Gremlins (1984)

 

Off-List: Gremlins

When I think of horror comedies, the first movie that always comes to mind is “Gremlins”. It was not the first by a long shot, but it managed to hit the balance exactly right. It is horrific enough to keep us in suspense throughout, and, at least as important, it is hilariously funny in that dark, gruesome way horror comedies are meant to be funny. On top of this, we get excellent production value by any standard. This is a movie that age very well indeed.

Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligans) is a young man who lives at home and works at the local bank in small town Kingston Falls. Billy’s father, Randall (Hoyt Axton), is an inventor of the more ridiculous kind as his technical marvels inevitably backfires. As a recurring feature of the movie, it is a constant source of comedy. While away on a business trip, Randall finds a strange but cute little creature, a mogwai, in a Chinese shop. Thinking this is the perfect Christmas gift, he brings it home to Billy.

The mogwai is super cute, but comes with three important rules: Keep it away from sunlight, do not get it wet and do not feed it after midnight. Such rules are of course meant to be broken...

Soon, the little mogwai has multiplied into a horde of not so cute gremlins. The gremlins look like gargoyles without wings and are like evil fairies. They are like mischievous, cunning cats or children and completely without scruples. The way they get a kick out of terrorizing people is both absolutely horrendous and hilariously funny. The stunt they pull on the (awful) Ms. Deagle (Polly Holliday) is typical: They (somehow) know she hates Christmas carols, so they line up a choir in front of her door, mutilating a Christmas song, while one of them sneaks inside to mess with her elevator. The double effect is freaking her out and sending her rocketing through her upper window.

Billy’s mother, Lynn (Frances Lee McCain) fights off the monster invasion in her home like an imitation of Ripley in “Alien” with spectacular kills, such as microwaving and blending gremlins. Still, the most amazing and crazy display is the party the gremlins are having in the bar where Billy’s girlfriend, Kate Beringer (Phoebe Cates), is forced to wait on them. It is both ridiculous, full of logical holes and immensely funny. The gremlins are going all out on all the vices we, as civilized beings, are supposed to refrain from and they are having immense fun doing it.

Billy and Kate have to fight off the invasion and that is of course fraught with danger and suspense, but throughout the highlights both in terms of horror and comedy belongs to the gremlins. They steal every scene they are in. It does not matter that they defy logic in everything they do because of the way they press that combination of fun and terror, timed exactly right. Think too much about it and the story collapses, this is a movie to enjoy for what it is.

“Gremlins” is a Halloween movie relocated to Christmas and as such works for both holidays. In our home, we watch it almost every Christmas as a season staple and we can quote most of the movie. I have a feeling we are not the only ones, and I would go so far as to consider “Gremlins” a true classic. That of course begs the question why this movie is not on the List? I have no other answer than the editors thought they had filled up their quota of blockbusters and comedies for 1984 already. It is also clear that critics at the time was not exactly won over by “Gremlins”, which is just their loss.

“Gremlins” is one of the best movies in an already amazing year and I cannot recommend it enough.