Cinemas Greatest Scenes: Billy Meets Gizmo in Gremlins (1984).

Is Joe Dante’s Gremlins a family horror or Christmas movie, and or both? We’ll go with both. For the record, it often surprises me that Gremlins misses out on honours in ‘Best Of’ lists for American horror films. Maybe because it plays more like a black comedy.

In 1984, the Steven Spielberg produced Gremlins was a huge success at the Box Office. The initial campaign to promote it was centred around Gizmo. Though the original movie poster doesn’t even show our fluffy little friend. All you see are white fluffy paws and the words: Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous. How dangerous depends on whether you follow some basic rules. Keep him out of the light. Don’t get him wet. And don’t feed him after midnight.

There’s a great line at the beginning of the film which Randell Peltzer (Hoyt Aston) utters to his son, “I’ll bet every kid in America would like to have one of these. They might even replace the dog as the family pet.” But if only Randell had a crystal ball to see the future, he would surely walk back his words, with the mayhem caused by murderous Mogwai clones spawned by Gizmo, after his son Billy fails to obey the strict rules.

The original script was a lot darker with Gizmo supposed to have transformed into the evil Stripe. Stripe was one of Gizmo’s offsprings who encourages and leads an army of Mogwai on a rampage through the fictional small-town of Kingston Falls sabotaging everything in their path. But thanks to Spielberg, he convinced director Joe Dante that Gizmo should remain cute and cuddly and ultimately the hero at the end of the film.

While it’s weird to say, the chemistry between the film’s star Zach Gilligan as Billy and Gizmo (a lifelike puppet) is adorable. But best of all is how the movie exploits every single sight gag. Memorable scenes include the Mogwai’s very own Star Wars cantina scene at Dorry’s Tavern, the Christmas Tree attack, Mrs Deagle’s Stairlift to hell, and the infamous Mogwai exploding in a microwave kitchen scene where Billy’s mum defends herself against newly hatched Mogwai. But what really makes the movie special is our introduction to Gizmo.

When Randall Peltzer brings home Gizmo from a mysterious Chinatown bric-a-brac store for Billy at Christmas, we are not only introduced to one of cinema’s most beloved creatures, but also the immediate bond between Gizmo and Billy. As the scene builds there is an air of mystery about Gizmo and his nature. When Billy’s mum (Lynn) tries to take a photo of Gizmo, it frightens him. Here, Randell explicitly goes on to explain the three cardinal rules (he was initially told back in the bric-brac store) of how to take care of a Mogwai. While it’s tame compared to the horror show still to come, it is nonetheless heartwarming, something you would expect from a family movie. It also sets ups the movie fittingly about the dire consequences of irresponsibility.