Creatures that cause havoc in a town on Christmas Eve, no I’m not talking about last minute shoppers, I’m on about Gremlins (1984). Horror-comedy directed by Joe Dante about teenage boy Billy Peltzer who receives a creature for a pet called Mogwai. This then spawns little-evil monsters that run rampant in the town.
Gremlins while completely terrified me as a child, is a fine parody and satire of horror. It’s witty humour and at times slightly wicked action is so much fun to watch. The death scenes are vicious and cruel. Katie’s speech is a complete parody of classic horror films. The film has even been interpreted as showing the greed of Western civilisation.
The film garnered a lot of controversy for its PG rating due to the violence the film portrayed. This led to the MPAA creating a new rating. The good old PG-13 rating which we have come to know now. So we can thank Gizmo for that!
Overall, Gremlins (1984) while not your normal festive classic, brings a box full of laughs and some action that is a lot of fun. The comedy is dark and completely hilarious, cleverly parodying horror classics. It’s a must-watch for anyone – unless you’re with elderly relatives.
Words by Jake Morgan.
