12 Days of Christmas; Movie Blog Style.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Gremlins (1984)
I know what you might be saying “this isn’t a Christmas movie” but on the contrary my friends, Gremlins is set during the Christmas Holiday. Even the opening song introduced by Rock’n Ricky Rialto was “Happy Christmas”.
The movie was produced by Steven Spielberg and stars Zach Galligan, the cute as hell Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman and we can’t leave out Judge Reinhold. I especially like Zach’s performance as Billy, his work in Gremlins launched his career to new heights, landing him roles in movies like Waxwork and Waxwork II -I hope you sense the sarcasm in that-.
Billy is given an early Christmas gift from his not so talented inventor father (played by Hoyt Axton). This gift is a new pet. A strange creature that no one has seen before, a Maguai named Gizmo (Voice performed by Howie Mandel). Gizmo is a very sweet character, but in order to keep him that way you have to follow the three rules. One: keep them out of bright lights, especially sunlight, that can kill. Two: never get him wet. Three: and this is the most important rule of them all, never, and I mean never, feed him after midnight.
As you can guess Qizmo gets wet, which makes him multiply. Now there are a group of Maguai or the “Peltzer Pet” running around the house. These devilishly mischief prone offspring find away to eat after midnight, which in turn, turns them into Gremlins.
Once the Gremlins hit the scene, the leader Spike creates an army of monstrous trouble makers and they terrorize the people of this small town -I can’t remember the name of the town-. Since it’s the Holidays, this scare is intensified. And seeing Gremlins dressed up as Christmas carolers out side Mrs. Deagle’s house is really funny.
A few of my favorite moments in Gremlins are, the bar scene with Phoebe Cates, the Chrismas Carolers and in the movie theater watching Snow White.
Not exactly cinema, but an entertaining movie none the less. Remember all the merchandising and swag that was pumped out during this movie. I for one had a Gizmo doll and a few other things.
So if you’re in the mood for a little Christmas fright and laughter, check out Gremlins. It’s not the greatest movie ever made, but at least it’s better than the sequel.
Of Course Gremlins is a Christmas movie! Who would think otherwise?? This was the 2nd DVD I ever bought, almost 8 years ago. The only place I could find it was downtown Toronto, for $45.
I should have The Last Word of Gremlins posted pretty soon at http://cuethecredits.blogspot.com
Martini
I enjoyed Gremlins yes! A good friend had to describe somebody’s bf as gremlin-looking and we always get a laugh out of that. There’s always this reference in that movie which Brad already mentioned about Qizmo getting wet. So when my friends and I go out and its raining, we tease each other saying “uh-oh, we have no umbrellas, we will all multiply and wreak havoc everywhere”. I find it endearing when you remember that about a film.
Hey Meli, how are ya girl?
The point of these flashback posts is to revisit some of the movies that we’ve seen in the past. We post reviews on new movies all the time but what about older ones that some may have not seen or starting up conversations about these older films.
Plus it’s fun.
Thank you! I’ve been trying to tell people for years that this is a Christmas movie. At least someone agrees.
What’s the point of these Flashback posts?
GREAT movie. Simple as that.
I love Gremlins! I still remember the first time I saw it…my dad was nice enough to drop myself and two younger brothers off at the movie theater, unknowing to my mom, who would not have let us see this movie! My youngest brother (4 at the time) fell asleep but my other brother and I watched it wided-eyed and thrilled! I still have to watch it every year and sometimes wonder how I didn’t walk out of the theater scared (I was a chicken back then.)