Gremlins: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review

If you've never seen Gremlins, first of all shame on you. One, for never having seen it and, two, for making me go over a plot for what is arguably a classic flick. Fortunately, the story is simple. Randall is a father (Hoyt Axton) in search of the perfect Christmas gift for his son Billy (Zach Galligan) and finds it in a store in New York's Chinatown in the form of a Mogwai — basically a cute little furry creature that resembles a teddy bear with big eyes and ears. The proprietor, Wing, refuses to sell the little guy to Randall because white man can't be trusted with the responsibility of the creature, but Wing's grandson sneakily sells it regardless because they need the money. All Randall has to remember is three simple rules: Keep it out of bright light and sunlight, keep it away from water and never feed it after midnight. That's all he has to remember.

Randall takes the Mogwai home, where his son is instantly amazed — naturally — and is taken with the ball of fur, calling him Gizmo. And because white men can't be trusted, it's not long before all three rules are broken. Water is spilled on Gizmo, causing it to birth more Mogwais from where the water hit. These guys aren't as passive as their patriarch. These are mean little suckers. It's not long before the offspring eats the shit out of some fried chicken after midnight, which causes them to turn into the nasty titular creatures. Then all hell breaks loose as the gang of gremlins, led by Stripe — so named because of the mohawk he sports — take it upon themselves to terrorize the small town's inhabitants, causing as much destruction as they can along the way. It's up to Billy and his girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates) to stop them.

When I first saw Gremlins in the mid-'80s, I remember thinking I enjoyed it more than I thought I should have. As a young teenager, I probably thought it was just a stupid kids movie with a stupid teddy bear-like stuffed animal acting cute with its stupid baby talk and stupid singing. Stripe was cool, though.

Yet, years later as I watch it again, I find a new appreciation because of how dark the film is. While there isn't blood (this is marketed as family film, after all), there is plenty of gremlin grue. There are deaths by microwave, stabbings and more (including a dog strung up with Christmas lights and a scene where a gremlin shoots at the protagonists in a bar — happy holidays!), so much so I have to wonder if this would get a PG-13 rating now. Regardless, for a family promoted film, Gremlins definitely delivers the goods for young budding horror fans.

Gremlins really is one of those films that has something for everyone of all ages. It's not scary per se, but it is definitely dark enough to have earned the label horror-comedy. It holds up incredibly well and can safely be introduced to a new generation of fans. If you are like me and saw it when it first came out, the film offers both a trip down memory lane and the new experience of 'whoa, was it always this mean?'.