Gremlins

[Winston]

The original comedy, from the 1980s! With Gizmo, Stripe, and Brain Gremlin. Now I've always been a huge fan of the movies, so here's the movies!

Gremlins

Plot

While searching for a Christmas present for his teenage son, inventor Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) discovers a small, furry creature called a Mogwai in an antique store in Chinatown. The owner of the store refuses to sell the Mogwai to Randall on the grounds that owning one is too great a responsibility. However, as Randall is leaving the store, the owner's grandson (John Louie) sells Randall the creature stating that the family needs the money. The boy gives Randall three specific instructions in caring for the Mogwai: never expose it to bright light (especially sunlight, which will kill it); never get it wet (which will make it multiply); and, most importantly: never, ever feed it after midnight. Randall takes the Mogwai, which he gives the name "Gizmo", to his family in the town of Kingston Falls.

The following evening, Randall gives Gizmo to his son Billy (Zach Galligan). A glass of water is accidentally spilled on Gizmo, causing him to convulse and produce five new Mogwai from his own body. One of the Mogwai, dubbed Stripe for his white quiff of hair, acts as their leader, but is very hostile to Gizmo. Curious to learn more about Mogwai, Billy takes Gizmo to his science teacher, Mr. Hanson (Glynn Turman), and produces a sixth new Mogwai. Leaving the new Mogwai with Mr. Hanson, on which he will conduct tests, Billy returns home, and the other five Mogwai trick him into feeding them after midnight by biting the cord of his alarm clock. In the morning, Billy discovers the Mogwai have turned into cocoons. Gizmo, having virtuously refused the food earlier, remains unchanged.

In the meantime, the sixth Mogwai steals Hanson's sandwich and cocoons itself. During a film, it hatches and breaks out of its cage, hiding in the dark corners of the room. Hanson tries to reason with it and bribe it with a candy bar, but the Mogwai eats it and attacks Hanson. Billy arrives and finds the Mogwai has turned into a reptilian monster. Elsewhere, the other Mogwai hatch into "gremlins", mischievous reptilian creatures with sharp teeth and claws. They attack Billy's mother (Frances Lee McCain). Mrs. Peltzer is able to escape with Billy's help, and the gremlins are killed. Stripe escapes and leaps into a swimming pool, creating hundreds of new gremlins who go on a rampage through the town. Billy and Gizmo rescue Billy's girlfriend Kate Beringer (Phoebe Cates) when the Gremlins overrun the tavern where she works. Billy, Kate, and Gizmo discover that the gremlins have temporarily stopped their rampage and have assembled in the local movie theater to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The three set off an explosion that kills the gremlins and destroys the theater, but Stripe again escapes.

Billy follows Stripe into a department store nearby, and Stripe leaps into a water fountain, intending to multiply again. Before he can multiply, Gizmo opens a set of window blinds, causing sunlight to pour into the store, killing Stripe. As the Peltzers recover from the rampage, the antique store owner arrives to claim Gizmo, claiming that the Western world is not yet ready for the responsibilities that come with caring for a Mogwai, but that Billy may someday be ready to properly care for Gizmo.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Plot

After the death of his owner Mr. Wing, the mogwai Gizmo becomes the guinea pig of the mad scientists working at Clamp Enterprises, an automatic state-of-the-art office building in Manhattan, run by the eccentric billionaire Daniel Clamp. Seemingly at the mercy of the chief researcher Dr. Catheter, Gizmo reunites with his friend Billy Peltzer and his fiancee Katie, both who work at Clamp Enterprises. Clamp himself visits and quickly befriends Billy upon being impressed by his skills in concept design, also sparking the interest of Billy's superior Marla Bloodstone. Gizmo is left in the office and spawns a new batch of mogwai when he gets wet, including the reincarnated Stripe, now named Mohawk. The new batch eat after midnight and transform into Gremlins.

While Mohawk tortures Gizmo, the other Gremlins cause the fire sprinklers to go off in a cooking show's studio and spawn an army of Gremlins which quickly throw the building into chaos. Billy quickly comes up with an idea to lure the Gremlins outside into sunlight by covering the front of the building in a giant sheet depicting nighttime, Clamp personally escaping outside to lead the plan. The Gremlins invade the laboratory, one devouring a brain serum and becoming the intelligent Brain Gremlin who plans to inject a genetic sunblock formula into the army so they can survive in sunlight. Other Gremlins devour serums and are genetically altered, including an electrical Gremlin which Billy traps in Clamp's answering machine.

Murray Futterman, Billy's neighbour from Kingston Falls and former victim of the Gremlin's antics, visits New York City with his wife Sheila and, upon encountering a Gremlin that consumed a bat serum, sneaks into the Clamp building to aid Billy. Billy, Dr. Catheter and the chief of security Forster team up to defeat the Gremlins, but Dr. Catheter is killed by the electric Gremlin and Forster is chased off by a female lovestruck Gremlin. Mohawk finishes torturing Gizmo and devours a spider serum, transforming into a monstrous half Gremlin, half spider hybrid. He attacks Kate and Marla, but Gizmo, tired of being bullied by his nemesis, confronts Mohawk and kills him with an ignited bottle of white-out. Outside the building, a rainstorm frustrates Clamp's plan as the Gremlins gather in the building's foyer.

Billy formulates a second plan to kill the Gremlin army: having Mr. Futterman spray the army with water and then releasing the electrical Gremlin, electrocuting and killing all of the army including the Brain Gremlin. Clamp charges in with the police and press, but is so thrilled by the end result that he gives Billy, Katie and Marla promotions and decides to start a new project based on Kingston Falls' tranquil setting from Billy's drawing. Forster calls Clamp, trapped inside a restroom in one of the higher levels of the building with the female Gremlin, the only survivor of the army, who approaches Forster in a wedding dress. Forster shrugs and resigns himself to his fate.

Main Characters

Zach Galligan as William "Billy" Peltzer

Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer

Howie Mandel as Gizmo

Tony Randall as Brain Gremlin

Frank Welker as Stripe

Well, time to discuss!

[Tori Himemiya]

When I first saw Gremlins it scared the shit out me that I had nightmares for a while.

Now I laugh at the movie like its the best comedy ever. Its strange how that happened.

[Shrek]

It's about time these movies get a discussion thread!

I grew up watching and rewatching these films countless times, and they're easily my favorite movies from the 80's/90's, if not my favorite movies of all time! They both seamlessly mix Comedy and Horror together to create an experience that's truly unique, and they've aged pretty well considering it was made entirely with puppets! Hopefully the rumors of a 3rd film are true, I would kill to see it. No, really, I'm serious. I would really kill to see a Gremlins 3.

Edited June 21, 2012 by Brain Gremlin

[Linkabel]

I remember I used to watch those movies all the time when I was little.......and somehow I thought that furbies were related to Gremlins.

[Milo]

I remember I used to watch those movies all the time when I was little.......and somehow I thought that furbies were related to Gremlins.

[Alice Twilight]

Where's my Gremlins 3?

[Mono]

I love Gremlins. But the second one sucks.

[Alice Twilight]

Second movie felt like a cash in.

[batson]

The original movie was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid, and i still like it a lot. The sequel though went way to far in the comedy aspect.

[Milo]

EDIT: Ooops, false alarm. Ignore post and move on, earthlings.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Zinos