
Editor’s Note: Although “Meet Me at the Soda Fountain” tends to focus on films from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, I do sometimes let a film from the later part of the 20th century slide through – hey, if TCM can do it, so can I! đ
Gremlins (1984) will always hold a special place in my heart: itâs the first film that I ever saw in a movie theater. My parents took my sister and I to see it at the old Cineplex Eaton Centre when we were kids. At ages four and six respectively, we were so young that our sneakers barely touched the sticky floors and when Spike (the leader of the Gremlins) leapt out of a Christmas tree, my sister literally jumped out of her seat.
âThatâs it!â my father exclaimed. âWeâre going home!â
I feigned annoyance at my sister for causing me to miss the rest of the movie but the truth was that I was petrified of the âlittle green monstersâ too. For at least the next five years, I would sleep with the covers pulled tightly over my head so that âthe gremlins couldnât get meâ. (And to this day the Johnny Mathis Christmas song Do You Hear What I Hear? fills me with unspeakable terror).
âI thought it was supposed to be a kidâs movie,â my dad grumbled on the drive home. Well, Gremlins is kind of a kidâs movie and it also kind of isnât. The film tells the tale of Billy (Zach Galligan), a wide-eyed teenager whose father gifts him with a mysterious (and adorable) pet for Christmas. The creature is a âMogwaiâ (Billyâs father names him Gizmo) and he comes with three rules:
1. No bright lights, especially sunlight as it can kill him.
2. Keep him away from water: donât get him wet.
3. Donât feed him after midnight. *
Needless to say, the good-intentioned but slightly clueless Billy breaks all three rules and before you can say âholy nightâ, hordes of little green monsters, with a penchant for junk food and wreaking havoc on electronics, have descended upon the sleepy town of Kingston Falls on Christmas Eve.
Gremlins is one of those rare instances where contrasting (even conflicting) ingredients work together to create a compelling and satisfying treat: it is both a horror movie and a comedy. Its biting social satire works in spite of the fact that the movie contains a ridiculous amount of product placement (âMilk DudsâŚâ) and was released on the heels of a huge merchandising campaign that included Gizmo dolls and Gremlinsâ gummy bears (hence why my dad expected a warm and fuzzy kidâs flick).
The film has also proven itself to be prescient. Some of the characters in Kingston Falls express a fear of machines and redevelopment – today those fears are being actualized in self-checkout machines, automation and job loss and lack of affordable housing. Then thereâs the very real horror of the disastrous effect that all of that post-World War II consumerism has had on our environment. âWith Mogwai comes much responsibility,â Mr. Wing (Keye Luke) admonishes near the end of the film, âBut you didnât listen. And you see what happens! You do with Mogwai what your society has done with all of natureâs gifts.âÂ
The movie closes with Billyâs father (Hoyt Axton) warning the audience: âIf your air conditioner goes on the fritz or your washing machine blows up or your video recorder conks outâŚbefore you call the repairman, turn on all the lights, check all the closets and cupboards, look under all the beds. Because ya never can tell â there just might be a gremlin in your house.â
Gremlins manages to be both a critique and a celebration of consumerism. Making it the perfect modern Christmas movie.
*If you canât feed the Mogwai after midnight, when can you start feeding him? At dawn? At noon? Does anyone know? I annoy my partner every Christmas with this burning question.