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Executive producer Steven Spielberg teamed with horror director Joe Dante (The Howling) for this comical shockfest, written by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) in his Hollywood breakthrough. A Capra-inspired Christmas classic -- bizarro-world Frank Capra, at least -- Gremlins gleefully straddles the line between funny and frightening, as an army of animatronic creatures wreak havoc in a small town before the human residents figure out what's hit them and strike back. The story follows precocious Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan), who receives a cute-and-fuzzy (pre-Furby) "Mogwai" named Gizmo (voiced by Howie Mandel) from his inventor dad (Hoyt Axton). Gizmo comes with three strict, if cryptic, rules of pet care: no bright light; no water; and, most important, no midnight snacks. But rules are made to be broken: Soon enough, the winter wonderland of Kingston Falls catches a bad case of the Gremlins, and we have a monster movie on our hands. Ugly, green, and extremely mean, these Mogwai transmutations are the polar opposite of cuddly Gizmo. They seek only to torture and humiliate, which results in some shockingly crude physical comedy. From Billy's sweetly sarcastic coworker Kate (Phoebe Cates) to mean old Mrs. Deagle (Polly Holliday), no one escapes the depredations of these creepy critters. In 1990, Dante directed a sequel, which concentrated more on comedy than fright, but it's the original Gremlins that stays in moviegoers' minds. Jason Bergenfeld

All Movie Guide

"Don't expose him to bright light. Don't ever get him wet. And don't ever, ever feed him after midnight." This sage advice is ignored midway through Gremlins, with devastating results. This comic Joe Dante effort is set in a Norman Rockwell-esque small town at Christmastime. Seeking a unique gift for his son an erstwhile inventor (Hoyt Axton) purchases a cute, fuzzy little "Mogwai" from a Chinatown shopkeeper's (Keye Luke) grandson (John Louie), who dispenses the above-mentioned warning before closing the deal. Meanwhile, young bank clerk Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) must suffer such antagonists as rich-bitch Mrs. Deagle (Polly Holliday) and priggish Gerald (Judge Reinhold) while pursuing his romance with Kate (Phoebe Cates). These and a variety of other plot strands are tied together when the lovable mogwai (named Gizmo) is exposed to bright light and gotten wet. In short order, the town is invaded by nasty, predatory Gremlins, who lay waste to everything in sight as Billy and Kate try to contain the destruction. Like most of Joe Dante's works, Gremlins is chock-full of significant cameo appearances: in this instance, such pop-culture icons as Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Chuck Jones, Scott Brady, Harry Carey Jr., Steven Spielberg (the film's executive producer) and even Robby the Robot all show up briefly on screen. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 883929041152
• Source: WEA INT'L
• Sales Rank: 15,681