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.
