You reach the point where the grassy slope meets the edge of the road. The trail you were following ends, whatever had caused the grass to wilt and die had no effect on the unyielding tarmac it seems. Checking both ways for vehicles, which side of the road do they drive on here anyway, you make your way across and see another strip of deceased foliage plunging down towards the edge of the gorge itself. Cautiously you make your way to the edge.
Peering over into the shadow strewn depths you see the rushing torrent below, imperceptivity carving its way down through the rock. The water seems to be pooling up slightly against some trapped debris, or a dam perhaps. No…not a dam. Dams don’t move like that. Dams don’t pulsate, and dams certainly don’t eject rough, scaly looking objects like fossilised popcorn from a pan. Popcorn with arms and legs…hands…eyes…
Panting, you step back from the edge. Did it see you? What was that thing? Something from the sphere? Deciding that you don’t really want to know you turn around and look down the road, first left, then right, but which way? Left looks as though it could head back towards town, but it might pass through Tavernmaw and after the experience by the church you’re not sure you trust the place.
Turning right and keeping as far from the gorge as possible you make your way along the side of the road as it winds its way up the edge of the valley. Looking back you think you see movement in the shadows of the trees below, small shapes flickering in the dark areas, never emerging into the light.
Turning away again you double your pace. Who knows, on this island, it could be night soon…
Another big one this time, and perhaps slightly controversial. I’m sure lots of people wouldn’t include this in the horror genre but I certainly would, and it’s far from being the most debatable film in my collection. They’re cute, but don’t feed them after midnight. Joe Dante’s ‘Gremlins’, from 1984.
In case you’re unfamiliar, ‘Gremlins’ follows our teenage (I think, it’s never quite clear hold old he is) protagonist Billy Peltzer, played by Zach Galligan, as he struggles to look after a mysterious pet called a Mogwai, named Gizmo, which his father obtained for him in Chinatown. There are three rules. Don’t expose the Mogwai to sunlight, don’t get him wet, and never feed him after midnight. What could go wrong? Of course, a lot does go wrong and the little town of Kingston Falls soon finds itself overrun with monsters.
‘Gremlins’ was a very successful film, coming 4th at the Box office for 1984, a year which pitted it against heavy hitters ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, ‘Ghostbusters’, and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’. As far as horror films go it was number 1.
The creature effects are excellent and were designed by Chris Walas who created the makeup for David Cronenberg’s ‘The Fly‘ and also had a hand in the melting faces in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. Gizmo is incredibly cute and the Gremlins suitably evil looking, though not too scary, this is a family film after…well, is it? ‘Gremlins’ sits in an odd place. 90% of the time it’s wacky, or heart warming, or funny, but then it hits you with a level of violence you’re not expecting from something that has the feel of a festive family film.
One of its claims to fame was, along with the aforementioned ‘Temple of Doom’, it prompted Stephen Spielberg, executive producer of one and director of the other, to suggest the US rating system introduce a new rating between PG and R due to the complaints that the 2 films were too frightening and violent for young children. And so PG-13 was born. Here in the UK the film was classified 15, though I’m sure I remember seeing it as a child with my parents. There’s fear, destruction, all manner of creature deaths and some human ones too, and one disturbing scene which will always stick in my memory and not because of anything visual. More on that later.
Jerry Goldsmith’s musical score is iconic. Almost everybody of a certain generation would recognise the main theme, I’ve even included it on this year’s Halloween party playlist. The rest of the music is just as good, from the beautiful ‘First Aid’ to the haunting whale song of ‘The Pool’. So good in fact that Jerry Goldsmith won a Saturn Award for best music.
I haven’t mentioned it yet but ‘Gremlins’ is a Christmas film, and not just a film that happens to take place at Christmas, a la ‘Die Hard’, but one where it’s front and centre, there’s plenty of festive carnage, gremlins posing as carollers and a young Corey Feldman dressed as a Christmas tree, it’s on the same level as something like ‘Home Alone’.
Speaking of Corey Feldman this was the same year he starred in ‘Friday the 13th Part 4′ and a few years before ‘Lost Boys’, so I doubt this is the last time we’ll be seeing him. He’s great in this film and it’s a strong performance all round really from the whole cast. If I had to criticise something it would be the stereotypical nature of the old Chinese man and his shop but it’s very of it’s time and ultimately it’s American consumerism which is taught a lesson by that same man, not as a punishment but due to its own hubris.
Score time. ‘Gremlins’ is one of my all time favourite films. It fantastically balances humour and horror, managing to be not too silly, not too scary but sit somewhere in the middle, somewhere just right. 5 Stair Lifts out of 5. Maybe it’s rose tinted glasses viewing a classic film from my childhood, but no, I think it’s just a great film. It’s almost a shame it’s as scary and violent in places as it is because honestly, most kids would love it, I certainly did.
**WARNING** SPOILERS BELOW **WARNING**
Welcome to the spoiler section. This is the part where I can bring up some specific parts of the film which I’d like to talk about more, whether they be good, or bad.
So the first specific part of the film I want to bring up is the disturbing scene I alluded to earlier. This isn’t gory, or violent or anything like that, it’s psychological. Mostly the film is fairly light hearted, but suddenly we’re hit with Kate’s story about how her father went missing one Christmas and after several days, on a particularly cold night she goes to light the fire and notices a smell. The fire brigade come to find what’s inside the chimney, and it turns out to be her dead father who’d tried to surprise them by climbing down the chimney, fallen and broken his neck. This whole scene feels so out of place injecting some true horror into the film, I like the scene but still, what a change of pace.
Another example of something that pushes this film into non kid friendly territory, but in a much more amusing way, is the fate of Mrs Deagle. Now we’ve already established by this point of the film that she’s a bit of a bitch and it’s hilarious and satisfying to see the Gremlins sabotage her Stair Lift so that she shoots up her (Impossibly long by the way) staircase and smashes through an upstairs window into the snow. Now this is the point where a family film has her looking all woozy or screaming her head off, but no Mrs Deagle is straight up dead, these Gremlins aren’t messing around.
We mentioned the special effects earlier but one scene in particular is a fantastic example of practical effects. At the end of the film when Spike is at the fountain and gets hit by the ray of sunlight his body starts to melt, the skin bubbling and dripping off his body, it’s gruesome stuff and it’s not over yet, after his body falls into the water and we think he’s finished his skeleton leaps out onto the floor and begins to dissolve whilst still apparently trying to breathe. The whole sequence looks amazing and is something that CGI has sadly, and generally for the worst, almost eliminated from modern films.
One more scene I’d like to mention is the swimming pool. Billy has tracked Spike to the local YMCA but before Billy can stop him he jumps into the pool. As Spike sinks into the water the pool begins to smoke, and bubble like the water is boiling, and eerie green light glowing from inside and all the while the music swells with whale song which Gerry Goldsmith masterfully turns into something sinister and foreboding. This is probably the scene I think of first when I think of Gremlins and every re-watch reminds me why.
That’s it from me. Time for a midnight snack…
Summerisle 