A pretty good kid-friendly monster movie

Rating: 7/10 (1 June 2019)

To many who grew up in the 1980's (like I did), Joe Dante's "Gremlins" was (and perhaps still is) a particular favourite. It was produced by Steven Spielberg at a time when he was practically the King Midas of Hollywood. Although "Gremlins" may not have quite the polish of Spielberg's own directorial efforts, it remains an entertaining movie more than 30 years later.
The basic premise of the movie is this: A young man is given a strange, exotic pet by his father, along with three rules to be strictly adhered to. Predictably, those rules aren't followed and mayhem ensues. In a broad sense, the movie takes some of its cues from the monster movies of a bygone era but the titular creatures are actually pretty unique. Sure, some elements of the plot don't really make a lot of sense but this isn't really a movie that's meant to be taken seriously.
The movie's approach is definitely more comedic than horrific but the creatures are still fairly menacing, particularly for younger viewers. Naturally, the special effects are starting to show their age but they're not too bad overall. Although I'm not in the target demographic for this type of movie anymore I'd have to say that it's a very good example of its type. I mean, how many successful family friendly horror movies can you think of?
The cast is pretty decent, considering. Zach Galligan is just fine as our hero, Billy. He's likable and we can relate to him, much like how we can relate to his failed inventor father, played by Hoyt Axton. The gorgeous Phoebe Cates is also here as the requisite love interest, not to mention giving the movie's single most memorable line reading. Lastly, a couple of standouts in support are Dick Miller & Judge Reinhold.
From a technical standpoint, the movie is nicely assembled but not really exceptional. Joe Dante's direction is competent and the movie generally looks decent, including the aforementioned special effects. Jerry Goldsmith's score has some memorable themes but the sound is very much of the 80's, which isn't really to my liking.
Overall, "Gremlins" isn't exactly a masterpiece but it is a worthwhile piece of fantasy/horror that delivers where it counts most: entertainment value. It will probably help if you're viewing this movie through nostalgic eyes but it's hard to deny that there's just something special about this movie. In short, "Gremlins" still captures the imagination.