Review of Gremlins (1984) by Mark H — 06 Dec 2017

Gremlins is a fun, dark, well-made piece of 1980's culture which became very well-known and highly merchandized. Had Ghostbusters not been released the same weekend, this movie may have been even bigger.

People complain about the uneven tone, cute and silly at first, then dark, violent and pretty scary. But that was early 80's horror, especially from Joe Dante (The Howling). This movie and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom caused the MPAA to create PG-13 when parents expressed shock and anger over the surprising amount of violence.

This is also a holiday classic, as it ties into the Christmas season quite well. Don't be fooled by the critics reviews of Gremlins 2, a long-overdue sequel that should have been ignored altogether.

This is an excellent film and should be a staple of any 1980's time capsule.