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Gremlins

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Gremlins (1984)

78%
71%
88%
N/A
N/A
N/A
78 %
Reviews Counted: 40 Fresh: 31  Rotten:9 Average Rating: 6.7/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Synopsis: Joe Dante's hilariously funny, wickedly scary film is about a loveable, furry little Christmas gift that multiplies into many little Christmas gifts, with savage consequences. Rand Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) is an inventor who hasn't successfully invented anything. But this Christmas he's... Joe Dante's hilariously funny, wickedly scary film is about a loveable, furry little Christmas gift that multiplies into many little Christmas gifts, with savage consequences. Rand Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) is an inventor who hasn't successfully invented anything. But this Christmas he's bringing his family something special--a small, cuddly creature known as a mogwai. The little fella comes with three crucial instructions. He's not to be fed after midnight, he's not to get any direct light and he should never be given so much as a drop of water. If Rand and his son Billy (Zach Galligan) can adhere to these rules they can avoid the otherwise tragic consequences. Unfortunately, the rules are harder to stick to than it seems, and suddenly Billy finds himself with far too many "pets," all with big appetites. It's up to Billy and his girlfriend (Phoebe Cates) to stop the mischievous gremlins before they ruin Christmas for the residents of rural Kingston Falls. GREMLINS features a delightful combination of horror and humor that introduced Gizmo and his wild relatives to an entire generation of young fans. [More]

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Starring: Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, Frances Lee McCain

Director: Joe Dante
Screenwriter: Chris Columbus
Producer: Michael Finnell
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 5, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Stereo 2S English

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image
N/A

An unexpectedly successful skit on Spielberg/Disney movie culture -- that itself became something of a franchise.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/27/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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N/A

Dante gleefully sinks his teeth into the kind of fluffy, sugary, sickly small town fantasy beloved of his pal and sometime producer Spielberg.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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4/5

Great fun.

comment Comment
06/12/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
4/4

A movie that lives inside our memories of movies, and tramples all over them with a crazed, subversive joy.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/14/03
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic
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3/5

Devilishly dark humour and mischief romp.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/18/01
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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4/5

The pitch black comedy works, and it makes you wonder how a generation of parents took their kids to see this -- as children's entertainment -- without question. Ah, salad days.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine
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Ratings Image
N/A

Either the slyest satire of consumerism you will ever see or a filmmaker, reared on action figures and electric trains, acting out his childhood fantasies of being locked in a department store at night.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/04/08
Kevin Koehler
Pretentious Musings
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N/A

The humans are little more than dress-extras for the mechanics.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/27/07
Variety Staff
Variety
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Ratings Image
N/A

What's confusing yet ultimately illuminating is the way his gremlins function as a free-floating metaphor, suggesting at separate junctures everything from teenagers to blacks to various Freudian suppressions.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/27/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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N/A

Dante is perhaps the first filmmaker since Frank Tashlin to base his style on the formal free-for-all of animated cartoons; he is also utterly heartless.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/27/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
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1/4

Yes, Dante gleefully trashes cliches and sentimental Capra-esque notions, but one should not forget this movie was given a "PG" rating and cynically aimed to draw an audience of small children who would no doubt be terrorized by this myth-shattering film.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/04/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/4

Taking a second look back at Joe Dante's career, I realize he was actually one of the most interesting American directors working.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/14/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
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B+

Gleefully mischievous and full of dark, magical energy.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/12/06
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
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3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
09/27/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily
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2/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
04/22/05
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World
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4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
04/14/05
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
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3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
11/23/04
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com
Ratings Image
4/5

Lot's of fun from start to stop, though Cate's creepy Santa story is a downer.

comment Comment
11/11/04
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review
Ratings Image
3/4

At the level of Serious Film Criticism, it's a meditation on the myths in our movies: Christmas, families, monsters, retail stores, movies, boogeymen. At the level of Pop Moviegoing, it's a sophisticated, witty B movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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