GREMLINS [1984] review

GREMLINS was on my list of nostalgia movies to watch this summer.  I probably have not seen this movie since it was released in 1984.  I had no real memories of it other than of Gizmo and that gremlins go bad and get reptilian.  So how this happened would still be a surprise to me upon this viewing some 24 years later.  I can’t say the surprises were good though, nor did this movie hold up very well as compared to other recent nostalgia movies like THE KARATE KID or at least have some watchability like THE LOST BOYS.  Yes, by the end I felt that GREMLINS was basically unwatchable.

I thought the main characters besides the gremlins were kids, so I was very surprised to see a young adult Zach Galligan as the weakest protagonist I’ve seen in a long time.  In the third act I was constantly yelling at the screen telling him to Man-the-hell-up!!  His dumbness was not unique in the film.  Most characters, save for the mom, were not that bright and rather tiresome to watch.

I thought Gizmo was pretty ugly, and was not really charmed by him.  And as for the other gremlins, after they go bad they are almost unwatchable.  Seeing these little monsters smoke and drink and act like fools was not entertaining to me at all.  It was rather ridiculous really.  Where in the world in a small town did they find so many mini-pistols?  Not to mention a min-chainsaw.

The opening scene was pretty good, and I was stoked.  However, after the father left the old Chinese shop, there was a boring segment showing town life, then Gizmo arrives, the strict rules on how to care for a mogwai are repeated, and then in no time broken with very little to no teasing or suspense.

If you have good memories of this movie, then I recommend letting them remain so and do not revisit this movie.

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