Monster Christmas Party

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2015)

As much as like the cheerful kind of Christmas films, personally I'm more fascinated with those bizarre ones that really put the yang in the holiday. This film though is what started that trend for me, I've seen this film when I was 7, I loved it then and I love it now it's not just one of my favorite Chirstmas films but one of my favorite films of all time.
I really love the story which I'll admit is a very unusual and really daring idea for a Christmas film but it really worked and I loved it because it was just a change of pace for me. For it's time mixing horror and Christmas was really unheard of (it's still rarely done to this day), but it turned out to be a great combo where it not just delivers some frights but also smiles and managed to still emit that warm Christmas feel if you can believe that.
Production value is excellent done on a big budget but used correctly, The creature effects are fantastic because their all practical, there is no CGI bull crap. The designs of both the Mogwai and Gremlins are great, they look like animals they could exist in our modern world. And the animatronics and pupetering is perfect, from their facial expressions giving each of them a persona and their movements.
The voice acting for the creatures is amazing. From comedian Howie Mandel for Gizmo which is just spot on because each sound just sprouts cuteness, of course he used some of those same tones for his voice acting role for Bobby in the animated show "Booby's World" (another cute little guy). And of course Frank Wekler as the Gremlin Stripe is just fantastic, Frank Wekler is my favorite voice actor this guy is just a chameleon of voices, let alone the fact that I'm a "Transformers" fan and on a side note Peter Culen another "Transformers" alumi also does voice work as one of the Gremlins so that's cool. But Frank's voice also fits like a glove for this character as it just emits menace, mischievousness, and nastiness.
I really like the small town they use because it just has that sense of familiarity, I myself have lived and grew up in places like Kingston Falls. And the music is great as it's by one of my favorite movie composers Jerry Goldsmith, that theme song is one of my favorite themes of all time.
The characters are great from the creatures like Gizmo whom is just cute both physically but mainly in personality, you just want to hug and keep the little guy close. His character is a bit mischievous but has just this unending innocence as he just wants to have fun. Really love how he is fascinated and slightly influence by pop culture which makes the creature relatable because that's like with any of us: as we see him watch some racing film staring Clark Gable that really gets Gizmo interested in driving a car of his own which he of course does near the end.
Stripe and the Gremlins, their one of my favorite fictional villains and monsters. Their just fun villains because despite how much trouble and chaos they cause which is what they practically thrive on they just love to have fun. From scarfing down food and candy, playing video games, to watching Snow White. This sort of gives the Gremlins a bit of relatablity because these are the kind of things we love doing the most with our lives.
However what also drives the movie are the human characters, their actually well rounded and a bit three dimensional which makes us care for them and feel like what they do and go though in this ordeal matters.
Billy's dad is great, his character may have been a partial influence for Steve Urkel as he is an inventor but unfortunately not a very successful one because despite how creative his inventions are they don't work. But that never gets him down, he keeps trying because he passionate about his role it's one of the things he does best in life.
Kate is also great, I'll admit I had a crush on actress Pheobe Cates when I was a kid. She's that girl next door kind of person, whom is sweet but also really sympathetic because she isn't having the easiest time as she is struggling both professionally and personally.
But of course my favorite human character is Billy, I really like this protagonist because I can really relate to the guy. We see he's doesn't really have all the breaks but he has big dreams, as he is an artist he is constantly drawing and he's a fan of graphic novels/comic books, it's like with me I'm into comic books/graphic novels also and I constantly write. So he's hopping to be a comic book artist or in some profession where he can do one of the things he does best in life to be somebody, all he needs is a chance to find a way to step up. You can say the predicament he's in is that chance in one hell of a way, because we see him actually stepping up becoming somebody a hero.
There are lots of great scenes, one favorite scene of mine which is Billy's mom confortation with the Gremlins which I thought was suspenseful fun and of course it had my favorite Gremlin kill which was death by Microwave, it was gross but cool seeing the Gremlin just explode like bad leftovers. That bar room scene which is hilarious because it plays out like a giant Mad Magazine or Where's Waldo comic illustration.
So if your a horror fan and love Christmas then this is your party, and happy holidays.
Rating: 4 stars