The more extreme end of 80s family films

Rating: 5/10 (13 April 2020)

Gremlins is undoubtedly one of the most bizarre eighties films and appears to be quite polarizing amongst viewers. The concept of the film is imaginative and intriguing, and it arguably could have been a much bigger success with better writing and stronger characters. Unfortunately, the pacing of the film is very uneven and the story just doesn't flow very well. Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates are quite dull and Corey Feldman is criminally underutilised.
The puppetry looks heavily dated now but for 1984 I guess its acceptable. Mogwai is very cute, bordering on sickly, and the Gremlins are a bit over-the-top but good fun to watch. Things get a bit gory towards the end, enough to make the film unsuitable for many children. And this is where the problem lies, because Gremlins is simply not interesting enough for adults either. It ends up as a kind of tongue-in-cheek indie film which I'm not sure was the intention.
I remember enjoying it as a kid but looking back I'm not sure why. There are many better films from this era that are either just straight up horror movies or endearing fantasies.