Gremlins (DVD)

When I look back at the movies of my childhood, I can't help but think that some of them were really damn stupid. Take Gremlins, which, today, I watched for the first time in well over 5 years. When I finally get to the plot part of this review, I'm sure many people will scratch their heads, pondering exactly how anyone over the age of 10 could find such a movie realistic. Yet, I guess it's to the movie, and director Joe Dante, who's work is usually looked upon with favour by me, credit that it manages to take such a ridiculous premise, one that really deserves to be no more than a schlocky B-Movie, and makes it work to the extent where I actually regard the film as a ...  Read the complete review

A review of the film - a DVD costs £5 from amazon, although better value is a double-pack including Gremlins 2 for just £6. This is a fantastic horror comedy from 1984. It's my all-time favourite Christmas movie; I can't think of anything that gets me in the Christmas mood better than Gremlins. It's not heartwarming in the slightest, and there's certainly no community pulling together to overcome adversary. Instead it's just anarchic comedy that's aged pretty well. A failed inventor buys a mysterious, cute little creature called a mogwai as a present for his son, Billy. Billy works in a bank, and is wooing the lovely Kate. There are some fairy-tale ...  Read the complete review

Released back in 1984, the Spielberg-produced gremlins is a cartoonish yet supisingly dark horror comedy set at Christmas-time. Central protagonist Billy recieves a mogwai -a strange and incredibly cute furry little creature- from his father as a gift after buying it from a Chinese Curio shop that specialises in the odd and the mysterious. All is going well, until Billy breaks the rules he was sworn to follow when he was given Mogwai (which he names Gizmo) by shop-owner Mr Wing; Do not feed him after midnight and do not allow him to get wet. When Billy's friend accidentally spills some water onto Mogwai he spawns five other little mogwais, who though initially ...  Read the complete review

Gremlins is one of the quintessential comedy horror films of all time - it is not as kid-friendly as you might expect, boasting some pretty dark and grim moments, but it is undeniably funny, and boasts some fantastic special effects, as well as creating an icon of its furry protagonist, the Mogwai named Gizmo. Gremlins concerns a young man named Billy (Zach Galligan) who receives an odd gift from his father (Hoyt Axton) - an odd creature called a Mogwai, a furry little ball with slightly human characteristics (that very clearly inspired the Furby range of toys), which they name Gizmo, and keep as a pet. However, there are three rules that one must abide by - ...  Read the complete review

What’s it about? --------------------- A young boy’s new pet causes havoc when it spawns an army of destructive little green monsters. Who’s in it? ------------------ This is really one of those movies where the cast doesn’t really matter, as they will always be outdone by the Gremlins themselves! For the record, though, Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates prove bland, but competent leads as Billy and Kate respectively. The best human performances probably come from Hoyt Axel as eccentric inventor Randall Peltzer and Dick Miller as Murray Futterman. Although both only have limited screen time, they make the most of it, clearly having fun with ...  Read the complete review