Gremlins

Gremlins is an American horror-comedy film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet. The creature then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive monsters. This story was continued with a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which was released in 1990. Unlike the lighter sequel, the original Gremlins opts for more black comedy, which is balanced against a Christmastime setting.

Experienced filmmaker Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer. The screenplay was written by Chris Columbus. Gremlins stars Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo. The actors had to work alongside numerous puppets, as puppetry was the main form of special effects used to portray Gizmo and the gremlins. These puppets became the real focal point of the film.

Gremlins was a commercial success and received some positive feedback from critics. It was also at the centre of a large merchandising campaign. However, the film has also been heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. Critics alleged these scenes made the film inappropriate for younger audiences who could be admitted into theatres under its PG rating. In response, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) reformed its rating system.

The film starts by introducing the character Randall "Rand" Peltzer, an inventor of modest abilities and questionable success. He is from the fictional community of Kingston Falls, and travels to Chinatown in New York City to sell his inventions and pick up a present for his son Billy. A young Chinese boy takes Rand to his grandfather's small shop, where Rand takes interest in a small, cute, furry creature called a mogwai (which, in Mandarin Chinese, translates literally as "evil spirit"). Mr. Wing, the Chinese boy's grandfather and owner of the shop, refuses to sell the mogwai even when Rand offers $200 for it. This is money that the Wing family desperately needs. Consequently, Wing's grandson secretly sells the mogwai to Rand. Though the creature seems innocent enough, the grandson warns Rand that one must take certain precautions regarding the creature. Namely, one must not let the mogwai near bright light, especially sunlight, which can kill the mogwai, one must not get water on the mogwai, and, most importantly, one must never feed the creature after midnight.

Rand names the creature "Gizmo" and brings him home to his son. Billy has recently completed high school and has taken up a job at the bank to make ends meet for his parents, whom he still lives with. He owns one dog, Barney, but Barney's mischievousness makes both him and Billy the target of harassment from Mrs. Deagle, an elderly woman with much financial influence. Being a bitter, malicious person, she threatens to kidnap and murder Barney.
Two mogwai in the science lab of the local high school.
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Two mogwai in the science lab of the local high school.

Billy is fascinated with Gizmo, who is highly intelligent and can hum a tune. Billy's new companion also proves to be a very gentle and well-behaved creature. Unfortunately, however, one of Billy's friends accidentally spills water on Gizmo. This causes Gizmo to instantly multiply, spawning five new mogwai in a process that appears painful to him. The new mogwai are much more aggressive than Gizmo. They are led by the mogwai Stripe, who has a white mohawk-like hairstyle.

At about this time Billy's personal life takes a more positive turn. He asks his coworker at the bank, Kate, out for a date, and she agrees. Kate is also a local bartender, who sees first hand the misery in the town caused by Mrs. Deagle's inhumane financial leadership.

Eventually the mogwai fool Billy into feeding them after midnight. All the creatures soon form cocoons, except Gizmo, who was wise enough to not accept the food Billy offered after midnight. While Billy is at the bank, the cocoons hatch, and the mogwai emerge having transformed into gremlin-like monsters with dark green reptilian skin. Billy's mother is now alone with the gremlins and comes into conflict with them. She manages to defeat them one-by-one, killing one in the blender. She stabs a second with a kitchen knife, and traps a third in the microwave oven, which she turns on. The gremlin promptly explodes. While she is strangled by the next gremlin, at this point Billy arrives and saves her by decapitating the gremlin with an ornamental sword. The only remaining gremlin left in the house is Stripe, who then breaks out. Billy tracks him down to the local YMCA, but the creature escapes once more by jumping into a swimming pool. This causes an incredible multiplication of gremlins.

Billy then takes Gizmo to the bar to recover Kate, who has been bartending that night. The gremlins have taken over the bar and force Kate to serve them. However, she eventually discovers they are frightened by light when she attempts to light one's cigarette. She then knocks down several through flash photography, and is reunited with Billy. The two seek shelter in the bank while the gremlins wreak havoc upon Kingston Falls. Notably, the creatures kill Mrs. Deagle. When Billy, Kate and Gizmo re-emerge, they find the gremlins are gone. Billy and Kate track them down to the local theatre, and Billy manages to explode it. The gremlins burn to death, with the exception of Stripe, who had left briefly to get snacks at the department store across the street.

Billy pursues Stripe through the store, but Stripe escapes and reaches a water fountain. By this time, however, it is morning, and Gizmo, having escaped notice of the human characters, opens a blind and exposes Stripe to sunlight. Stripe melts as everyone watches.

At the end of the film, Mr. Wing returns to collect Gizmo to prevent any reoccurrence of trouble. Mr. Wing observes that while western society is not ready to properly care for a mogwai, Billy shows some potential.