Gremlins

The mid 1980s were a funny time and for anyone who grew up during that period, you would remember the film Gremlins very well. There was a lot of hype surrounding this movie and I have very strong memories of gathering in the hall of my primary school to watch the movie with entire school. The only other time I can remember this happening was when Return of the Jedi was released.

The fact that our teachers unwittingly unleashed this black comedy/horror on a group of impressionable young kids showed just how clever the marketing surrounding this movie was. After all, how could anything produced by Steven Spielberg, written by Chris Columbus and starring an adorable furry little puppet named Gizmo be scary?

From the outset, Gremlins has a dark undercurrent that was popular with other films of the time. Ghostbusters was a classic example of combining comedy with horror elements and raking in box-office dollars, so it was no surprise that other studios followed this formula.

The legend of Gremlins was part of the public consciousness well before I saw the movie. Don't expose them to bright light, don't let them get wet and never, ever, no matter how much they beg, feed them after midnight. Naturally all these things happen to Gizmo who is a last minute Christmas present for the geeky but loveable hero of the story Billy Peltzer played by Zach Galligan (remember him? probably not since his biggest hit after Gremlins was Cyborg 3: The Recycler!)

The effects of breaking the rules of the Mogwai has very entertaining after effects as the Gremlins make their long-awaited appearance. Once Spike and his gang of fun loving goons start to run rampant, the movie really starts to take off.

The fact that the death and destruction caused by the Gremlins takes place on Christmas Eve makes the black comedy even more macabre and this really is a movie of contrasts. Funny moments are followed by sombre stories of childhood tragedy (I'm still scarred by Phoebe Cates describing how her father died while pretending to be Santa). Cute sequences are followed by graphic, but not realistic, violence. Yet somehow, the combinations make for a truly memorable and entertaining movie.

Despite the cute packaging and the fact that I don't think it had too much of an effect on me, I don't think this is one for the young kids, but it is a great popcorn movie for people my age who want to relive their childhood. And let's face it, among the endless wave of CGI that abounds in films these days, there's something reassuring and wonderful about watching puppets in action... even if they are exploding in the microwave.