Gremlins my Christmas movie.

over 1 year ago

Gremlins is a 1984 film directed by Joe Dante, produced by Steven Spielberg with screenplay by Chris Columbus and music by Jerry Goldsmith, all heavyweights in their section in the Hollywood of the 80s.

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The film opens as a story, with a father searching for a gift for his son in Chinatown, and buys a strange animal (a mogwai named Gizmo) from a Chinese antique dealer. Following the narrative we move on to the small town of Kingston Falls, a paradisiacal village that will soon suffer a Christmas catastrophe.

The town is home to young Billy and Kate, two bank clerks who can't quite make up their minds about dating.

Billy, the human protagonist of the film, receives the friendly Gizmo with affection, but with a lot of irresponsibility when he fails to comply with the three basic rules to take care of him: do not feed him in the early morning, do not wet him and avoid exposing him to sunlight.

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As a result of breaking the rules Gizmo unbends and gives birth to the messy and terrible Gremlins, turning everything into absolute chaos.

Billy and Kate here represent the non-corrupt youth, Billy's father is more of a dreamer and also works as an inventor who travels in search of investors and buyers for his peculiar artifacts.

Along the way, the local oligarchy appears, eager to evict families and murder pets. This oligarchy is represented by Mrs. Deagle, an old woman who owns a lot of property in town, is a mean and manipulative person, who is not going to fare very well with these creatures.

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In addition, we can appreciate a satire of the exclusionary side of closed communities, in the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Futterman represented in the delirious xenophobia of Mr. Futterman.

At first we witness a family film, but then it begins to change genre with hints of teenage horror, aggressive behavior, black humor and a touch of subversion, an explosive mix.

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Behind this story of rampage and destruction between humans, Gizmo and the Gremlins, one can read between the lines a reflection on responsibility. There is a loving look at pets, especially at Christmas time, when they go from being pets to being something like an abandoned object.

There is a very mournful scene in the film in which the protagonist's girlfriend tells him that his father died stuck in the chimney, disguised as Santa Claus.

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Paying attention to this dialogue would scare anyone, it is a sinister touch where the viewer gets to realize why Kate hates Christmas.

It is a very cinematic homage to 1979's Alien directed by Ridley Scott:

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It is very impressive the scene in which Mrs. Peltzer (Billy's mother), confronts the Gremlins that are in her house.

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Among the Gremlins' mischief, there is a bulldozer attack on Mr. Futterman's house:

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It's quite hilarious the scene with these mischievous characters in the cinema watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

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And the climax of the movie with Gizmo at the mall is hilarious:

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All the creatures we see in the film were made with mechanical figures, what is commonly called animatronics, there are no digital effects on these beings.

It is a tremendously funny film, a film with comedy and horror, very entertaining and intelligent with a moral: With responsibility and care there will always be more Gizmos than Gremlins, in other words, behind animals or stray monsters, there is always the hand of man. Taking care of an animal is an act of enormous love and responsibility and the difference between a kindly pet and a fierce one lies in the way we humans treat it.

In the end, order returns in this film and the monsters are defeated. The deaths that are observed are typical of a cartoon.

The anarchy in the film seeks to demolish a facade of perfection, it conveys the idea of breaking the chains of social repression.

In the movie theater the spectators were enthusiastic and admired by the provocations of the Gremlins, the identification with that hurricane of destructive energy was perceived, it was like a collective catharsis, and by logic some at the end identify with the heroes of the film, especially with the tender Gizmo.

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As a personal and somewhat macabre anecdote, I can say that I went to see it with some fellow students in a cinema called Radio City and right in the scene where the Gremlins were in the cinema watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it was possible to observe that in front of them real rats flashed across the screen, and the audience yelled Gremlins, Gremlins! My friends and I ran out of the theater afraid that those animals would attack us. We had to see the movie another day, but in a theater that had better sanitation and cleanliness.

I have the film in Blu Ray format and it is a mandatory viewing at home at Christmas time. I like it for its black humor, its social criticism and its ability to transcend time, it is a film in which the passage of time is hardly noticeable and which also served as inspiration for other films that would handle a similar style by adding creatures weird and suspiciously similar to Gremlins.

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The main cast of the film consists of: Zach Galligan (Billy Peltzer), Phoebe Cates (Kate Beringer), Hoyt Axton (Rand Peltzer), Lee Mccain (Lynn Peltzer), Corey Feldman (Pete Fountaine), Dick Miller (Murray Futterman). Although the performances are nothing to write home about, each one of them presents a scene in which they manage to shine.

Additionally, it is noteworthy that there is a great sequel to the film, equally highly recommended with black humor and terror that would reach movie screens six years later.

I hope you enjoyed my post, Merry Christmas to all of you! Best regards.

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