No Water, No Sunlight, No Feeding After Midnight, Or Else

Rating: 9/10 (22 October 2010)

During the year that Gremlins came out I remember watching the World Series that year and at a certain point when a number of bad plays were ruining the San Diego Padres against the Detroit Tigers, Joe Garagiola remarked that Gremlins were cursing the Padres. Garagiola gave a nice plug to what was one of the best films of that year and horribly neglected by the Academy.
Hoyt Axton wants to get an unusual pet from merchant Keye Luke called a Mogwai, but he won't sell. Nevertheless his grandson John Louie does sell the cute little Mogwai to him with three conditions that have to be met in their keeping. No water, no sunlight, and no feeding after midnight or terrible consequences will result.
Of course the family is delighted with the new pet especially twenty something son Zach Galligan who is the really responsible one in the family. But things do happen and on that Christmas Eve all three conditions are broken and as a result a horde of ugly little Gremlins start running amuck.
I do love this film so because it strikes so many emotions at the same time. You love the little Mogwais, but you are terrified at what they've become. The Gremlins are horrifying, but at the same time you will laugh hysterically at what they do to some people. Polly Holliday, fresh from the Alice series on television plays a mean woman in the grand tradition of Margaret Hamilton. What the Gremlins have in store for her is priceless.
Gremlins marked the farewell performances of both Scott Brady and Edward Andrews both of whom graced many a film and unlike some character actors from the studio days never stopped working. It's because both of these guys were memorable on the screen.
Director Joe Dante, writer Chris Columbus and most of all producer Steven Spielberg who imparted his always imaginative vision to this film have given us a great one, especially around the time of Halloween. Gremlins is one timeless classic for the big and small screen.