Welcome to my corner! Last week, I shared my thoughts about the films The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland and The Muppet Christmas Carol. This week, I'll be reviewing the film, Gremlins. Enjoy!
Gremlins
Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Francis Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions - "gremlins" - in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows young man Billy Peltzer, who receives a strange creature as a pet, which then spawns other creatures that transform into aggressive and imp-like monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's hometown during Christmas Eve.
Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer, with the film being produced by Michael Finnell. Gremlins was theatrically released on June 8, 1984 by Warner Bros. to critical and commercial success. However, it was heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. In response to this and to similar complaints about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) alter its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating.
First of all, I didn't realize Gremlins brought forth the PG-13 movie rating. That's a pretty cool fact.
I've always liked this movie, even though certain scenes really scared the crap out of me. There was one scene in particular that scared me the most, and I would always close my eyes during it. The scene I'm speaking of is the one in which one of the mogwai (the ones Gizmo... birthed?) kills the high school teacher.
It's not a gory scene by any means, but I think it scared me because the teacher sticks his hand in the mogwai's cage to feed him and instead of eating the snack, the mogwai decides to chomp on the teacher. Billy and his little buddy do find the teacher's body with a syringe sticking out of his buttcheek, suggesting that he wasn't eaten alive or anything, and there wasn't even any blood, but it the scene still scared me the most as a child.
Now that I'm older, and enjoy darker things, I can say I really love Gremlins. I watch it every year, at least once. Sometimes I watch it for both Halloween and Christmas, because like The Nightmare Before Christmas, it just goes with both. (Another movie I love.)
Kate's (Phoebe Cates) I hate Christmas backstory is a little much, but they don't focus it on it too much, so it doesn't ruin the movie overall. Other than that, the acting was good. I always forget that Howie Mandel provides the voice for Gizmo. Such a cute, lovable voice!
I also love the soundtrack, especially "The Gremlin Rag" the theme song, which the credits roll to. It's so upbeat but also creepy to match the horror theme of the movie.
But by far, the BEST part of the movie are Gizmo and the gremlins. Not only are they great characters, but I also appreciate that they're practical effects, (puppets and models) rather than animated. At the time this movie was made, it wasn't really feasible to use computer generated imagery (CGI) for such prominent figures in a movie. It would've looked horrible.
IF this movie had been made today, there's no doubt Gizmo and the gremlins would've been CGI, but I don't think it would've worked in the same way. Personally, I hate the overuse of CGI in movies. The look of a movie depends very much on its budget, and CGI ain't cheap. There are loads and loads of movies with CGI that doesn't look good, and you can thank the budget for that, or lack of technology.
There's a reason why the first fully CGI animated film was Toy Story (1995), because the technology wasn't good enough yet to make things look more real. The main characters of Toy Story, are obviously the toys. It's fine if they look plastic-y and weird. But have you seen the human models in that movie? Woof. No wonder they didn't get much screen time.
Anyway, my point is that Gizmo and the gremlins would've looked uglier in CGI, and not in a good way. I honestly don't know what the cost difference would be for CGI vs. practical effects, but I think practical effects, but I think practical effects, but I think practical effects are MUCH better than CGI.
CGI just makes everything feel more artificial. I don't mind it in small doses, obviously everything can't be done practically, but I say if you can do it practically than go for it. I feel like there's an over-reliance on CGI in movies nowadays, and sometimes it's painfully obvious. I know not everyone is affected by such things, but seeing so much CGI used in one movie (especially if it's bad CGI) it just hurts my eyes.
Now that I'm done ragging on CGI, my final thought is that you should go watch this movie, because it's great!
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
