Gremlins (1984)
Yes, I count Gremlins as a Christmas film. You know I had to include one odd choice on the list, and I decided to get it out of the way first thing. I simply love this movie. It starts out as an honest to goodness Christmas film with crackpot inventor Rand Peltzer in the city trying to find a unique Christmas gift to give to his son... and to sell his inventions. He ends up in a Chinatown antique shop run by Mr. Wing, played by the great Keye Luke, who had played Charlie Chan in those films of the 1940s. While in the antique shop, he hears the humming of an odd tune and discovers a Mogwai in a cage. Mr. Wing refuses to sell the Mogwai, because it's 'too big a responsibility'. As Mr. Peltzer leaves, Mr. Wing's grandson brings out the Mogwai and sells it to Mr. Peltzer, along with giving him 3 important rules, which he repeats to his son when presenting the Mogwai as a gift when he gets home.
Now the town where the Peltzers live is all set up for Christmas, it's blanketed with snow, it's a beautiful place. However, the townspeople aren't all nice and Christmasy. There's the guy (Judge Reinhold) who wants Billy's (Zach Galligan) girlfriend and the promotion to bank manager that Billy really wants. The girlfriend is played by Ms. 80s teen herself Phoebe Cates. Then there's Mrs. Deagle (Polly Holliday) who is the Scrooge of the town and lives by herself in a house full of cats. There's Mr. Futterman (Dick Miller) who is a paranoid and old-fashioned WWII vet that thinks gremlins cause all technological problems. And scariest of all, a young Corey Feldman. Even scarier? He lives!
Chris Columbus wrote the script for this, which was originally much darker, with gremlins eating McDonalds customers, the dog being killed, Billy's mother being killed, and Gizmo the Mogwai becoming Stripe the Gremlin instead of just birthing him. In fact, this was Columbus' first produced screenplay, and he'd later go on to being a popular director, directing things like the first two Harry Potter films, Adventures In Babysitting, Mrs. Doubtfire, Home Alone 1 and 2, Rent, and the first Percy Jackson film. However, this film was directed by one of my favorite directors, Joe Dante. He had already directed Piranha, The Howling, and a portion of Twilight Zone: The Movie. He'd go on to direct Small Soldiers, The Burbs, Innerspace, Gremlins 2, and Looney Toons: Back In Action. And his direction here is very similar to that of his other films. There's lots of references to old sci-fi and horror films and a lot of zany Looney Toons style humor.
Though I consider this a Christmas film, it's not for very young children. People die in this film. The gremlins can be quite frightening and icky. The film proclaims that there is no Santa in it's most famous scene where Phoebe Cates tells the story of why she hates Christmas.
I wonder how many little kids went seeing this PG rated film and learned there was no Santa. No wonder this film and Temple of Doom brought forth the need for the PG-13 rating. It's a sick story to tell in a family film, but I do love the dark tone it brings to a mischievous little film. And that's what the movie is. That's the right word for it. Because the scenes of the havoc the gremlins reap across the town on Christmas Eve are not totally mean-spirited. The gremlins are having fun and the deaths have comedy to them, such as when the gremlins hotwire Mrs. Deagles stair chair. Then there's the gremlins singing along to the movie theater showing of Snow White's song Hi-Ho. It's such fun.
By the end of the film, everything is set right. Christmas is saved. And who doesn't want a bit of mischief at Christmas time? Everyone should have this on their Christmas watch list. It's fun, it's absurd, and just a joy to watch. And tis the season for joy, after all.
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