Dante gleefully sinks his teeth into the kind of fluffy, sugary, sickly small town fantasy beloved of his pal and sometime producer Spielberg.
Comment
06/24/06
Gremlins (1984)
78
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:40
Fresh:31
Rotten:9
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Whether you choose to see it as a statement on consumer culture or simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick, Gremlins is a minor classic.
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
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... [More]
Starring: Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold
Director: Joe Dante
Reviews for Gremlins
Top CriticDevilishly dark humour and mischief romp.
04/18/01
Top CriticA movie that lives inside our memories of movies, and tramples all over them with a crazed, subversive joy.
12/14/03
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.
01/01/00
Top CriticAn unexpectedly successful skit on Spielberg/Disney movie culture -- that itself became something of a franchise.
11/27/07
Top CriticGreat fun.
06/12/04
Taking a second look back at Joe Dante's career, I realize he was actually one of the most interesting American directors working.
08/14/06
This film is still good piece of cinema.
07/27/01
See website for more details.
10/14/08
Gremlins is far more interested in showing off its knowledge of movie lore and making random jokes than in providing consistent entertainment.
05/20/03
Top CriticA tribute the 1950s matinee genre, Gremlins never eases up on the action or its sense of suspense.
10/09/01
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.
10/23/04
Top Critic"It is probably a surefire hit with popcorn and a six-pack of beer on Saturday night."
09/09/02
This film was always a favorite of mine as a kid and I'm happy to report that it still comes through today as an adult. A top-notch movie which effectively balances various elements.
02/20/02
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.
11/27/07
[Contains] moments of delicious black humour and satire.
01/01/00
There's a mischievous playfulness about the spirit of Gremlins, and that's its most endearing quality, but I found it grating on me by the story's end.
08/06/02
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.
11/27/07
Gleefully mischievous and full of dark, magical energy.
01/12/06
The humans are little more than dress-extras for the mechanics.
11/27/07
Top CriticLatest News for Gremlins
April 28, 2009:
Joe Dante Talks Gremlins Blu-rays, Sequel 
Here's the good news, "Gremlins" fans: director Joe Dante is sure we'll see a third installment of the franchise at some point. Now for the bad news: he's just as certain he... More...
December 25, 2008:
Further Reading: Seasonal Slaying - The 12 Horrors of Christmas
Thanks to Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, the Yuletide season has long been associated with ghost stories -- often with hard-won uplift at the end, like Scrooge being... More...
February 07, 2007:
"Goonies 2?" "Gremlins 3?" "Scooby-Doo 3???"
We've been hearing all sorts of rumors about Warner Bros. unleashing a direct-to-video sequel to "The Lost Boys," and that particular project does seem to be moving... More...
December 20, 2006:
RT's Top Holiday Thrillers -- Christmas Countdown, Day Three
Welcome to Day Three of RT's Five Days of Christmas Countdown, in which we serve up a different list each day of the best holiday flicks around. Today, we've got the... More...
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