Gremlins (1984)
★★★ — Gremlins (1984)
Joe Dante had already made a name for himself with Piranha (1978) and The Howling (1981) before Steven Spielberg, riding high on E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark, brought him on board for this Amblin Entertainment production at Warner Bros. The script was by Chris Columbus, then a newcomer whose spec work caught Spielberg's eye, and the film arrived at a particular sweet spot in early 1980s Hollywood where horror and family entertainment were being pushed into the same room, sometimes uncomfortably so. Gremlins, along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom that same summer, directly prompted the creation of the PG-13 rating in the United States, with parents objecting to content too intense for PG but not quite warranting an R. On an $11 million budget, it returned over $150 million at the box office.
Gremlins is a proper 80s classic. Funny, cheeky, and surprisingly dark. It’s the kind of film that doesn’t quite fit one genre, mixing Christmas charm with creature horror and slapstick comedy in a way that somehow just works. Gizmo, with his big eyes and sweet nature, is an icon, the perfect cuddly companion. But the moment you break the rules (no water, no bright lights, no midnight snacks), everything turns into chaos, and the cute gives way to the grotesque. It’s easy to see how this film inspired so many others. The gremlins themselves are a mix of mischief and menace, causing havoc in a small town with a blend of cartoonish gags and genuinely gory moments like biting off fingers, a microwave death, a blender scene. For a film released in the mid-80s, it pushed the envelope, helping launch the PG-13 rating and paving the way for horror-comedies that followed. The practical effects were inventive at the time, and while they’re clearly dated now, there’s still something impressive about their handmade energy. It’s not perfect, though. Some of the jokes haven’t aged well, and it's super predictable. And while the gremlins are fun, they mostly exist to wreck things rather than do much that’s clever or surprising. Still, Gremlins has heart beneath the mayhem, and it’s packed with that 80s spirit. Bold, a little wild, and unafraid to go too far. It’s a cult classic for good reason, even if it looks its age.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 1984 | Watched: 2025-07-26
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More from Joe Dante: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
More with Zach Galligan: Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) · Rising Storm (1989)
More from the 1980s: Nightmare City (1980) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Style Wars (1983) · Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)
More fantasy: Viy (1967) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
