A Holiday Horror Gem

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2018)

This film is actually one I'm not overly nostalgic for. I had the sequel recorded on VHS and I used to watch that one all of the time. This one I actually saw later and have subsequently watched it quite a few times since then. My last viewing I thankfully got to see in the theater and decided to write up this review for it. The official synopsis is a boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
This film kicks us off with Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton). He's a struggling inventor who we get voice-over narration about how the events of the film begin. He is taken by a young boy to his grandfather's shop in Chinatown. Mr. Wing (Keye Luke) is the one who owns the shop. Randall finds the Mogwai and wants to buy it. He is denied, but the boy sneaks it out of the shop.
He takes this as a gift to his son, Billy (Zach Galligan). He also tells him the three rules: 1. Don't get it wet, 2. Keep it out of bright light, 3. Don't feed it after midnight. He of course violates all of these rules at different times, creating not only more Mogwai, but some destructive monsters in gremlins.
To get back into it, I really like this film. This is one is a borderline family friendly, Christmas horror film. I will admit the rules are a little bit far fetched, but if you can get past that, I think it is fun film. This one has a cute creature in the Mogwai, but if the rules aren't followed they can become a deadly monster. I think that is quite interesting and actually does create problems when Billy tries to convince the police of what is happening.
The story isn't too deep, but it is enough to move the film along. It is pretty fast paced. I have to say that I love the comedy this film has. The gremlins parody a lot of different things which makes this film great for adults who get the references. I also don't think the film is too scary for older children. As alluded to, it has issues with following its own rules, like Gizmo being licked by a dog and not multiplying or a gremlin hanging out in the snow and not either. Neither of these ruins the film, but after a few viewings I picked up on this.
My really only big problem with this film is Kate Beringer's (Phoebe Cates) back-story. I felt like it really doesn't do a whole lot to the film, aside from giving it a darker feel. It just felt out of place. I have read that there was quite a bit that was cut from this film, so that might have something to do with it. Another thing is Reinhold really has 3 minutes of screen time and we don't see him again. He is a pretty solid actor, especially when this film came out, but he was under utilized. I didn't see much in the reason for him being introduced other than being shot down by Kate and showing who she really has feelings for. These were just a couple things that hurt this film's rating. I will say I was very impressed to see all of the people that did voices for the gremlins though including Howie Mandel, Frank Welker, Michael Winslow and Peter Cullen.
The acting though in general I thought was good. Galligan is solid as our hero. I don't really think we get much of a character arch for him, other than he is kind of a push-over in the beginning. Cates was solid as the female lead, even though what I touched on about the darkness of her character. As someone who isn't the biggest fan of Christmas, I can see where she's coming from. There are a lot of cameos in the film as well that are pretty fun like Dick Miller, Harry Carey Jr., Corey Feldman and Jonathan Banks. In a film like this, the acting doesn't have to be great, but I think what we got was solid.
The effects of this film I love. None of it was done with computers and it was all practical. Most of it was done with animatronics and it looks to be a little bit clay-mation as well. I think that was a good touch. The score of the film is amazing as well. I love the theme song for this film and we get a few different variations that are used throughout the film. I was a big fan of it. It definitely helps the tension of the film for sure.
Now with that said, I really like this film. I think you have a horror film placed during a joyous time, which is interesting. I think the creatures look good, the Mogwai are cute and makes for an enjoyable film. The story moves fast and doesn't have a lot of down time. The rules are little bit outrageous, but if you can get past that it is worth a viewing. I personally feel that this is a pretty family friendly horror film as well. I would recommend giving this film a viewing. This is a great film in my opinion.