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"GREMLINS" (1984) (Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Extreme Extreme *Heavy Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Extreme Moderate Extreme None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild Moderate None Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror/Comedy: An inventor brings a new pet home to his son for Christmas, a furry Mogwai that comes with three important rules which must never be ignored. PLOT: Randall Peltzer (HOYT AXTON), an inventor, finds a Christmas present in Chinatown perfect for his son, Billy (ZACH GALLIGAN): A furry creature called a Mogwai that the elderly shopkeeper (KEYE LUKE) refuses to sell, but his grandson (JOHN LOUIE) eagerly gives to Randall, and Billy is very taken by the Mogwai, christened Gizmo. However, there are three rules that Randall learns and tells to Billy that are essential to caring for Gizmo: First, Gizmo hates bright light and sunlight could kill him. Secondly, he can never get wet and that rules out baths. Third, he cannot be fed after midnight. And the small town of Kingston Falls is the prime location for chaos to ensue when the second and third rules are broken and Billy is not only on the defensive against the multiplying monsters, but also his mother (FRANCES LEE MCCAIN) and Kate (PHOEBE CATES), his co-worker at the bank, and possibly more. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? This is one of those movies that imagination stems from, where wonders emerge, as cute as Gizmo and as vile as the evil gremlins. But caution should be taken with younger kids as many of the gremlins are quite ugly and unsettling, and all the violence in the film is caused by them. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG No official reason is given, but it would probably get a PG-13 nowadays for violence and frightening images. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ZACH GALLIGAN plays Billy Peltzer, a resident of the small town of Bedford Falls where everyone knows each other and distinct personalities emerge. He works at the local bank, contends with the unsympathetic Mrs. Deagle who wants his dog Barney for unsavory purposes, and possibly shares more than just the same space with Kate, a co-worker at the bank. He's taken with the Mogwai his father brings home for his Christmas present, but soon faces trying to stop the multiplying gremlins that overrun the town. PHOEBE CATES plays Kate Beringer, Billy's co-worker at the bank who clearly likes him more than the smug, "entitled" Gerald. She also works at Dorry's Tavern, the local bar, and is soon wrapped up in trying to get rid of the gremlins, especially when they crowd the bar and act like standard bar patrons. HOYT AXTON plays Randall Peltzer, Billy's inventor father who has racked up countless failed inventions over the years, though he means well in his desire to make the world more convenient for the average person. He visits a shop in Chinatown where he finds the Mogwai, believes it to be the perfect gift for Billy, and brings it home to him. Long before the gremlins attack the town, he's away on business, stuck at a convention where there are clearly bigger, more advanced inventions than his own. POLLY HOLLIDAY plays Ruby Deagle, the unsympathetic personality of the entire town and the owner of the local bank, immediately showing how cruel she is when she labels a mother and her children as deadbeats for not being able to pay what's owed to her. She hates Billy's dog Barney and imagines the things she could do to it. She's not quite a villain as in causing much danger to the town as the gremlins do, but she's just as unpleasant. FRANCES LEE MCCAIN plays Lynn Peltzer, Billy's mother who truly shows that her home is her own and no one should encroach upon it, as evidenced by what she does when the gremlins take it over. She shows no fear in facing them, not even with how threatening they look. COREY FELDMAN plays Pete, Billy's young friend who's just as fascinated by Gizmo as Billy is. He's grossed out, yet curious about what the gremlins are, in seeing their slimy-looking cocoons and in one scene, defends himself against the gremlins that are hanging around his house. JUDGE REINHOLD plays Gerald Hopkins, the second-in-command at the local bank, who lords it over Billy about how much more money he has than him and how much more he expects to make soon enough, and tries to flaunt it when asking Kate out on a date. DICK MILLER plays Murray Futterman, Billy's next-door neighbor who has a vehement dislike for anything foreign-built, including snowplows. He appears drunk in a scene at the bar, and curses a few times elsewhere. SCOTT BRADY plays Sheriff Frank, who doesn't believe Billy's claim that gremlins are attacking the town, but is forced to investigate when reports come in of havoc being wreaked upon the town. Based on his assertions, he asks his deputy, Brent, if Billy's drunk, and curses at least three times. JONATHAN BANKS plays Deputy Brent, amused by Billy's claims of gremlins rampaging through the town, but soon frightened by what he sees out on the road with the sheriff. He curses twice. GLYNN TURMAN plays Roy Hanson, the local school science teacher who performs an analysis on one of the Mogwai that was birthed from Gizmo. He draws blood from the creature, and looks very authoritative doing his research, but soon his research turns on him. KEYE LUKE plays the Chinese shopkeeper who patiently listens to Randall's spiel about his new invention, the Bathroom Buddy, but refuses to sell the Mogwai to him, as it requires much responsibility that he doesn't believe could be exhibited by Randall. He smokes several times from a long pipe. JOHN LOUIE plays the shopkeeper's grandson who gives the Mogwai to Randall outside the shop because his family needs the money. He imparts the three important rules to Randall about taking care of the Mogwai. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated horror comedy. Profanity consists of a handful of mild expletives, while colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexual matter is merely a shot of a gremlin in a trenchcoat flashing Kate, though no genitalia is seen. Violence consists of the gremlins wreaking havoc on the town of Bedford Falls and its citizens, including deaths of humans (mostly implied) and gremlins (some of which are gory). Fighting and other physical contact also occurs. Those scenes and other moments of peril might be unsettling or suspenseful for viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while all sorts of potentially dangerous imitative behavior is present. Smoking and drinking also occur. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there are many scenes that feature that. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE At Dorry's Tavern, there's a quarter-filled mug of beer in front of Billy, as well as a full one right next to it, along with a beer bottle. In another scene, Kate puts Billy's beer down at his table and Gerald orders a vodka martini, telling her, "A vodka martini; shake, don't stir." A bearded guy comes up to Kate and says, "Two more rounds for the pool table and they're all on the house." At the bar, Mr. Futterman's drunk and asks Kate for one more beer. A bottle is in front of him and he holds up a mug. Before he leaves, he blows into the bottle. At the station, the sheriff pours booze into his cup and after listening to Billy's claim about the gremlins running rampant around town, he asks his deputy, Brent, "You think this kid is drunk?" and Brent responds, "No, but you are." Billy then insists to the sheriff that he's not drunk. At the bar, where Kate is at the mercy of the gremlins, a beer bottle is thrown and the neon "Dorry's Tavern" sign is hit. Also shown in the sequence: Kate pours beer for the gremlins and bottles of booze can be seen behind her. Two gremlins sing what sounds like a mangled drinking song. One gremlin drinks straight from a bottle of booze and falls backwards to the floor. Another gremlin comments on it and he and another gremlin laugh. One gremlin lies on his back and drinks right from the beer tap. Another gremlin sneezes the head from a mug of a beer onto the gremlin next to him. One gremlin sits alone with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Another gremlin throws a beer bottle at the lone gremlin and it hits him on the head. BLOOD/GORE Mr. Hanson uncaps a syringe and walks toward the Mogwai. He injects the needle into the Mogwai's arm and draws blood, which looks orangish. A clip from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956), shows a pod bursting open, with some kind of liquid pouring out. There are close-ups of gremlins eating up the chicken given to them, and goo coming off of their mouths. The gremlin cocoons, resulting from them accidentally being fed after midnight, have goo all over. Pete takes some of the goo from the gremlin pod, examining it. Claws reach out of the cocoons, covered in goo. A gremlin leans into an automated mixing bowl in the kitchen and Billy's mom presses the button for the highest setting. The gremlin spins around in the bowl, screams, and gremlin pieces and dark green blood fly all over. Another gremlin, trying to shield itself from the flea and tick spray Billy's mom is spraying on it, backs into the microwave and Billy's mom closes the door and turns it on, and after a few seconds, the gremlin explodes. Billy's mom has three parallel slash marks on her left cheek. Blood can be seen through the gauze that Billy has on his left hand. Blood is seen on the right side of Billy's head. A gremlin decomposes and falls into water. A few seconds later, a disgusting gremlin skeleton pops out and screeches and then falls to the floor and melts into slime. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The grandson of the old Chinese shopkeeper tells Randall to wait outside for him and then brings him the Mogwai. Randall asks the boy, "What about your grandfather, kid?" and the boy responds, "He's crazy. We need the money." A young boy throws a snowball onto a girl sitting on a bench and she gets him back with a snowball, knocking him down. Mrs. Deagle, unfortunately the matriarch of Bedford Falls, is a sniveling, cruel woman who is introduced to us pushing her way down a sidewalk and calling one passerby a "putz." She refuses to give a woman more time to pay what's owed on a loan, telling her in her children's presence that the bank and therefore she are "in the business of making money; not to support a lot of deadbeats." She marches into the bank caring a snowman's head and claiming to Billy that his dog Barney did this and doesn't want money for the damages, but wants the dog. When Billy refuses, she says she'll catch "the beast" herself, "then he'll get what he deserves - a slow, painful death. Maybe I'll put him in my spin dryer on high heat." She also fakes a heart condition, announcing that she's distressed by what's happened, mainly that of Barney growling at her and then jumping down onto her. She also makes a comment to Billy about his father's failed inventions that find him (Billy) the breadwinner of his family. Gerald Hopkins is the second-in-command at the bank to Mr. Corben, always kissing butt in the hopes that he'll one day have Corben's job, as he brags to Billy. He cares more about how much money he makes and how much more he hopes to have in the future, than being a decent person, and flaunts his penchant for making money when he asks Kate to go on a date with him. In a scene at a bar, after coming in, he derisively exclaims to Billy, "Well if it isn't Captain Clip-On!", referencing the kind of tie that Billy wears to work. Murray Futterman, Billy's next-door neighbor doesn't like foreigners at all, believing them to have ruined snowplows and other equipment and it's a constant thought of his. Billy comes out onto the porch and someone's hung up Barney with a bunch of Christmas lights. The gremlins are the worst of anyone in Bedford Falls because once they hatch from their cocoon state, they really tear into the town; invading homes, upsetting the local bar, hanging off things, throwing things, attacking people, cutting the brake line of a police car, playing with the electricity of the town as well as traffic lights, and firing weapons. They cause the most danger and the most harm. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Mrs. Deagle marches into the bank caring a snowman's head and claiming to Billy that his dog Barney did this and doesn't want money for the damages, but wants the dog. When Billy refuses, she says she'll catch "the beast" herself, "then he'll get what he deserves - a slow, painful death. Maybe I'll put him in my spin dryer on high heat." Pete accidentally knocks over a jar of paintbrushes, which splashes water on Gizmo and he screams. His back pulsates and he screams louder, and a furry ball pops out of his back. That furry ball grows, and then more balls pop out of Gizmo's back. Inside a box in Mr. Hanson's classroom, the cocoon of a gremlin shudders, shakes and then breaks apart. Cocoons in the attic of Billy's house emit smoke and claws reach out of the cocoons, covered in goo. Inside a broken cocoon, smoke comes out and it glows green. Billy's mom then slowly walks around the house, not sure of what she's going to find. A gremlin leans into an automated mixing bowl and Billy's mom presses the button for the highest setting. The gremlin screams, spins around in the bowl, and gremlin pieces and dark green blood spray all over. A gremlin, trying to shield itself from Billy's mom spraying flea and tick spray on it, backs into a microwave and Billy's mom closes the door and turns it on. The gremlin explodes inside the microwave. The gremlin Stripe jumps into the YMCA pool, sinks to the bottom and the water starts to glow and smoke. As the water glows even greener and smokes even more, there are continual flashes of light. Murray's plow breaks through the garage door, the gremlins having started it. They chase Murray with it and bust through the porch and into Murray's house. Mrs. Deagle pushes the button to start her inclinator chair and it sparks, propelling her fast up the stairs. Sheriff Frank tries to brake in the police car, but the brakes have been cut by a gremlin, and the car flips over and skids to a stop. The truck that was in front of them smashes into an office. At the bar, a gremlin sticks his finger into a lightbulb socket and smoke pours out of his ears, and the lightbulb he holds lights up. Billy holds a radio in front of him and Stripe fires an arrow into one of the speakers and there's a bright flash of light. Stripe walks toward Billy with an active chainsaw and Billy tries to keep it away with a baseball bat that is slowly sawn through. GUNS/WEAPONS Pistols/Knives/Slingshot/Crossbow/Chainsaw: Used as weapons. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "G*ddamn foreign cars," "What the hell is this/that?" "But what the hell is he doing now?" "Putz," "If it isn't Captain Clip-On!" "A vodka martini; shake, don't stir," "Varoom!" "Good old W-W-I-I," "How about shutting up for a change, ok?" "Where's that psychotic canine of yours?" "Phone home," "Yucch!" "I can't get a damn thing on this," "Atta boy," "Shut up, will ya?" "Looky now," "Bye-bye woof-woof." The language of the gremlins may very well be imitated and these phrases are spoken: "Ka-ka," "Gizmo caca!" "Ay yo gibbuwik!" "Ee yo basar gigiyo," and "Hey custo yap yar." Gizmo also sings and the music score reflects that during the film. A young boy throws a snowball onto a girl sitting on a bench and she gets up and throws one at him, knocking him down. Billy comes out onto the porch and someone's hung up Barney with a bunch of Christmas lights. Mr. Hanson gives the offscreen gremlin an apple and we hear chewing and then spitting and the apple is thrown right back. A gremlin claw takes a glass test tube and chewing can be heard. Billy grabs for the phone and a gremlin claw grabs his hand. Billy leans against a cabinet and a dark-green gremlin pops out of the adjacent cabinet and screeches. Gizmo's hung up on a dart board and a few gremlins are throwing darts at him and one looks like it's hit him. From offscreen, one of the gremlins throws Gizmo into the laundry chute. A gremlin leans into an automatic mixing bowl and Billy's mom presses the button for the highest setting. The gremlin screams, spins around in the bowl, and gremlin pieces and dark blood spray all over. Another gremlin throws dishes at Billy's mom and she shields herself with a portable table. Billy's mom shouts, "Get out of my kitchen!" and stabs a gremlin three times with a knife. Billy's mom sprays flea and tick spray onto a gremlin and while shielding itself, it backs up into the microwave oven. Billy's mom closes the door and turns it on, and a few seconds later, the gremlin explodes. Billy's mom slashes at a moving Christmas stocking, but it's only a moving toy robot that falls out. Billy takes a sword off the wall and slashes at a gremlin, batting it into an active fireplace. Stripe jumps into the YMCA pool and sinks to the bottom. Murray's snowplow breaks through the garage door after the gremlins start it. The gremlins chase Murray and bust through his porch and then into his house. A gremlin hangs onto a row of Christmas lights. Pete gets a pair of scissors and cuts the cord, sending the gremlin down. At the bar, one gremlin smokes three cigarettes. A gremlin in sunglasses and a trenchcoat, flashes Kate, but we don't see anything. One gremlin lies on its back and drinks from the beer tap. One gremlin sneezes the head from a mug of beer onto another gremlin. One gremlin breakdances. One gremlin sticks his finger into a lightbulb socket and smoke pours out of his ears, and the lightbulb he holds lights up. Kate uses a camera as a weapon, flashing it at the gremlins, who scream and fall backwards. Kate turns the fan on high and the gremlin hanging from it spins around fast and is flung into a light fixture. A gremlin in a ski mask holds a pistol on Kate and it fires and hits a picture of a vintage airplane. In the boiler room of the movie theater, Billy turns on the gas and lights some cloth and puts that on the ground and runs from the theater, which explodes soon after. Billy breaks a pane of the outdoor glass of a department store as well as a neon "Candy" sign to get in to try to find Stripe. Stripe appears on a TV screen and Billy smashes it in with a baseball bat. Stripe flings a saw blade and hits a mannequin's head. He then flings two saw blades at Billy. Stripe uses an automatic pitching machine to throw a ball at Billy's back and then throws more balls himself. Stripe fires an arrow from a crossbow into Billy's right arm. Stripe walks toward Billy with a rumbling chainsaw. JUMP SCENES Billy opens the top of the cage and Gizmo jumps up and back down, scaring Billy and his mom. Billy grabs for the phone and a gremlin claw grabs his hand. Billy leans against a cabinet and a dark-green gremlin pops out of the adjacent cabinet and screeches. Billy's mom backs into the Christmas tree where gremlins hide and they grab at her. A disgusting gremlin skeleton jumps out at Billy and screeches. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of scary/tense music occurs in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None PROFANITY At least 5 hells, 2 crap, 1 ass, 1 damn, 4 uses of "G-damn," and 1 use each of "Jesus," "Oh Christ," and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY A gremlin in sunglasses opens a trenchcoat and flashes Kate, though no genitalia is seen. SMOKING The elderly Chinese shopkeeper smokes a few times from a long pipe, the owner of a Mobil station smokes once, and one gremlin smokes three cigarettes at once. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT What makes a small town quaint. The various movie references. If a Mogwai like Gizmo could successfully be kept as a real pet in your own home. Cocoons not just in relation to gremlins, but also butterflies; the science of it. The "Hi-Ho" scene of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" makes such an impression on the gremlins that they sing along to it. What movies have made that kind of impression on you? VIOLENCE A young boy throws a snowball onto a girl sitting on a bench. She gets back at him with a snowball that knocks him down. Billy's dog Barney barks at Mrs. Deagle and jumps down onto her. Pete tries to pet a Mogwai that has a stripe of white fur in the middle of its head, and it snaps and nearly bites Pete's finger. In Mr. Hanson's classroom, a gremlin runs around unseen on the floor, crashing glass and bumping into things. The same gremlin later feeds on Mr. Hanson's hand. Billy looks for Mr. Hanson and finds him, face down, with a syringe in his rear. Gizmo involuntarily hangs on a dart board while other gremlins throw darts at him, and it looks like one dart has hit him. From offscreen, one of the gremlins throw Gizmo into the laundry chute. From offscreen, glass is thrown and smashes on a door frame, right next to Billy's mom. In the kitchen, a gremlin leans into the automatic mixing bowl and Billy's mom presses the button for the highest setting. The gremlin screams, spins around in the bowl, and gremlin pieces and dark green blood spray all over. Another gremlin throws dishes at Billy's mom and she shields herself with a portable table. She becomes angry and shouts, "Get out of my kitchen!", and stabs the gremlin three times with a knife. Another gremlin throws a tray of gingerbread cookies at Billy's mom and she uses flea and tick spray on that one and it backs into a microwave oven. Billy's mom closes the door and turns it on. Within a few seconds, the gremlin explodes. With one of the knives she's taken from the kitchen, Billy's mom slashes at a moving Christmas stocking, but it's only a toy robot that drops to the floor. Billy's mom backs into the Christmas tree where gremlins hide and the gremlins attack, the tree falls on her, and she slashes and slashes, and the gremlins fight back, trying to bite. One gremlin tries to choke Billy's mom from behind. Billy walks in, sees this, takes a sword off the wall and slashes at the gremlin, batting it into an active fireplace. Stripe slashes Billy across his chest and jumps away. Murray's snowplow breaks through his garage door, gremlins at the controls. Murray runs and the gremlins chase him with the snowplow, busting through the porch and then through his house and the last shot before another scene seems to indicate that the gremlins hit both Murray and his wife. Anderson tries to put a package in the mailbox, but a gremlin grabs his arm. A gremlin's fun time with the traffic lights causes car horns to honk and offscreen we hear a heavy crash. Pete uses a slingshot against the gremlins situated near his window and he knocks one of them away. Sheriff Frank steps on the brakes in the police car, but the line was cut before by a gremlin, and the police car flips over and skids to a stop. The truck that was previously in front of them smashes into an office. Stripe takes out a pistol and shoots a gremlin at the poker table. The lone gremlin in the bar pushes a button and a mallet hits a moronic gremlin on the head, knocking him down. One gremlin throws a beer bottle at the lone gremlin, hitting him on the head, and he falls backwards. One gremlin sticks his finger in a lightbulb socket and smoke pours out of his ears and the lightbulb he holds in his other hand lights up. Kate uses a camera as a weapon, flashing it at the gremlins, and they scream and fall backwards. Kate turns the fan on high and the gremlin hanging from the fan spins around fast and is flung into a light fixture. Billy turns on the gas in the boiler room of the movie theater and lights some cloth and puts that down, getting away and the movie theater soon explodes. Billy breaks a pane of the outside glass of the department store as well as a neon "Candy" sign to get in and search for Stripe. Stripe appears on a TV screen and Billy smashes it in with a baseball bat. Stripe flings a saw blade and hits a mannequin's head. He then flings two blades at Billy. Stripe uses an automatic pitching machine to throw a baseball at Billy's back and then throws more balls himself. Billy tries to shield himself from the balls and backs right into stacks of canned tennis balls, obviously pained from the entire ordeal. Stripe fires an arrow from a crossbow into Billy's right arm. Stripe walks toward Billy with a shrieking chainsaw. Stripe fires a pistol at Billy and the bullet hits a potted plant just behind his head. Reviewed off DVD / Posted October 14, 2008