A hapless inventor stumbles into a Chinatown antique store, hoping to pawn his wares, when he encounters a mysterious animal of sorts: a mogwai. Thinking he has found the perfect gift for his son, the inventor immediately offers to buy the small, furry creature for $200, but the old man running the shop refuses the sale. Unafraid of a good deal, the man’s grandson secretly sells the mogwai to the inventor and gives him a list of strange rules for the creature’s care. The inventor’s son Billy loves his new pet mogwai, naming him “Gizmo” showing him off to a local boy. But when he accidentally gets water on Gizmo (a rule the grandson warned not to break), Gizmo begins to sprout mischievous offspring. These “gremlins” start as a mere curiosity but soon begin to wreak havoc on the sleepy town of Kingston Falls, wrecking machinery and (I’m pretty sure but it doesn’t expressly show it, but) killing residents. It’s up to Billy, his girlfriend Kate, and his mother Lynn to kill the gremlins and restore peace on earth (because this movie takes place during Christmastime!).
I have often heard the phrase “gremlin” and have even used the term. I’ve seen the Furby-looking Gizmo and the Salacious Crumb-looking Stripe, but have somehow never actually watched “Gremlins”. Truth be told, I was really hoping to like it more than I did. I liked Billy, his family dynamic, and flirtations with Kate. They were all interesting enough (in an ‘80s standard fare sort of way). There’s something perfect about a family that lives with failing technology being able to stand up against creatures that destroy technology. And yet, the film doesn’t really lean into that. It’s just general, fun mayhem that felt a bit hollow. The film starts by setting up a few characters and plot points that don’t go anywhere once the action starts. And between the weird orientalism with the old Chinese man and lore or some of the depictions of mischievous gremlins, the flick used weirdly racist tropes to depict the creatures’ otherness. The film was fine. I liked it. But it was just ok.