply. And most importantly, never, ever feed him after midnight. As you can imagine, all three rules are broken, Gizmo spawns a bunch of nasty ugly Gremlins, and all hell breaks loose.
The movie is very funny in it's mean-spirited way. My favorite scene is where the Gremlins, after wreaking havoc, go to a movie theater and watch 'Snow White'. They love it, and they start singing along to "Heigh-Ho" (to Billy's amazement). The payoff shot is Gremlin heads bobbing in tune to the song. That always gets a laugh out of me. The gremlin effects are good, and little Gizmo is like a less-annoying Furby. The script by Chris Columbus is dark and menacing without being an R-rated outing (although apparently the original script is even worse), and I wonder how Columbus ended up making 'Home Alone' and 'Mrs. Doubtfire'. No matter; 'Gremlins' is a high-energy B movie that spawned a hilarious sequel. It's one of my favorite movies.