Gremlins
Gremlins is a darkly comic
American horror movie directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984. It is about
a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns
other creatures who transform into small, destructive monsters. This story was
continued with a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, released in 1990. Unlike the
lighter sequel, the original Gremlins opts for more black comedy, which is balanced
against a Christmas-time setting. Both films were the center of large merchandising
campaigns.
Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer, with the screenplay written by Chris Columbus. The film stars Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo. The actors had to work alongside numerous puppets, as puppetry was the main form of special effects used to portray Gizmo and the gremlins.
Gremlins was a commercial success and received positive feedback from critics. However, the film has also been heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. Critics alleged these scenes made the film inappropriate for younger audiences who could be admitted into theatres under its PG rating. In response to this and to similar complaints about other films, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) reformed its rating system within two months of its release.
Cast
Zach Galligan - Billy Peltzer
Phoebe Cates - Kate Beringer
Corey Feldman - Pete Fountaine
Hoyt Axton
- Randall Peltzer
Frances Lee McCain - Lynn Peltzer
Dick Miller - Murray
Futterman
Jackie Joseph - Sheila Futterman
Keye Luke -Mr. Wing (credited
as "Grandfather", as the character's name is not revealed until the
sequel)
Don Steele - the voice of disc jockey Rockin' Ricky Rialto
Scott
Brady (in his final film) - Sheriff Frank
Jonathan Banks - Deputy Brent
Harry
Carey, Jr. - Mr. Anderson
Polly Holliday - Ruby Deagle
Belinda Balaski
- Mrs. Harris, with her hungry child
Edward Andrews (in his final film) -
Roland Corben, bank manager and Billy's boss
Judge Reinhold as Gerald Hopkins,
Mr. Corben's obsequious adjunct
Chuck Jones-Mr. Jones
Glynn Turman - Roy
Hanson, science teacher
Howie Mandel - the voice of Gizmo
Frank Welker
- the voice of Stripe and most of the other Mogwai and Gremlins
Uncredited:
Robby
the Robot at the inventor's stage
William Schallert - Father Bartlett
Steven
Spielberg in a futuristic wheelchair at the inventor's convention
Kenneth
Tobey - the gas station attendant who buys Randall's ashtray
Jerry Goldsmith
wearing a cowboy hat and making a phone call at the inventor's convention
The
character Randall "Rand" Peltzer is an inventor of modest abilities
and questionable success. From the fictional community of Kingston Falls, he travels
to Chinatown in New York City to sell his inventions and pick up a present for
his son Billy. A young Chinese boy takes Rand to his grandfather's small shop,
where Rand takes interest in a small, cute, furry creature called a mogwai (which
in Cantonese translates literally as "evil spirit"). Mr. Wing, the Chinese
boy's grandfather and owner of the shop, refuses to sell the Mogwai even when
Rand offers US$200 for it. This is money that the Wing family desperately needs,
however; therefore Wing's grandson secretly sells the mogwai to Rand. Though the
creature seems innocent enough, the grandson warns Rand that one must take certain
precautions regarding it. Specifically, one must not let the mogwai near bright
light, especially sunlight, which can kill the Mogwai; one must not get water
on the mogwai; and, most importantly, one must never feed the creature after midnight.
Rand names the creature "Gizmo" and brings him home to his son. Billy is a young man who has taken up a job at the bank to make ends meet for his parents, with whom he still lives. He has a dog called Barney whose mischievousness makes both him and Billy the target of harassment from Ruby Deagle, an elderly woman with much financial influence. Billy's coworker and love interest Kate Beringer is also a local bartender; she sees directly the misery in the town caused by Mrs. Deagle's business practices.
Billy is fascinated with Gizmo, who is highly intelligent, can hum a tune, and proves to be a very gentle and well-behaved creature. Unfortunately, Billy's friend, Pete Fountaine, accidentally spills water on Gizmo. This causes Gizmo to go into convulsions and instantly multiply, spawning five new mogwai in a process that appears painful to him. The new mogwai are much more aggressive than Gizmo. They are led by the Mogwai Stripe, who has a white mohawk-like hairstyle. Billy brings one to science teacher Roy Hanson, who aggravates the Mogwai by injecting a needle for a blood test. Ignoring Billy's cautions, Roy leaves food out, which the mogwai promptly steals and eats after midnight.
Eventually, the rest of the new Mogwai trick Billy into feeding them after midnight by stopping his alarm clock. All the creatures, except Gizmo, who was wise enough not to accept the food, soon form cocoons. While Billy is at the bank, the cocoons hatch, and the Mogwai emerge, having transformed into gremlins having big ears and dark green, reptilian skin. Billy travels to the school to find Roy, only to find him killed by the gremlins. Billy is injured and races to call his mother to tell her to get out of the house. Billy's mother Lynn is now alone with the gremlins, and comes into conflict with them. She manages to kill three, using household tools improvised as weapons. While she is being strangled by the next gremlin, Billy arrives and saves her by decapitating it with an ornamental sword. The only remaining gremlin left in the house is Stripe, who escapes. Billy tracks him down to the local YMCA, but the creature escapes once more by jumping into a swimming pool. This causes an incredible multiplication of gremlins.
Billy then takes Gizmo to Dorry's Tavern to recover Kate, who has been bartending that night. The gremlins have taken over the tavern, behaving in an exceedingly vulgar fashion, and force Kate to serve them. She eventually discovers they are frightened by light when she attempts to light one's cigarette. She then knocks down several through flash photography, and is reunited with Billy. The two seek shelter in the bank while the gremlins wreak havoc upon Kingston Falls. Notably, the creatures kill Mrs. Deagle by launching her through a window, and nearly kill a married couple called the Futtermans by driving a snowplow through their door. When Billy, Kate, and Gizmo re-emerge, they find the gremlins are gone. Billy and Kate track them down to the local theatre, where they are all happily watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Billy manages to blow up the theatre; all the gremlins burn to death except Stripe, who had left briefly.
Billy pursues Stripe through a department store; Stripe escapes and reaches a water fountain. By this time it is morning; Gizmo, having escaped notice of the human characters, opens a window blind and exposes Stripe to sunlight, destroying him.
At the end of the film, Mr. Wing returns to collect Gizmo to prevent any recurrence of trouble. Mr. Wing observes that while Western society is not ready to properly care for a mogwai, Billy may one day be ready.
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