Gremlins (1984)

A horror/comedy that stands proudly as a revered cult classic.

Few creatures in the history of cinema have become so synonymous with chaotic hilarity! They are cheeky and cute on the one hand, and murderous and evil on the other, but either way, Gremlins, directed by Joe Dante, has a brilliant nostalgia about it.

Watching this at the Film4 Summer Screen on Saturday night, my expectations were low. I did not enjoy this film as a youngster and thought, with time, it would have grown into a revolting blotch on the list of films from my childhood memory. However, I am pleased to say, that I thoroughly enjoyed the silliness, the sentiment, and the stunts. It was a pleasure to see a film just being brilliantly entertaining and not taking itself too seriously. While the plot is ridiculous and the acting is far from Oscar-winning, there is such a heart to it, a warm fuzziness about Gizmo and his brethren of wrong-doers that has seen the film become sweeter with age.

The musical score is enticing, linking scene-to-scene with a masterful ease, and the moments of slap-stick horror are genuine laugh-out-loud moments - such as the bit where the woman flies out the window…gut-wrenchingly funny!

Don’t expect much, but watch this film with a few of your mates who remember it from your youth, have a few beers, and drink every time you laugh!