Devilishly dark humour and mischief romp.
Comment
04/18/01
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 CriticAn unexpectedly successful skit on Spielberg/Disney movie culture -- that itself became something of a franchise.
11/27/07
Top CriticThe 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 CriticGreat fun.
06/12/04
Dante gleefully sinks his teeth into the kind of fluffy, sugary, sickly small town fantasy beloved of his pal and sometime producer Spielberg.
06/24/06
Top CriticA movie that lives inside our memories of movies, and tramples all over them with a crazed, subversive joy.
12/14/03
A tribute the 1950s matinee genre, Gremlins never eases up on the action or its sense of suspense.
10/09/01
No review available.
01/24/03
No review available.
11/23/04
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
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
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 CriticTaking 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
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
Crazy Joe Dante at his absolute best.
07/26/02
No review available.
06/19/05
No review available.
06/26/04
No review available.
09/27/05
"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
Latest 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...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds