There is an inner hope that everyone who has seen “Gremlins” knows how great it is and that this article is merely a formality. Since you already know Gizmo the Mogwai, Stripe the Gremlin, and of course Billy (Zach Galligan, “Waxwork”) and his oh-so-very morbid girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates, “Fast Times At Ridgemont High) this should just be rehashing. For those who haven’t seen this absolutely chaotic and hilarious film, it’s playing Saturday as part of the Midnight Movie double feature and is worth every second of its 106 minutes.
Billy is an aspiring artist who works at the local bank in the scenic town of Kingston Falls. Of course, there have to be subplots to add more meat to the story, including Kate’s hatred for Christmas and the town spinster, who only exists to make everyone else miserable.
When Billy’s inventor father comes home, he brings him a gift in the form of a lovable Mogwai named Gizmo. Gizmo is cute, cuddly, and can sing songs that beg to be in a commercial selling long distance phone service. With all things cute and cuddly, there always has to be a catch, and with Gizmo, there is no exception.
Three rules have to be followed for Billy to maintain a healthy, happy existence with Gizmo: Keep the Mogwai out of sunlight, don’t get him wet, and never feed him after midnight. Of course, he breaks them all the first day.
At first, the changes seem minimal, and nothing too harmful comes from the beginning stages. But once you feed those furry things fried chicken, all hell breaks loose, and the viewer beholds one of the greatest horror/comedy films of all time.
Director Joe Dante, who was also behind the under-appreciated Universal Studios flick “The Burbs,” doesn’t get lost in the details by making the gremlins overly scary. Although there is a small body count to this film, the gremlins always come off as just dumb fun. The bar scene in particular shows this off by giving the many gremlins varied costumes and personalities to boot.
What is it about the camera work, the script from future wizard alumni Chris Columbus or it being executive produced by Hollywood baron Steven Spielberg? The answer is simple — who cares? Before you might’ve taken that class in film studies, watched a few films by foreign directors with the bad subtitles, and finally realized just what all those camera shots really meant, you probably enjoyed just about every movie out there.
Watch for the cameos in this film (some rather famous directors like Spielberg and George Lucas), the catchy tunes that you’ll be humming later, or the picks on “E.T.”
“Gremlins” doesn’t have engaging dialogue, awesome special effects, or beautifully acted scenes that tug at the heartstrings. This movie is what a great popcorn flick should be — a great time.
“Gremlins” plays at 10 p.m. in the lobby of Union South. It is part of a double feature with “Edward Scissorhands.”
