Review of Gremlins (1984) by Johnny T — 08 Nov 2013

An enchanting yet savagely funny movie, Gremlins belongs alongside Ghostbusters as an enduring mainstream masterpiece from the summer of 1984. Dante gleefully sinks his teeth into the kind of fluffy, sugary, sickly small town fantasy beloved of his pal and sometime producer Spielberg. Contains moments of delicious black humour and satire. This postmodern, endlessly referential, utterly ruthless film is an ingenious, delightfully scary fairytale horror flick. Gleefully mischievous and full of dark, magical energy. What's confusing yet ultimately illuminating is the way his gremlins function as a free-floating metaphor, suggesting at separate junctures everything from teenagers to blacks to various Freudian suppressions. A wonderfully entertaining film that belongs on anyone's alternative Christmas film list, right up there with Die Hard, Bad Santa, The Polar Express and Christmas Vacation. Gremlins never eases up on the action or its sense of suspense. Whether you choose to see it as a statement on consumer culture or simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick, Gremlins is a minor classic.

VERDICT: "High-Quality Stuff" - [Positive Reaction] This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent... (Films that are rated 3.5 or 4 stars).