Gremlins (1984) Dir: Joe Dante
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Joe Dante's 1984 sci-fi classic is one of my favourite Christmas films, but one I don't watch as often as perhaps I should. It's been a couple of years since I have watched it, which was certainly something that needed changing. It's one of those films most will have at least heard of, thanks to its iconic creature characters.
The film is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, and the influence of Spielberg in particular can be felt hugely on the film. It really feels like one of his stories, in how magical it feels - like cinema, if you will. I should credit Dante a lot though, his direction certainly helps a lot.
The film has such a catchy main theme - it was legitimately stuck in my head for hours after watching it again. It mixes the Christmas vibes with a cheeky, mischievous sound that reflects the gremlins attitudes. Speaking of which, the puppetry and animatronic work for the gremlins themselves was superb. They really felt alive - practical effects like these will never not amaze me.
The film isn't perfect. Chiefly, there is some pretty dated dialogue, which is definitely of the time. Additionally, the film stereotypes the Chinese culture very poorly, which was honestly quite uncomfortable to watch through a modern lense. It's easy to forget how far most cinema, and society generally, has come since the 80's - even if there is still a long way to go.
The plot makes no real sense - it is full of holes, but it's entertainment value is right off the top shelf. It's so silly and fun; it's almost impossible to have a bad time watching the chaos unfold. This includes some of the highly amusing sequences with the animatronics, as well as a chair lift scene which had me laughing very hard.
Zach Galligan did fine in the first part of the film, but he really comes into his own when the chaos begins, as well as in his scenes with Phoebe Cates, who was very enjoyable in her own right. The two worked very nicely together, and I found them both extremely endearing. I'd have liked to see a little more of Cates, but that's nitpicking.
Hoyt Axton gave a quirky and paternal performance, which very much felt like a silly father who can't get it quite right. I loved how he acted with his on-screen wife, as well as the delivery of some of his dialogue - especially surrounding some of the hijinks with his inventions. He had a little of John Candy about his performance, which is a compliment.
Frances Lee McCain was honestly very bad-ass, and stole the show for me. I enjoyed watching her take it to the gremlins, and it honestly looked like she was enjoying it too. She also had a very sweet level of chemistry with Axton and Galligan, which really made them feel like a believable family - it was nice to see.
I'll hand out several mentions to supporting cast members who, for the most part, added plenty of enjoyable aspects to the film, including probably the most famous child actor of the era; Corey Feldman, who was always entertaining in his many appearances at the time. Aside from him, the names I wanted to mention were Keye Luke, Dick Miller, Polly Holliday Judge Reinhold and Scott Brady.
Overall, while some of this film hasn't aged spectacularly, it is still so much fun to watch, especially thanks to the wonderful animatronics and puppetry. It's one of those films that just gets that seasonal feeling spot on, whilst also mixing in other genres smoothly and enjoyably. I'll still be hearing that main theme for the next few months now.
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