Review of Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) by Jay B — 05 Sep 2012

After Gremlins (1984) came out, Warner Bros. wanted director Joe Dante to do a sequel, he refused, but he eventually accepted on condition he had complete creative control and could do it his way. It paid off and the result is perhaps one of the most original and hilarious sequels ever made, making fun of the whole concept of sequels and it is an anarchic, naughty film which is such great fun.

After the death of Mr. Wing (Keye Luke), the mogwai Gizmo ends up in a laboratory in Clamp Enterprises, a huge conglomerate skyscraper in downtown Manhattan, which is where Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) and his fiancee Katie (Phoebe Cates) now work.

Billy is soon reunited with Gizmo, and tries to keep him safe until the end of the day, however Gizmo ends up getting wet and eating after midnight, and it's not long before Gremlins take over Clamp Enterprises, much to the horror of billionaire Daniel Clamp (John Glover), and even more to the horror of lab owner Doctor Catheter (Christopher Lee) when the Gremlins start drinking his potions, and transform into more horrible creatures, so it's up to Billy and Gizmo to save the day.

It's a hilarious film with some brilliant creature effects by Rick Baker, it makes fun of films and TV shows and even sends up the original film as well. Dante has the time of his life with this, moving away from the dark comedic horror of the original, and making a great live-action cartoon with this one.

With cameos from Henry Gibson, Hulk Hogan, Dick Miller, John Astin, Paul Bartel, Kathleen Freeman and Tony Randall as the Brainy Gremlin, it's the best sequel ever!!