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Gremlins (1984)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
8 June 1984 (USA) moreTagline:
Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous. morePlot:
A boy inadvertantly breaks 3 important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
7 wins & 5 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(116 articles)
Paramount Picks Up Gremlins Wanna-Be Jitters (From FilmJunk. 2 November 2009, 9:33 AM, PST)
Feldman 'Squeamish' Despite Horror Acting
(From WENN. 1 November 2009, 5:46 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Silly but fun horror movie for teens with a mean streak running alongside the cartoon violence more (186 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Hoyt Axton | ... | Randall Peltzer | |
| John Louie | ... | Chinese Boy | |
| Keye Luke | ... | Grandfather (Mr. Wing) | |
| Don Steele | ... | Rockin' Ricky Rialto (voice) | |
| Susan Burgess | ... | Little Girl | |
| Scott Brady | ... | Sheriff Frank | |
| Arnie Moore | ... | Alex | |
| Corey Feldman | ... | Pete Fountaine | |
| Harry Carey Jr. | ... | Mr. Anderson | |
| Zach Galligan | ... | Billy Peltzer | |
| Dick Miller | ... | Murray Futterman | |
| Phoebe Cates | ... | Kate Beringer | |
| Polly Holliday | ... | Ruby Deagle | |
| Donald Elson | ... | Man on Street | |
| Belinda Balaski | ... | Mrs. Joe Harris |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
106 minCountry:
USAColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreCertification:
Finland:K-15 | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Ireland:15 | UK:15 | Netherlands:12 (DVD version) | South Korea:All | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16Filming Locations:
Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA moreFun Stuff
Trivia:
According to Joe Dante and Michael Finnell, the original rough cut of the film ran 2 hours and 40 minutes. moreGoofs:
Continuity: After Billy accidentally squirts the shaving cream at his father's face, Mr. Peltzer tries to clean himself off. In the next shot, his face is completely clean, but his chest is covered in it. moreQuotes:
Ruby Deagle: I want your dog.Billy Peltzer: Barney?
Ruby Deagle: Give him to me. I'll take him to the kennel, they'll put him to sleep. It will be quick and painless compared to what I would do to him.
Billy Peltzer: What could you do?
Ruby Deagle: I'll catch the beast myself. He'll get what he deserves, a slow painful death.Maybe I'll put him in my spin-drier on high heat.
Mr. Anderson: That would do it all right!
[Barney then jumps from the bank counter and smashes Mrs Deagle's snowman head and starts barking at her]
more
Soundtrack:
GREMLINS...MEGA-MADNESS moreFAQ
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?From which mythology do gremlins come?
Why are there no female gremlins?
more
more (186 total)
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Billy's dad is an inventor and is always looking for cool presents for this son. So just before Christmas, when he finds a strange creature called a mogwai in a dark shop in Chinatown, he just has to have it despite the refusal of the owner. The rules for looking after the mogwai (who they rename Gizmo) are simple but an accident sees some water spilt on him, causing a handful more to reproduce from this one. Billy notices a difference between Gizmo and these new creatures but the full extent of the difference isn't clear until he mistakenly breaks the rule on feeding times and a whole new creature emerges.
Criminally screened in the middle of the afternoon by Channel 4 recently (they edited out anything unsuitable for a daytime audience) this film is a lot of fun on many levels. At the start the film exists within an all-American small town with snow on the streets, a sense of community and white picket fences everywhere. It is a world that perhaps owes more to Spielberg more than director Dante but it is a world that the latter takes great pleasure in perverting once the film gets going in earnest. The plot is simple and straightforward, mostly relying on the build-to and delivery of the gremlins' antics and the attempts to stop them. In doing so it produces a great fun horror for older teens and adults. It funnier more than scary but it still manages to do the latter well enough to do the job for the younger element of the audience.
The manic humour in the "horror" is well done and it produces great energy throughout. For adults there is another element in the usual referencing from Dante. It is occasionally clumsy here but mostly it is unobtrusive and funny Dante never seems to let the film main get away from him and keeps the dark tone going even when his action is a bit silly. The cast are very much secondary to the creatures and their antics (whether it be the cute Gizmo or the much more fun gremlins) and their performances reflect this. Galligan is average while Cates is quite nondescript. Support is OK from the likes of Axton, Feldman and Miller but mostly they are all second fiddle to the creatures.
Overall though this is an enjoyable horror movie for younger audiences. It is very, very slightly scary as instead it is darkly funny during the violence. It is engaging even if it gets silly at times and the material is strong enough for an adult audience while also providing lots of film references for those that get them.