Gremlins 40th Anniversary | Spoiler-free Review

Hello, horrorphiles. In this festive Christmas special, we’ll review Gremlins, now celebrating its 40th anniversary. This dissection will be spoiler-free.

“A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town,” according to the Internet Movie Database.

This is Dissecting Horror: Examining the anatomy of fear in film, television and literature with Kelsey Zukowski and Steven Aguilera.

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Transcript

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Hello, horrorphiles. You're listening to Dissecting Horror. Examining the anatomy of fear in film, television and literature. In this festive Christmas special, we'll review Gremlins, now celebrating its 40th anniversary. This dissection will be spoiler free. I'm writer and performer, Kelsey Zukowski. I’m filmmaker, Steven Aguilera. In our Society of Grotesquerie and Loathing, if you will. I will. And we hope you will subscribe for more, won’t you? A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town. According to the Internet Movie Database. 40 years later, Gremlins holds up incredibly well, maintaining its cult status as an infectious holiday film that blends its horror, heart and dark comedy perfectly. The film is set around Christmas, showcasing many Christmas traditions and then flipping a switch on the merriment, giving this I'm a calm morphing of these holiday festivities. Our main human villain, Mrs. Deagle, bears a striking parallel to a Scrooge character as a fellow cold and vindictive profiteer with no sympathy for humans or creatures alike. Whether it's Christmas or not has little sway. While Scrooge was haunted by ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, she is terrorized by gleeful, maniacal gremlins dressed as Christmas carolers, but without the intent of any chance for redemption. It is just purely for the love of destruction and chaos. And she happens to be an apt target that is satisfying for the audience. the gremlins deliver peak mayhem, twisting and contorting the innocence of Christmas, bringing us into the spiral of destruction. We are given this and things like a gremlin viciously nine off a gingerbread cookie had a gremlin infested Santa Claus going in for its next victim, and a quite brutal attack scene by unsuspecting, stirring creatures inside a Christmas tree full with holiday tinsel wrapping strangulation. While there is an endearing, heartfelt tone to much of the film, these moments solidify it as a dark Christmas film that is a wonderfully wild and darkly devious ride. Gremlins was directed by Joe Dante, known for Piranha, The Howling, and Twilight Zone The Movie, among others, in varying genres including police Squad, explorers, Inner Space, The Burbs, and Small Soldiers. Gremlins was written by Chris Columbus, who for some reason I thought was dead famous for writing the Goonies and a personal favorite, Young Sherlock Holmes. Did you see young Sherlock Holmes? Kelsey? I don't think I have one was aside I think it was, like 88, something like that. film. Yeah. Okay. No, I have an appreciation for Sherlock Holmes, so I'll have to look into that. You should definitely do so. Has a lot of Harry Potter British vibes, which no doubt influenced his later directing of the first two, Harry Potter's. In fact, Chris Columbus is perhaps more regarded for his directorial accomplishments, having also directed the Christmas classic Home Alone as well as Mrs. Doubtfire. He's even credited as a producer on the new Nosferatu, with Bill Skarsgard. This film has a strong Steven Spielberg feel to it, partially due to the era in which it was made, but also no doubt because of Spielberg's influence as executive producer. The movie even opens with Steven Spielberg presents Gremlins, with no mention of Joe Dante as directing. executive producer credit is also shared with longtime Spielberg collaborators. Husband and wife team Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. It also includes a score by my second favorite composer of all time, Jerry Goldsmith. Can you guess my all time favorite composer, Kelsey. The guy who did Star Wars, The guy who You're correct. And I want to slap you at the same time for not knowing his name. It's not like. No, I know he doesn't like everything. But I'm blanking on the name. It's like Bill Smith. Level of simplicity of name. No, I know he you know, I also did Harry Potter and Jurassic Park if I'm remembering. Right. Like, everything. You're killing me. I don't. what's the most common first name ever. Starts with a J. Jeff. John. Oh. John. Williams. See? It's like I knew it. I just knew that I knew the trigger. Yes. God damn. I listen listened to many of the songs. Who hasn't? Yeah, exactly. Do you have a favorite composer? I'm blanking on. It's. Andre's, his first name. He. I have to look at the second name, but he did. The penny dreadful score, which is I. It's just amazing. I just listen to it all the time. Anytime I need that kind of macabre, enthralling background music. Let me see. I'm not. Yeah, I'm not good with, composer names Because I even have had, like, a radio channel for this guy. But I'm blanking on his last name. I'm sorry. first name. Isn't even Andre. Abel Corzine. Well, if John Williams name was Abel killing on ski, and I was couldn't even remember it after 30s. But John Williams, that's pretty bad. You got me in a bad moment. That's on the times where I would be like, pick it up in a second, but, you know. you know what? Whatever. Let's move on. Gremlins was originally written as a hard, R-rated horror film and much darker. Spielberg recommended allowing one of the Gremlins to remain good and be Billy's sidekick when originally they were all going to be in these vicious gremlins. Of course, this ended up being gizmo and a huge part of the emotional tie and connection many still have with the film, enabling it to grab a wider audience. Writer Christopher Columbus noted Billy's mother's head was cut off and it rolled down the stairs. The gremlins all went into a McDonald's at one point and ate all the people, but left the food on the tables. So it was dark and twisted and a lot of fun to write. I sent it to my agent and he sent it to maybe 45 to 50 producers, and everyone rejected it. Now, part of me would be curious to see the R-rated, original intended Gremlins, and can just imagine the gleeful bloodbath and fun brutality that may hold. But also, as a fellow horror writer who tends to cling to dark material as you do, I can imagine that might be hard to hear and then have to attempt to adapt something very brutal and bleak and try to make it more accessible and heartfelt. One could even view it as making it more tame and watering it down to something lesser. Props to Columbus for taking on that challenge and finding a way to impeccably hold on to that dark, demented nature while still adding an incredible heart and emotional investment. That balance and making it a much more memorable film even for diehard horror fans. So one can imagine what we got is the more nuanced, layered story of duality. While watching this, I am reminded of an era when clever and original ideas were actively sought out by major studios, ideas which struck the public's imagination and became trendsetters that others would emulate for years. The success of Gremlins, for example, spawned many knockoffs and ripoffs, such as critters, Ghoulies, hobgoblins, goobers, monkeys, elves, spooky beasties, troll, etc. and can be considered a landmark influence in the horror genre. It even spawned a sequel of its own, with a third apparently on the way, two seasons of an animated series, and not to mention a wealth of merchandise. Currently, it is an overly discussed lament that mainstream Hollywood is now creatively bankrupt, only resorting to retreading and rebooting old ideas or capitalizing on existing franchises with spinoffs, sequels, and prequels. It disheartened me as a filmmaker, one who lives for and thrives on fresh and original ideas. Knowing that this is not what is needed or wanted by Hollywood any longer. Back in the day, one would routinely see groundbreaking films that countless others would jump on and copy. We saw endless knockoffs of jaws, Star Wars, Rocky, Rambo, Friday the 13th, alien, Indiana Jones, and the list goes on. Now all we have are the rip offs themselves, with very few major productions creating new and interesting ideas to later draw from. Hollywood has reduced itself to merely being those copycats who no longer create. Did you ever see Gremlins two? I did I some notes on it, in fact. Yeah, I was gonna say that's pretty much. Yeah. Joe Dante really didn't want to make the film at all. And basically the studios were like, here's all the money. Make whatever film that you want to make. And essentially, it was almost it was definitely mocking and kind of picking apart the original Gremlins, but also was definitely a social critique on Hollywood and remakes and making films with that name recognition, kind of just to make money. And then of course, just making it bizarre and picking apart its own lore and just having a lot of wild fun with it. But yeah, in a way, Joe Dante agrees with you and, he's like, all right, you want me to make this movie? This is a movie I'm going to make. I certainly have much to say about that topic later, but unfortunately, it's not really a Christmas movie, so it doesn't really fit too much. So I kept it to a minimum. But the public have always longed for fresh material, even on Rotten Tomatoes. The positive review rating is referred to as Certified Fresh. This ties in not only with their tomato theme, but also likens a fresh experience with positive quality. Good art and creativity go hand in hand in this way. When recognizing a copycat piece, one recognizes instinctively a lack of great art. One does not need to be an educated art critic to realize this. Originality is praised because it expresses a high form of creativity, and the public will always crave fresh material. But this does bring risk to the investor. I get that Hollywood maintain your endless rehash model if you must, but you must also devote a greater percentage of resources to cultivating fresh material quality. Original works are the seeds that need planting. If you ever hope to harvest the profits of future franchises, you can only milk what you've got for so long. But Hollywood is not really creatively bankrupt. They have only made the choice to be. There's never been a greater abundance of imaginative individuals clamoring to push their ideas forward. Once these creatives have earned it, we only need to let them add it without allowing greed, cowardice, politics, or any other agendas to get in the way. And different. Yeah, in general definitely. I'm always for more fresh ideas. As far as this brand of creature feature. Yeah, give it, give it all to me. Even like a lot of the examples you gave, like, I think those are all uniquely pretty great films and I feel like we've less. Maybe as the years goes on, I feel like Hollywood can kind of not have as much fresh innovation with that. But I don't know, like I've seen like a indie German film that kind of used, similar type of creature and did something completely different with it. So, yeah, I think it's the popularity of something. I think as long as you're still going into it with, you know, something relatable to the human experience or just a good story or, you know, anything, you know, compelling, any story you know, worth telling if there's something, you know, something there? Yeah. I think inherently like, don't make sequels just for the sake of like, oh, this already has a built in fanbase. It's going to make money. And if that is why you're doing it, then at least get a writer or director who's passionate about it and has maybe a unique like a, you know, you have to have that love for it to bring homage to it, to bring out what was what was great about that. And yeah, for in some senses, you know, you're probably going to be presenting this to like a different generation that, you know, hopefully they'll go back and watch the original. But you know, you're you're going into with the mindset that this might just be a fresh like first time viewing for some people. So it's bringing alive what was great and special about it. But I think you still have to have some, some sort of like a unique perspective or bring something new to the table. Otherwise what's the point? And unfortunately, that rarely happens. But I don't know. I think it's kind of interesting because even, I didn't go back and and watch it, which I might still now, but the, the animated TV show Gremlins Secrets of the Mogwai, actually ties from you know, just reading about it, it seems like it ties into, I guess, more of like, the origins and some other interesting things, being it's, set in China, following Sam Wang in his youth and gizmo digging into the origins of Mogwai as well as other Chinese folklore as they meet and often fight many spirits and creatures on their quest to uncover an ancient treasure and fight against a power hungry foe, using the Gremlins for his own game. So I think when I was like, Gremlins, the original is just a great film. There's so much that is there and really makes it work. And I think a lot of the duality and and opposite kind of factors like you're so invested in, gizmo and our protagonist, but then you're at least me. I'm, I'm not mad at the gremlins at all. I just love every minute of them. So I'm kind of on their side, too. And I feel like that's rare, where you're really equally kind of invested and the villain and protagonists, you know, so to speak, and especially with them being sort of such opposite ends of the same beast, you know, representing kind of like the innocence and then just the total chaos, mayhem, destruction. But, yeah, I think I don't necessarily think the original film needed to know more because, you know, like a basis of the kind of the origins of or at least the rules, really. That's all we really know. So our knowledge of these creatures and the culture that they come from and everything is like fairly limited, which I don't think that's really a problem in the original film. But if I were to look at it and think, okay, is there anything more that that you could do with a future film or story here? I feel like that's kind of one thing you could dig deeper into. And seemingly the show does do that. So I'm not automatically against a sequel or I mean, this one is a prequel, or any type of like adaptation of something that was popular. If you're going to dive deeper, if there's still more of a compelling story to be told, if there isn't and you know you get the sequels that are just a rehashing kind of the same thing happening again to different people, that adds nothing new to the lore or what's happening then. Yeah, that's that doesn't do anything for anyone really. I've heard people say that the sequel ruined the original. Not in Gremlins, but like in Star Wars and other franchises. And I don't see it that way because I think if a sequel was really bad, it only makes the original look better. It's like, oh, they didn't, live up to that. It it tends to, bolster the worth of the original. And I think if I were to make a film that someone else were to make a sequel of, I would be really interested to see what they came up with. And I would feel safe knowing that if they really messed it up, that it doesn't really do anything but make my work, more cemented as, a good film. And I don't know, I think I would feel honored and flattered even if they were doing it just for money. Just the fact that it validates the original work that they would care enough go through all the trouble and hire all these people and all these, individuals would invest themselves in the creation of something based on something I did that that would be awesome. I would love that. That's true. That's like, you know, giving validity that. Wow, you created something pretty special that people want to try to replicate or build off of. one might presume the origins of the gremlin creatures referred to here as Mogwai, as stemming back to Scottish or perhaps Irish folklore. It has been suggested that the word gremlin may come from the Old English word gremlin, which means to vex. It may also be a blend of the word goblin and the name of the Royal Air Force's most common beer in the 1920s, Kremlin, according to Wikipedia, this concept of gremlins was popularized during World War Two among airmen of the Royal Air Force. The flight crews blamed gremlins for otherwise inexplicable accidents, which sometimes occurred during their flights. Gremlins were also thought at one point to have enemy sympathies, but investigations revealed that enemy aircraft had similar and equally inexplicable mechanical problems. As such, gremlins were portrayed as equal opportunity tricksters, taking no sides in the conflict but acting out their mischief from their own self-interest. I was today years old when I realized that the film Gremlins was loosely inspired, somewhat of an homage to, novella by Roald Doll. Did you know that? I did come across a note about that, but that was surprising to me. I was very surprised. He's like my childhood favorite author, and I never even knew that this book existed, let alone that it had a tie to a film I also love. He wrote it in 1943 and drawing from his experiences as a pilot and the Royal Air Force and World War Two. In the story, a pilot convinces mischievous, deadly creatures called the Gremlins to join forces with him against Hitler and the Nazis. Interesting enough, The novella was produced by Walt Disney Productions and was intended to be turned into an animated film, which never happened, largely due to the British government's involvement in disagreement on the final story. And then eventually we got what became the film that we now know, but it has kind of even some of those similar sentiments with, you know, describing those gremlin creatures taking over machinery and with, you know, World War Two mentions. And so it seems like maybe that was like it was just, you know, relevant to the time period. But I think also some kind of connection on those roots. Very interesting indeed. Are you going to read the book? Yes, I was Google and I'm like, where do I get this book? It's a little bit more rare. So it is a bit more expensive now. It's not readily available, but yeah, I'm going to have to I'm going to have to find this because, yeah, again, Roald Dahl is just one has written some especially, Matilda, one of my probably all time favorite stories. Still he did was it, la la la la. I was going to the Witches, Charlie and Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach? Much of the charm here stems from gremlins. Practical effects. If made today, I can't imagine a CGI version of our furry gizmo character being particularly cute, much less convincingly physically interactive With actual people. Despite being basically a puppet, we can at least still relate to snuggling with a cuddly Snuggie huggy doll, which is basically what an animatronic is. I don't see that same reaction to a KGI creature. Perhaps that could work with the hairless, evil Mogwai, but even then I think much of their charm would be lost. The theatrics of the Gremlins are amazing. They thrive off antics, mischief, and terror. But beyond that, get into a theme, which is something I can heavily relate to. They have impeccable showmanship. Rather than just going in for the kill, they make it a whole spectacle versus dressing up like carolers and singing to terrorize the town menace. at times, this is just for their own pure enjoyment and marveling over human culture, such as the many iconic scenes of bar songs and poker games, camaraderie, a Flashdance style mob, and discovering the laughter, sheer amazement and connective nature of cinema and specifically the infectious fun of a musical through being swept away by the Seven Doors melodic merriment. Both the scenes when they're attacking and belatedly wreaking havoc, as well as these scenes where they are just in their element, thriving and living their best chaotic, jovial lives sweep you away and allow you to live through them while still feeling connected to the guys on the other end of the fight, especially at the lovable gizmo. The first half of the film is played in a mischievous tone, wholesome enough before taking a surprisingly dark shift at the midpoint. We know something ominous will eventually happen when warned about feeding the gremlins after midnight, not getting them wet, etc.. We are then abruptly shown innocent people getting killed and mauled. No two ways about it. and the gremlins themselves getting slaughtered in gruesome though creative ways. Even if their blood is presented as a different color from our own, I think it's the sudden shift from cute and cuddly to extreme gore in violent murder. Even if playful in tone. I have mixed feelings about it, since I tend to enjoy the more over-the-top horror based content, while at the same time, this does seem to violate the previous cutesy mood, which at most was dark humor. And knowing that this is not only marketed for kids, but it's also presented as a Spielberg comedic family Christmas film, it seems a bit much. Still, I would have also likely protested a more watered down version. Theoretically, the more ridiculously over-the-top they could have made the violence, the less serious one would take it and so counterintuitively, maybe they just didn't go over-the-top enough. it's confusing, and I can see how it surprised and disconcerted people and parents, especially back then making this film so controversial. So would you have preferred just the, the original intended, completely murderous, mischievous, R-rated version? Rather than trying to make it wholesome and sweet moments? I think, what they did with the, extremity of the violence is a fourth is the direction I would have taken it, but I would have probably adjusted the first half of the film. So it wasn't quite so shocking. Out of left field there was friend of mine just like three days ago I asked her if she'd seen it, too. Oh, no. No, I don't do horror. I'm like. but it's Gremlins. No, no. Horror. Right. And like. But yeah, but she was already, back offish or Squeamish about it. and so there's a different gauge of terror that strikes people, from the more family friendly versions to, Texas Chainsaw Massacre or whatever. But it's, hard to really know what's going to trigger people, I would have probably just amped up the dark humor of it. The twisted ness of it I really like, but I think it was just people weren't expecting it, Yeah, that makes sense. I can imagine maybe especially depending on how I'm sure there was it was presented with an element of like monsters rising, but there was depending on how it was kind of like originally marketed. And there's a definite, you know, an emotional and more heartfelt nature. So I could see maybe originally thinking it's going to be more like, oh, though there's, you know, monsters and a threat, but there's but overall, it's going to be like a sweet Christmas film or something. And then, getting this. Yeah, even, it's been a little while since I've seen it, you know, I've seen it as an adult, but, you know, it's been at least a few years. And even knowing what it was, there was some moments that I was like, oh, wow, I forgot, like how? Like dark and bleak this is. And not even just with the kind of attack moments, but even like, there's mentions of suicide and, oh wow. Yeah, and murder and things like that, and even separate from the Gremlins and the mogwai, like, just as, oh, this, you know, your Christmas is like this, mine is like this. And, yeah, I did. I appreciate how the film represented the kind of varying sentiments about the holidays and how joy and personal tragedy can be equally present, and gave us both the viewpoints of the carefree, intrinsically happy during the holidays and the acknowledgment that Christmas can be a difficult time for many, tying into loss and depression, giving us quite a dark, tragic Christmas backstory. This is rather bold for a film meant to be semi kid friendly, but it's moments like these that make it a more authentic holiday entry that ages well, standing out from the more generic, cookie cutter sentiments many Christmas movies hold. So again, I think it might I guess depends on preference. Maybe not the biggest Christmas fan in general. Like I can appreciate, I don't know. For me it was like a good balance. Just, my personality as a whole, because I have, like, the big hearted, whimsical side. But I also have like where I just gravitate towards dark, gleeful things and just there are just so many fun moments. And I liked the brutality. I liked that, kind of portraying it was like enough of a Christmas spirit without feeling like your typical Christmas movie. And there was it was a good kind of balance, I think, of those two sides of the more innocence and bleak and dark for me. I always thought there was something kind of tragic, even heartbreaking, in the fact that all the other gremlins, as evil as they may be, were nonetheless the literal children of gizmo, who was apparently male. Yet he really feels no parental or protective care for any of them. Instead, he actively works toward their control and even celebrates their all out destruction. In a detached, though good willed way. I almost that's fair and valid. I almost view it as more of like a Jekyll and Hyde or just that, even that, like you all have the potential of, like a monster within you. Almost like two parts of the same being. And he's just the, the, the pure hearted innocence, nice to their naughty, chaotic nature. So I almost you know what? Even though they're different beings, I kind of view them as one being and just different halves of a whole. Well, due to their violence and gore, Gremlins, along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, led to the birth of the PG 13 rating that year, which stands between PG and R. Gremlins manages to balance its many seemingly opposing counterparts that heighten the appeal, giving us dashes of both family friendly and pure hearted as well as the darkly tongue in cheek comedic edge, suggestive tone, and even many brutal escalations. Even our star creature in this creature feature is one that embodies the potential for such opposition the adorable, big hearted, innocent gizmo and the chaos and mischief fueled violent creatures that break out of him. If rules aren't followed, both versions of this creature and numerous empower the film, pulling at our heartstrings and our fascination. While most of the moments with the gremlins rocking the halls are fun filled by nature, the film manages to hold on to compelling tension, most notably when Billy's mother first feels the presence of the mischievous creatures. There is a lurking, haunting presence, putting her more on guard and ready to face down her foe. The suspense becomes more biting as it builds, creating fear and giving this a vicious yet dazzling showdown. It's a very fun film, but it offers enough substance, heart and genuine tension to not merely be a cheesy, fun, but forgettable holiday horror film something even many enjoyable entries fall victim to. Despite being clearly themed as a Christmas movie, Gremlins was curiously released on June 8th, 1984. I presume this was to take advantage of any summer blockbuster potential, which it certainly did. At the same time, though, Christmas is also a popular and successful release date for films. Regardless, Gremlins earned $154 million worldwide against a budget of just 11 million, and Rotten Tomatoes Gremlins holds an 86% critic score and 78% audience score. That's kind of crazy. It wasn't really released in the summer. Missed opportunity. But yeah, maybe they didn't think it was. It would hold up enough as a Christmas film, depending on, you know, if more traditional holiday fare, I guess, was coming out that year. Yeah, and I didn't check, but maybe there's something else coming out, Christmas that year that they didn't want to compete against. In 1996, years after Gremlins Gremlins two, The New Batch hit theaters and bombed hard, earning only 41.5 million against a $50 million production budget, it had nearly four times the budget of the original, yet suffered from a script that was one fourth. The quality not written by Chris Columbus, Gremlins two was penned by Charles S has instead, according to IMDb quote, the Gremlins are back and this time they've taken control of a New York City media moguls, high tech skyscraper unquote. Perhaps closer to Gremlins meets Die Hard, the story has zero heart and completely misses the mark on what made the first film so successful. It doesn't even take place during the holidays. It also went the safer route, with no one actually dying, and was much tamer in the blood and guts department. Yet on Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 71% critic score and 59% audience score, both shockingly higher than it deserves, in my view, Yeah, I haven't, it's probably been a few years since I've rewatched it, but I, I remember appreciate it a lot and just for again, kind of what we, had said was the intent of just kind of poking fun at itself and kind of ripping apart, okay, if, you know, these are the rules and almost tearing those apart and like, if you if the Gremlin eat something just before midnight, but there's like a little bit of something stuck in the teeth, like, what is this chaos that's going to erupt? So I think it definitely dug more into the chaos and just almost like mocking the original in some way. So I can see I think it was like mostly good spirited. But, again, I feel like it was, you know, Joe Dante coming from like the B-movie kind of background more. I think he wanted to kind of like tie more into that, and a lot of it just being our response to Hollywood greed and. Yeah, kind of utilizing that. But, again, has been a little while, so I would have to I do think the kind of emotional balance of the first one and having a lot of heart is one of the things that makes it really great. And I would have I think I could have enjoyed another version of that that was just pure maniacal chaos. But yeah, I'd have to probably go back to it and see, like, does that really, like take a lot away from it? But in the end, I feel like I, I respects Joe Dante just for being like, okay, this is who you really want me to make this movie, which he didn't really want to make and didn't. I thought the original really just didn't need a sequel, and that there was like, no reason to it. Then he I, he just kind of had fun with it and just kind of. Yeah, pushed, pushed all the angles and almost was. Kind of almost pushed back at Hollywood sequels and, you know, kind of greed for, you know, let's, let's make, let's continue this franchise just for the sake of making money, not because a story needs to be told. And in a way, he almost like. Kind of turned that on its back. I guess there was a bit of, subversion in that regard that he even describes in the commentary for the first two gremlins. And there were points such as it's always after midnight somewhere, that he reveled in addressing in this new film. And I respect that. And I think, I would have probably done something similar, but, beyond that, there was little point to making it if you didn't, have a good script. are same leads from the first film, Bill and Kate, which, by the way, are played by Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates take a backseat here to the nonstop goofball shenanigans of our new batch of Gremlins popping up only occasionally to remind us that they still exist. Even gizmo is barely seen between what is essentially a long series of pointless, unfunny gags that go nowhere and fail to serve what story there is Featuring one incredibly idiotic and annoying character after another being more caricatures than characters, the cast and creatures try way too hard to be comical, to the point of groan inducing cringe that there are nearly 22 minutes of outtakes on the DVD. It's also not a good sign. After six years of development and with the same executive producers of Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, that's what they greenlit. And in addition to for axing the budget, retaining its original composer, Jerry Goldsmith, and cast makeup effects legend Rick Baker was also brought in and took the creature work to another level. Yet all this goes to show that without a good script, your film will still always suck, despite whatever resources you throw at it. Yeah, I'll give it. I'll give it another rewatch. I nearly did, but I'm like, oh, it's not Christmas related. Let's just focus on this one. But yeah, especially if I am going to go more into the lore with the, prequel, it would be fitting to, I guess, complete the journey. And definitely if this whenever this third one comes out, you know, gotta although the is very possible the third one might disregard the second from from what I hear, Chris Columbus didn't particularly like Gremlins two either, Well, I want you to see it so that you, you will hate it as much as me, and then I'll feel better. But so fair points, but I just genuinely get so much joy from the Gremlins and their antics. Yeah, relate to that. I mean, I'm just like, is this glorious? So even if it's like, not as nuanced, you know, emotional storytelling and as much of that balance, which I think did make the first great, I'll probably still enjoy it, but we'll see. We'll see. This is coming from the one who liked, the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, which, I don't know. I think we have different spirit animals. Sometimes it's like. And I can't really knock you for liking something that I don't, but I don't know, there's some sort of a, a divergence we have in very, Unpredictable kind of ways, which makes us unique. Yeah. But I still think you're wrong, and I'm right. Because of the tonal balance the film achieves, especially among the comedy heart and Terror, Gremlins is enjoyable for a younger audience and holds that nostalgia into adulthood. If you were to watch this film for the first time as an adult, especially if you have an appreciation for monsters and dark comedy, you may love this film just as fiercely as someone who grew up with it, as there is definitely more adult and theme here than that of your typical childhood tale. Gremlins brings an idyllic mastery of horror comedy with just enough heart and holiday homage to become a beloved holiday horror entry. Among this, its still holds the creature feature story within it in higher regard. Rather than limiting itself to exclusively being a Christmas movie. This is all happening around Christmas, and there are many tie ins playing with innocence and darkness, mischief and merriment. The Mogwai and Gremlins representing the tie between nice and naughty well, making them a fitting subject for a holiday horror tale. The film wonderfully twists holiday festivities within this creature feature in a darkly fun way, but the Mogwai and their chaotic counterparts don't truly have ties to Christmas. It nails the balance of being a Christmas movie and still being its own beast. Gremlins as endearing and whimsical, suspenseful and frightful, making it an ideal pick for horror fans. Young and old, craving a unique and darkly delightful holiday horror tale. And really, it's an all around well done, immensely enjoyable film worth watching any time of the year. If you would like to join our Society of Grotesquerie and Loathing, subscribe now and give this podcast a like and be sure to comment your wretched thoughts below. Keep our podcast suffering on by finding it in your cold, black, withered hearts. To support us on Patreon. A link to our PayPal is also below. For one time, donations of any amount. It was nice knowing you. And happy holidays to you and yours during this most joy. If I knew that would disintegrate card at me, I'm like, oh, there's more. Okay, holiday edition. Once more with feeling. It was nice knowing you. And happy holidays to you and yours during this most joyous of seasons. It was the joyest of seasons that got me.