Gremlins (1984)
Don't ever get him wet. Keep him away from bright light. And the most important thing, the one thing you must never forget: no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs . . . never, never feed him after midnight. Billy has been brought a cool gift from his father, back from a long trip. The father decided to bring home a “Mogwai” creature for his son, purchasing it from a Chinese Curio Shop. But these creatures gotta live be certain rules, or else they can be uncontrollable. And that’s exactly what happens when Billy decides to take a nap one night and forgets the time and breaks one of the very important rules. Soon there are creatures running around his room and once they get loose, the entire town will be in danger. Overall: A very good film that is scary and suspenseful. Although being a bit frightening the film is so amusing and enjoyable with the interactions between the gremlins and the townspeople. It has its amusing scenes when the Gremlins do Christmas Carols and yet can be very scary when they attack Billy’s mom. The Tavern scene with the alcohol is also a great mix of both scares and smiles. This is just a tremendous piece of work that doesn’t lose it’s place in history. Great acting, great suspense and just pure fun! Along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, this film pushed the boundaries of the “PG” rating such, that it ushered in the new rating for 1984. PG-13 was created because scenes involving the gremlin in the blender seemed too violent for young children. The first film to receive that rating was “Red Dawn.” A few scenes that were originally included but never filmed: 1) Mrs. Peltzer loses her head after the cocoon hatching and we watch it roll down the stairs. 2) We see Gizmo actually turn into Stripe who spend the rest of the film killing and maiming; 3) Gremlin-feasting on the dog, Barney. Obviously that would make this film much, much darker…and yet I think it did a fine job as it is. Comparison: Army of Darkness meets Star Trek’s episode “Tribbles” |
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