Gremlins
Directed by Joe Dante. US. 1984. PG. Running time: 106 min.
Sponsored by Iron Hill Brewery “Never expose them to bright light. Sunlight will kill them. Never get them wet, trust me on that. The one thing that you must never, ever do is feed them after midnight. Gremlins (1984) is Joe Dante (director), Chris Columbus (writer) and Steve Spielberg’s (producers) send up of the great horror films of the fifties mixed with Christmas cheer. Billy (Zach Galligan) receives an unusual pet from his father for Christmas, a Mogwai named Gizmo. He’s cute, funny and lovable. Unfortunately for Billy and Gizmo fate steps in and unleashes the horror that Gizmo conceals under his cute smile. The perfect treat for those that love a bit of horror mixed with their holiday. Catch the trailer here. (Bob Trate)“Gremlins was hailed as another E.T. It’s not. It’s in a different tradition. At the level of Serious Film Criticism, it’s a meditation on the myths in our movies: Christmas, families, monsters, retail stores, movies, boogeymen. At the level of Pop Moviegoing, it’s a sophisticated, witty B movie, in which the monsters are devouring not only the defenseless town, but decades of defenseless clichés. But don’t go if you still believe in Santa Claus.” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times)