Early 1980s Film Makes Modern Standards Look Weak

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2010)

An inventor father (Hoyt Axton) wants to get his son (Zach Galligan) something special while traveling on the road. Just in time for Christmas, he returns with a mogwai (unknown to him, "mogwai" is Cantonese Chinese for "demon"). A few rules are broken, and soon the town is overwhelmed with reptilian, green-blooded monsters.
"Gremlins" ranks as one of the classic horror films of the 1980s, dark enough to satisfy the horror people and light enough to be funny and almost a family film. The special effects and puppetry, even twenty-five years later, look as good as we can possibly expect. Followed by an equally great sequel, "Gremlins" has secured itself as a memorable and must-see film.
The cast is crucial to the plot: notably, Dick Miller. Miller appeared in many B-movies in his day (such as "A Bucket of Blood") and casting him was brilliant. Howie Mandel provides the voice of Gizmo, before Mandel was the big name he is today. And Phoebe Cates? Oh my! The darling of the 1980s, and she even appears on screen with Judge Reinhold without taking off her shirt.
The action, horror, comedy and cast are held together by Joe Dante, still a fresh face at the time. Steven Spielberg hand picked Dante after seeing "The Howling" and he could not have made a better choice. Dante will always be connected with "Howling", but I think it would not be out of line to say this film eclipsed his previous work and may be his masterpiece.
I do not know why someone would not have seen "Gremlins", but if not, you really must. Great for fans of all genres. And I personally suggest purchasing the film on DVD. It is loaded with featurettes, deleted scenes and commentary. The Blu-ray offers no additional bonuses, so unless you're adamant about having up-to-the-minute sound quality, the DVD should be fine and affordable. (This was written in 2010; a new Blu-ray may have come out since then.)