Gremlins

The Original Gizmo Movie - Enhanced

Bright light hurts them; water makes them multiply; and feeding them after midnight can turn them into vicious, nasty, (but fun-loving) monsters.

Sounds almost like Democrats...

Anyway, Gremlins (the breakout film for writer/director Chris Columbus of "Harry Potter" fame) is about a young man who receives a Christmas present from his dad. It's a cute little furry creature called a mogwai. At first, you wonder what harm this adorable little thing could possibly bring, but once the events start unfolding it becomes clear.

Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) and his friend Pete (Corey Feldman) are hanging out, when Pete accidentally spills some water on Gizmo (the mogwai). This causes it to go into convulsions, and eventually toss out a few hairballs which turn out to be more mogwais. Unfortunately, these ones are not as cute and cuddly as Gizmo, and trick Zach into feeding them after midnight. Then, they go into the pupa stage, and eventually hatch into the Gremlins.

Though the premise sounds like a horror film, Gremlins is actually funnier than it is scary. Not many laughs come in the first half, but once the Gremlins appear, it turns out that they just want to have fun (I guess they're just victims; they don't mean to hurt people, they're just misunderstood monsters. Yep, Democrats for sure).

The effects were good for the time, and they hold up okay in today's digital world. The acting is generally pretty over the top, but deliberately so. All in all, it's a fun movie, typically Joe Dante, and a classic 80's movie (classic movies and classic 80's movies are two completely different categories).

And keep an eye out for the nifty Dante touches (for instance, Chuck Jones in a bar and, in the opening scene, the AMC Gremlin car) that prove you should always look at what's going on in the background of his films.

This Special Edition DVD features a newly remastered picture and soundtrack, and it both looks great and sounds great. Some shots are a tad grainy, but on the whole this DVD release is much better than the earlier DVD release. The video has a bright and colorful 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) transfer and the sound has been given a nice 5.1 Dolby Digital mix.

Then there are the extras! First of all is over 10 minutes of 'never before seen' footage (though we assume someone somewhere must have seen it - at least in order to put it on the disc!) and a behind the scenes documentary that's pretty interesting. You also get two full length commentaries, one featuring director Dante and cast members, and the other featuring Dante, producer Mike Finnell and creature creator Chris Walas. They're pretty good commentaries, as is usual with Dante flicks that are so equipped.

And that isn't all. Warners has also thrown in a photo/storyboard gallery, cast/crew filmographies and the trailer.

In all, it's a pretty good package - and a welcome remastering of this Joe Dante/Steven Spielberg outing.

Gremlins, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
106 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain
Produced by Michael Finnell,
Written by Chris Columbus, Directed by Joe Dante.

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