Silly but a very clever and engaging film- succeeds in both comedy and horror

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2009)

I will admit some of it is very silly, but all the same it is infectious fun from start to finish. Directed by Joe Dante, produced by Steven Spielburg and written by Chris Columbus, Gremlins has quickly established itself in my opinion as a comedy horror classic. The direction is rock solid throughout, and is super efficient. The script is funny and inventive, and the story growing from a very simple idea is engaging and delightful. Plus all the characters are credible. And I have to say Jerry Goldsmith's music is a treat, that man knows how to compose a good music score I can tell you. Haunting, shocking and exciting are three ways to describe the score here. The gremlins are the scene stealers here, at first they are very cute then all of a sudden when they start causing carnage they are quite the opposite. But the acting from the human actors is just as good. Zach Galligan is bland at first, but as the film gets going and you know more of his character you warm to him. Hoyt Axton is indeed a hoot as the inept inventor, and Keye Luke is great as the Grandfather(Mr Wing). Also watch out for a young Corey Feldman as Pete Fountaine. Plus the Christmas speech makes it essential Christmas viewing. All in all, silly it is, but it is clever and consistently engaging. Not only that, it succeeds at both comedy and horror, and that isn't easy to do. 9/10 Bethany Cox