By Morgan Nunley 

Online Editor 

Gremlins is a 1984 comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, and starring Zach Galligan as Billy, Phoebe Cates as his love interest Kate, and Howie Mandel voicing the adorable mogwai, Gizmo. This is the first Christmas film that is going to be discussed that some people wouldn’t consider to be a Christmas film, and on the surface, the film doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas other than the setting. 

The film tells the story of a father who is a down on his luck traveling salesman, who sees this mogwai creature in a Chinatown shop, and buys the creature from the shop owner’s grandson, but not before he is warned about the three rules: that he can’t let the creature interact with sunlight as it will kill him, that the mogwai can’t get wet at all, and finally that he can never be fed after midnight. 

The father gives this creature as a gift to his teenage son, Billy, and the creature becomes the new family pet. Inevitably, the creature gets wet on accident, and it multiplies. These new mogwai are meaner and more vicious than Gizmo, and they trick the family into feeding them after midnight causing them to transform into little gremlins, forcing the family to save the town from these gremlins before they can take over the whole city. 

This entire plotline has Christmas vibes and a wintery aesthetic. The idea of giving a gift to someone that ultimately doesn’t end the way that you want is something that I think almost everyone can relate to, and especially around the holidays, so despite the creatures and unrealistic elements to the story, it is grounded and centered in realism and reality. 

The film is shot incredibly well by Dante and the actors who performed in the film were perfect for their roles. None of these actors were major stars or box office attractions, but they were all perfect for their role and everyone played it perfectly. I can buy everyone in this movie as the character they are portraying, which is essential to any great movie in general. 

The editing and practical effects were ground-breaking for the time and there are some shots in the film that make you genuinely believe that the creature was real and an actual being that can interact and communicate in its own way. 

The creature designs are something that also deserve a shout-out, as the idea behind a cute and cuddly fur ball that can turn into a little monster if certain things happen to it is an interesting concept and one that was never executed better in any other movie outside of this one, including the sub-par sequel that followed. 

The film resulted in a bit of controversy as some of the movie fans weren’t pleased with the fact that the film seemed like a children’s movie, and has elements of that type of film, but quickly became a horror creature feature, with these goblin-looking creatures fighting and torturing people. The Christmas ideals and children’s movie elements are what I feel pull this movie back from being an outright horror story and keep it grounded in the realism of how these people would react to these situations, and their interaction with one another. 

Whether the film is or isn’t a Christmas movie is up for debate and conjecture, but what isn’t is the impact this film had on pop culture and the cult classic crowd that has been slowly trickling into appreciating this film more than it already is. 

The film is a children’s film, creature feature, horror story, and Christmas tale all rolled into one. The performances by the actors, directing of Joe Dante, practical effects regarding the creatures, and overall story as a whole are what make this film one of the best Christmas and horror movies of all time. 

Final Take: 4.75/5