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Gremlins

post #1 of 75
8/24/08 at 10:09pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to the 80's draft, i tracked down the original and the amazing sequel to watch them again after probably over a decade. God they are great. Just so much fun.

Gremlins is a pretty neat original idea (from Chris Columbus!) and plays more like a straight up horror film with some touches of dark humor (which are great). The puppets weren't as advanced but they were still very effective. It's got a couple of sloppy editing decisions and the script is weak. A lot of antagonist are set up in the first act and then they just disappear. Still a great monster flick. With lots of cameos from Spielberg to Chuck Jones.


The sequel is just amazingly insane.
It starts with a WB Cartoon, it's completely meta, a critic reviews Gremlins on screen, the projection gets interrupted by the gremlins and Hulk Hogan screams at the screen to get it back. And it just has a blast with the concept of the gremlins tearing shit up. Christopher Lee, Robert Picardo and John Glover are great. The puppets look a lot more detailed and have much more movement this time. And it's just a blast to see the gremlins experiment with the science lab and getting those weird creatures. It ends on a fucking New York, New York musical number, mixed with lots of small bits referencing other films.

What an insane fucking movie. I love it.
This movie needs a third entry. Give Dante 50 million to do them, all practical and a little Cgi for full body shot movement.
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post #2 of 75
8/24/08 at 10:24pm
One of my favourite non-Gremlin scenes in the first film, is the 'Father Christmans story'

I loose it hard.

Plus who wouldn't want Gizmo as a pet/friend?
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post #3 of 75
8/24/08 at 10:25pm
Gremlins 3? Hells yes. Probably won't happen but I'd pay to see it if Dante was involved.
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post #4 of 75
8/24/08 at 10:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Syn View Post
Plus who wouldn't want Gizmo as a pet/friend?
Yeah, until you get him wet. Then you're fucked.

Hope you don't have any children in the house.
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post #5 of 75
8/24/08 at 10:58pm
Every child of the 80's loved GREMLINS. The problem with the sequel is the two leads. Zach Galligan was a charisma void. Billy shoulda been recast. Even Phoebe Cates is off her game (let's face it, talent wise, that's something she couldn't afford)
And I really hate Gizmo! How has that little shit survived in our pop culture consciousness?!!
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post #6 of 75
8/24/08 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neoolong View Post
Yeah, until you get him wet. Then you're fucked.

Hope you don't have any children in the house.


Or worse, a uni-student flat...
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post #7 of 75
8/25/08 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 
I just love how all the other gremlins basically live to torture gizmo. On the sequel, the new stripe spends the entire movie fucking him up.
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post #8 of 75
8/25/08 at 9:25am
One of my favorite moments in 2 continues to go very unloved: The soldier shooting the little spurt of goo at the end, his superior asking what that was and the soldier replying "It moved, sir!"
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post #9 of 75
8/25/08 at 9:50am
Yeah how the hell did Gremlins manage to avoid the Hollywood reboot machince.

I wouldn't mind watching a threequel. Gotta track Gremlins down man, must have been 15 years since I saw it.
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post #10 of 75
8/25/08 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
One of my favorite moments in 2 continues to go very unloved: The soldier shooting the little spurt of goo at the end, his superior asking what that was and the soldier replying "It moved, sir!"
That's a great bit. I also love the fact that the security room guys start questioning and mocking the rules. Which are in fact, retarded. And that scene generated because of fans making fun of such rules and toying with them. Like, what would happen if a gremlin is on a plane and it eats while changing timezones?
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post #11 of 75
8/25/08 at 10:13am
What I love about these films is that the first one can be seen as a commentary on the success of ET (cute little creature turns into out-of-control all-consuming monster) while the sequel is a commentary on sequels themselves (that thing you liked from the first film is copied over and over again, often to the point of being unrecognizable).
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post #12 of 75
8/25/08 at 11:30am
I watched Gremlins a few years ago for the first time since being a kid, and was amazed at how violent it was. How it got away with a PG rating is beyond me.* Still love the flick though. So much fun.

Never saw the sequel. Might have to rectify that soon.


*Edit: Well according to Wikipedia, there was no PG-13 rating at the time.
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post #13 of 75
8/25/08 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
I watched Gremlins a few years ago for the first time since being a kid, and was amazed at how violent it was. How it got away with a PG rating is beyond me.* Still love the flick though. So much fun.

Never saw the sequel. Might have to rectify that soon.


*Edit: Well according to Wikipedia, there was no PG-13 rating at the time.
Gremlins, along with Temple of Doom, were the two movies that instigated the creation of PG-13.
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post #14 of 75
8/25/08 at 11:38am
You have to love the Leonard Maltin bit in the sequel. He legitimately hated the first 'Gremlins' movie...for him to have the good humor to show up and get mauled to death by gremlins in the sequel is just priceless.
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post #15 of 75
8/25/08 at 1:35pm
"Casper, have this tissue analyzed.."
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post #16 of 75
8/26/08 at 12:40am
While I much prefer the first film for its weird mean streak, Gremlins 2 gets points for being a ballsy, utterly insane idea fora sequel. Much love to the "smart" Gremlin - absolutely hysterical.

"It's rather brutal here - Right now we are advising all our clients to put everything they've got into canned food and shotguns!"

"We want the essentials. Dinettes. Complete bedroom groups. Convenient credit, even though we've been turned down in the past..."
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post #17 of 75
8/26/08 at 6:42am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, the Smart Gremlins is probably my favorite too. His sitdown with the Dracula guy is terrific. "We are headed towards civilization" and then he shoots another gremlin in the face.
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post #18 of 75
8/26/08 at 8:27am
Gremlins and Scrooged are my two favorare Christmas films (probably says a lot about me).

Never really got on with the second film until a Discussion on the boards a while ago that pointed out what Gremilins 2 was trying to achive. I have come to love it since.
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post #19 of 75
8/26/08 at 9:31am
Had a double feature of these two a month or so ago and was pleased to see how well they held up, especially the second one. The first doesn't work as a scary movie so much anymore (as a kid it was the stuff of nightmares) and you can see a glimmer of the sense of humor that went into overdrive in the second one.

The second one's definitely one of the more underrated sequels out there. I don't think people understood what they were going for when it came out.

There's a huge amount of extras on those (goddamn snapcase!) dvds, too. My favorite was the deleted scene that had Clamp in his office, pissed off, staring at It's a Wonderful Life on the television screens on his wall. He gets up from his desk, walks over and turns a knob, and the movie turns into color as his face lights up with glee. Such a great Turner riff.
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post #20 of 75
8/26/08 at 9:43am
The first GREMLINS has one of the greatest jump scares EVER (gremlin out of the cupboard next to Billy's face).
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post #21 of 75
8/26/08 at 9:57am
I love the fact that in 2, Clamp has a TV spot regarding the end of the world ready to go.
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post #22 of 75
8/26/08 at 10:03am
Scott Tobias wrote up a really great New Cult Canon article on Gremlins 2 for AVClub. Link here.
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post #23 of 75
8/26/08 at 10:04am
Thread Starter 
That was included because the filmmakers found out that TV networks HAVE those kind of spots.
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post #24 of 75
8/26/08 at 10:14am
Gremlins is great, but 2 never really jelled with me. I get the commentary on sequels and such, but it made a joke out of something i really would have liked to see...a sequel to Gremlins. Still, I get the joke and there are some good parts to it. And it introduced me to the great John Glover. I really wish we'd see more of him. The guy is fantastic. "You build a place for things, and things come!"
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post #25 of 75
8/26/08 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
The building itself is worth mentioning. The voiceover "You are now in the Men's room!"
"To the owner of the car bla bla bla, please remove it from the parking space, it's old and dirty"

and the best

"Fire: The untamed element. Oldest of man's mysteries. Giver of warmth, destroyer of forests. Right now, this building is on fire."
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post #26 of 75
8/26/08 at 10:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake View Post
Scott Tobias wrote up a really great New Cult Canon article on Gremlins 2 for AVClub. Link here.
Thanks for the link. That was a damn fine read.

And I agree with most here that while Gremlins is a surprisingly nasty little comedy, Gremlins 2 is just pure subversive mayhem. Somebody should just give Dante a new job right now.
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post #27 of 75
8/26/08 at 10:46am
I just loved the first one but as a kid it scared the crap out of me. I mean the kitchen scene alone is intense and the final fight where stripe just jacks Billy all to hell then graphically melts is insane. Yet I always thought the bathroom buddy and the shot where Kate is moving side to side with the gun in her face was oddly funny. Not take the gun away or freak just move side to side.

Two was funny especially Kathleen Freeman's cook who progressively gets drunker and drunker during the filming of her show piggybacking on Christopher Lee's scientist's array of automatic weapons and did I just see Dick Butkis. The cameos, the humor, the Batman logo, are just so rapid fire I don't know how you can make a sequel after you take them from Christmas terrifying to corporate synergizing in two films that still hold up.
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post #28 of 75
8/26/08 at 10:50am
Thread Starter 
My favorite bit in 2 has to be the elevator. Phoebe Kates gets in and the gremlins fuck around with the elevator making it stop, drop and ascend fast. And she calls for the alarm. Then all the gremlins proceed to make alarm noises. It's one of the funniest things ever.
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post #29 of 75
8/26/08 at 1:16pm
Love this "franchise". I honestly don't know why we there aren't atleast DTV sequels (there were 4 CRITTERS flicks!... of which I am also a fan). Even THE LOST BOYS is getting revived by WB. Part of me wants the reputation untarnished by crappy cash-ins and retreads, but another part of me knows that this toybox has more magic left in it. Plus Dante needs/deserves a resurgence. The original movie hit me exactly at the right age (8), and helped spawn my love for horror flicks (and especially horror comedies). Who doesn't love Goldsmith's "The Gremlin Rag" theme? The sequel is so chockful of cartooniness, self-parody, and rapid fire gags... you can't help but be charmed by it.

Anyone know where I can get a hold of the initial (prior to Dante toying with it) Terry Jones script for 2?
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post #30 of 75
8/26/08 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tati View Post
That was included because the filmmakers found out that TV networks HAVE those kind of spots.
Ok I gotta hear more about this!
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post #31 of 75
8/28/08 at 11:38am
This is not be an official Gremlins film, but check out this YouTube video made by a Belgian in just two months. And then watch his follow-up on how he did it.

Basically he has gremlins invading other classic movies like The Exorcist, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Batman and more. He's done a stunning job on it!
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post #32 of 75
8/28/08 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
There's also a commercial for an IT firm in the U.K. i think. That employed the real gremlins.
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post #33 of 75
8/28/08 at 11:43am
Damn that is a great video! Kudos o the guy that made it. And it makes me yearn for a Gremlins sequel even more than this whole thread and the draft combined.
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post #34 of 75
8/28/08 at 12:05pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYDMN...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWzW3...eature=related

God i want more movies!
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post #35 of 75
8/28/08 at 12:13pm
Watch out.
That sort of thing would be considered fanfic here.
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post #36 of 75
8/28/08 at 12:25pm
The ArcLight showed the first film on Christmas Eve last year. I took my mom and we had a blast. I hadn't seen it in years, since I've been waiting for the inevitable double-dip on DVD. Still waiting...

I used to watch the second one all the time as a kid. Growing up, my two favorite Dante joints were "Gremlins 2" and "The 'Burbs."
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post #37 of 75
8/28/08 at 12:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tati View Post
There's also a commercial for an IT firm in the U.K. i think. That employed the real gremlins.
From that youtube video about section:

Quote:
The creatures effects are all made with puppets. I made a new mold out of a hard cast of one of the original sculptures from the production. I created a batch of new foam puppets especially for this project.
That's pretty real I would think. Was definitely entertaining. I still have much love for the first one. IT has Corey Feldman as a Christmas tree for fuck sake.
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post #38 of 75
8/28/08 at 2:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foilman View Post
This is not be an official Gremlins film, but check out this YouTube video made by a Belgian in just two months. And then watch his follow-up on how he did it.

Basically he has gremlins invading other classic movies like The Exorcist, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Batman and more. He's done a stunning job on it!
That's (surprisingly) really well done. It's funny, after the 1st Batman clip, I wondered why he didn't use the "Penguin takes over the controls scene"... and then he does.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tati View Post
There's also a commercial for an IT firm in the U.K. i think. That employed the real gremlins.
Here that is.
Making of.
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post #39 of 75
8/29/08 at 1:44pm
Something occurred to me. How did we avoid getting an animated spin-off Saturday morning cartoon of this property in the 80s?

GHOSTBUSTERS (The Real...), LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, BEETLEJUICE, and even TEEN WOLF all had cartoons. Before kids begged their parents for Pikachu and Stitch, there was Gizmo and Stripe.



EDIT: Heck, even TOXIC AVENGER, and KILLER TOMATOES got toons.
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post #40 of 75
8/30/08 at 7:56am
when i first found gremlins as a kid, i didn't even realise there was a first one. my introduction was to the second one.

the second one feels like the first but jacked up on crystal meth.

the spider gremlin always scared the crap outta me
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post #41 of 75
8/30/08 at 3:59pm
Gremlins had a huge impact on me as a kid, one of my faves. It's wonderfully anarchic. It was a thrill going to see the sequel with a friend when it came out, it's practically a ZAZ-team style out-and-out parody of the first film.
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post #42 of 75
9/7/08 at 6:26pm
Check this out:

GREMLINS FAN FILM - Gremlins 3 Warmup.

MAKING OF the GREMLINS FAN FILM.
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post #43 of 75
9/7/08 at 6:44pm


I just bought this shirt because of this thread. Got it over at Snorg.
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post #44 of 75
9/7/08 at 6:49pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, that shirt is aces. Saw it a while ago.
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post #45 of 75
9/7/08 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raziel View Post
Post 31.

Nice COMMUNION avatar BTW.
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post #46 of 75
9/7/08 at 9:16pm
Oh right, whoops!
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post #47 of 75
9/7/08 at 9:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anderson View Post


I just bought this shirt because of this thread. Got it over at Snorg.
link plz
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post #48 of 75
9/7/08 at 9:27pm
GREMLINS 2 is awesome. Spielberg is a sick bastard (in the greatest possible way) for selling the first one essentially as a family film, but the first one doesn't have Tony Randall and it doesn't have Slayer, and it's just not quite as batshit over the top insane. It's just really morbid and dark.
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post #49 of 75
9/7/08 at 10:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DARKMITE8 View Post
Something occurred to me. How did we avoid getting an animated spin-off Saturday morning cartoon of this property in the 80s?

GHOSTBUSTERS (The Real...), LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, BEETLEJUICE, and even TEEN WOLF all had cartoons. Before kids begged their parents for Pikachu and Stitch, there was Gizmo and Stripe.



EDIT: Heck, even TOXIC AVENGER, and KILLER TOMATOES got toons.
Found this... don't know how accurate it is but if this is out there somewhere..! Where is IT?

Quote:
A cartoon pilot Gizmo and the gremlins was made but never aired. The special was to air as a prime time special then a full series later. Not much is known about the pilot. Wizard magazines toon special talked about the special a few years back. Someone asked warner brothers in a dvd chat room if they will release it and they said it might be released with a special edition of gremlins.
http://www.answers.com/topic/gremlins-film

http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=138296

http://www.retrojunk.com/details_mov...-the-gremlins/
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post #50 of 75
9/8/08 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Fuchs View Post
link plz
http://www.teemarto.com/p58/Gremlins...efhpvejiqi63v6
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