Gremlins
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After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.
What critics thought
Gremlins landed in 1984 as a genuinely divisive creature feature — critics who loved it responded to its mischievous self-awareness and dark comedy, while detractors found it technically showy but dramatically hollow and gratuitously nasty. Time has been kinder than the original notices, and it's now widely regarded as a highlight of its year, though the gap between its admirers and its skeptics was real and specific.
“a wickedly funny and slightly sick ride”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“Make room for adorable 'Gremlins' dolls on the shelves and start counting the take for another calculated audience pleaser from the Steven Spielberg-Frank Marshall-Kathleen Kennedy team. But that's all that's here in this showy display of technical talent, otherwise nearly heedless of dramatic concerns.”
Variety
“Two or three good jokes, three or four neat scenes, lots of detail, but overall, a manic melee of pyrotechnics that made random grabs for my sympathy and failed to hold my attention, A bit more coherent thought, and who knows, it might have been something good.”
Colin Greenland·Imagine
Genres
Fantasy, Horror, Comedy
Cast & Crew
Joe DanteDirector
Zach GalliganBilly Peltzer
Phoebe CatesKate Beringer
Hoyt AxtonRandall Peltzer
Frances Lee McCainLynn Peltzer
Corey FeldmanPete Fountaine
Keye LukeGrandfather (Mr. Wing)
John LouieChinese Boy
Dick MillerMurray Futterman
Jackie JosephSheila Futterman
Polly HollidayRuby Deagle
Judge ReinholdGerald Hopkins
Edward AndrewsMr. Corben
Jerry GoldsmithComposer
Chris ColumbusWriter
John HoraCinematographyFrom the studio
Gremlins
After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.
What critics thought
Gremlins landed in 1984 as a genuinely divisive creature feature — critics who loved it responded to its mischievous self-awareness and dark comedy, while detractors found it technically showy but dramatically hollow and gratuitously nasty. Time has been kinder than the original notices, and it's now widely regarded as a highlight of its year, though the gap between its admirers and its skeptics was real and specific.
“a wickedly funny and slightly sick ride”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“Make room for adorable 'Gremlins' dolls on the shelves and start counting the take for another calculated audience pleaser from the Steven Spielberg-Frank Marshall-Kathleen Kennedy team. But that's all that's here in this showy display of technical talent, otherwise nearly heedless of dramatic concerns.”
Variety
“Two or three good jokes, three or four neat scenes, lots of detail, but overall, a manic melee of pyrotechnics that made random grabs for my sympathy and failed to hold my attention, A bit more coherent thought, and who knows, it might have been something good.”
Colin Greenland·Imagine
Genres
Fantasy, Horror, Comedy
Cast & Crew
Joe DanteDirectorZach GalliganBilly PeltzerPhoebe CatesKate BeringerHoyt AxtonRandall PeltzerFrances Lee McCainLynn PeltzerCorey FeldmanPete FountaineKeye LukeGrandfather (Mr. Wing)John LouieChinese BoyDick MillerMurray FuttermanJackie JosephSheila FuttermanPolly HollidayRuby DeagleJudge ReinholdGerald HopkinsEdward AndrewsMr. CorbenJerry GoldsmithComposerChris ColumbusWriterJohn HoraCinematographyFrom the studio
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Rent & Buy