Gremlins Reviewed on Blu-ray
By Bill Warren
The story goes that "Gremlins" was written by Chris Columbus as a sample, hoping to catch Hollywood attention. As director Joe Dante suggests in one of the extras here, this idea should be taken with a grain or two of salt--Columbus probably really did want to sell it. And he did. To Steven Spielberg's company, Amblin'.
Spielberg was impressed by Dante's movie "Piranha," which Steven declared the best knockoff of "Jaws." And so he hired Dante for his first big-studio project (but Dante directed a segment of "Twilight Zone--the Movie" first). Dante supervised a useful revision of the script; in Columbus' original, the adorable Mogwai called Gizmo turned into the fierce, prankish and murderous Gremlin called Stripe. The mother of hero Billy Peltzer is decapitated by the Gremlins--her head bounces down the stairs when he comes home. Even the adorable dog is killed in Columbus' more violent script.
Dante and his producer Mike Finnell wanted to make it a much funnier movie while still retaining its creepy qualities, with hordes of murderous Gremlins tearing up a small town at Christmastime. (This is one of the great Christmas movies.) Spielberg and his partners were skeptical; as production on "Gremlins" began, Spielberg was in Sri Lanka shooting the second Indiana Jones movie; he sent Dante a telegram advising him to be glad his executive producers were in another hemisphere. Possibly because of Spielberg's absence, "Gremlins" is just as scary and unnerving as Dante wanted, and also a funny, lively lampoon. The Gremlins manage the difficult feat of being simultaneously menacing and comical.
But this wasn't arrived at easily. This was many years before CGI animation; what you see on screen is what was on the set; all effects (but one) are live-action. Chris Walas was in charge of the amazing puppetry of the Mogwai and Gremlins; at times they're vividly life-like. Even when they aren't, they're so vigorously funny you easily forgive the minor errors. (The one exception: a brief shot of what looks like hundreds of stop-motion Gremlins advancing down a street.)
The story has a lot of details--like the movie itself--but it's basically simple. Inventor Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) returns from a trip with a gift for his son Billy (Zach Galligan) that he bought in a Chinatown. The gift is an adorable, fuzzy little creature, a Mogwai, they dub "Gizmo." Randall warns Billy of the rules required to own a Mogwai: never get them wet, keep them away from bright lights and never, ever, feed them after midnight. (These almost arbitrary rules caused a lot of problems for the film team--for instance, it's always after midnight somewhere in the world.)
Gizmo proves to be a clever, intelligent little guy with a fondness for comic books and television. But of course, he is accidentally doused with water--and immediately expels hairy pills from his back that quickly grow into more Mogwai. These, however, don't have Gizmo's sunny disposition, and trick Billy into feeding them after midnight. The game begins.
Soon, the new Mogwai are encased in cocoons, from which emerge big-eared, toothy, reptilian Gremlins, who live to cause trouble, as much of it as possible. Billy's courageous mom (Frances Lee McCain) confronts a couple of Gremlins in her kitchen and manages to kill them (spectacularly), but the main Gremlin, Stripe, makes his getaway and, pursued by Billy and Gizmo (in Billy's backpack), leaps into a swimming pool. You know that has to be a very bad thing.
Soon, Billy and the townsfolk are faced with a horde of prankish, nasty Gremlins which tear up the town and kill people left and right (usually while cackling madly). There are several scenes in the local bar now overrun by Gremlins who guzzle beer and booze and down fistfuls of popcorn and bar nuts. They're so nasty they even attack each other with mallets, pool cues, pistols and whatever else is handy. All while laughing insanely. This amazing, lively sequence is one of the highlights of the movie, intensely inventive and so confident in its effects that it can occasionally slow down the action and get away with it. (A Gremlin resembling Sinatra--Tyrolean hat, trenchcoat--sullenly sits at a table, feeling sorry for himself, so another Gremlin tries to amuse him with hand puppets. Hand puppets doing hand puppets.)
The movie's wackiness never flags, though finally Billy and his incipient girlfriend Kate Beringer (Phoebe Cates) seem to be alone in a quiet scene in the Gremlin-ravaged but still picturesquely snowy streets. They discover all the Gremlins are now at the local movie theater watching "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (which they love). This leads to a mano-a-Gremlin showdown in a department store that involves skateboards, flung rotary saw blades and an attack by Stripe, armed with a chainsaw. Gizmo to the rescue. (Watched by the genuinely fascinated and awed dog.)
Dante realized that there was little point in trying to make anything in "Gremlins" very realistic--it might be overkill--and so opted for a deliberately movie-studio look, shooting it on the back lots and sound stages of Warners (which released) and Universal. The colors are rich and saturated; the sets have a slightly artificial look; the acting at times is colorfully broad. The cast includes top character actors like Edward Arnold and Scott Brady, and Dante favorites like Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Ken Tobey and William Schallert. Even great animation director Chuck Jones, a life-long favorite of Dante's, turns up with a line or two.
Dante wanted his movie to straddle both the horror/thriller stool and the raucous comedy stool; it shifts back and forth in the blink of an eye, often--even usually--blending the two approaches. One of the most memorable sequences is when, in a lull in Gremlin attacks, Kate sadly explains to Billy why she never celebrates Christmas. This is both poignant and goofy; you don't know just how you should react--which is exactly the response Dante wanted. He turns up on both of the movie's commentary tracks, with amusing stories regarding the confused reaction of Warner Bros. brass (especially confused with Spielberg out of town), particularly to Cates's sad/funny story.
Chris Walas handled a seemingly impossible task; the results are astonishing. The big "money shot," when we first see a Gremlin in all his angular glory, comes when Mrs. Peltzer hesitantly enters her kitchen. The camera pans a little to the left, and there's a Gremlin, the first one in the movie we see clearly. It's amazingly life-like and full of sinister energy, curling its lips and snarling at Mrs. Peltzer. You immediately buy into the reality of these creatures. It's doubtful that the scene would have the impact or generate the awe it does if the Gremlin had been rendered in flawless CGI: the eye recognizes reality.
There's so much energy in "Gremlins" it's damned near breathtaking at times. The pacing is very carefully done; things rise to a crescendo as the multiplied Gremlins attack the town, then slow down, only to peak twice more, in the theater and in the department store.
This excellent Blu-ray of "Gremlins" is the best (current) way to own it. It includes some of the extras that were put together for a previous standard DVD. There are two commentary tracks, one with Dante, Cates, Galligan, Dick Miller and Howie Mandel (who did Gizmo's voice); the other features Dante, producer Michael Finnell and effects artist Chris Walas. Both are funny and informative, particularly winning examples of movie commentaries. There are a couple of trailers, some deleted scenes (alas, none featuring the puppets going haywire) narrated by Dante, and a few other items.
But the show here is the movie itself. It lends itself nicely to the high-definition video of Blu-ray; Dante loves to cram his sets with details, which pays off here. The Peltzer living room, Billy's bedroom and the bar are rich in details; the more you watch the movie, the more subtle gags and references you'll spot. The soundtrack, featuring a lively and creative score by Jerry Goldsmith (who, along with Spielberg, Robby the Robot and The Time Machine, can be glimpsed in scenes at an inventors' convention), is richly rendered.
This movie and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" were both rated PG, but both include some vividly gory sequences, as here when a Gremlin is cooked in Mrs. Peltzer's microwave. This caused some concern to parents (and others, who probably should have known better), which led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. And yes, "Gremlins" is sometimes violent, but the only non-comic violence is done to the Gremlins themselves. And they deserve it.
This movie is great fun, an ideal Blu-ray purchase.
