There were a lot of movies that scared me as a kid, but for some reason the antics of mogwais that had gone rogue never caused me to cry, but rather made me want to hit rewind and watch over and over again. Yup, this week we’re talking to Kris and Deb from ‘Today We Laughed and Learned’ about their ‘80s movie crush, and while theirs differs quite a bit from mine, they’re both fantastic cinematic moments from that decade, but before we reveal theirs – let’s talk about ‘Gremlins.’
I’m not sure whether or not ‘Gremlins’ was intended for children, but I was all about it back in the day. It was one of those movies that I just could not get enough of, and I’m pretty sure it was because I quickly wanted nothing more than a best friend like Gizmo to call my own. Actually, I eventually sort of scored a mogwai. What am I talking about? Well, you can check that out here on MTV Geek.
Dream pet scenarios aside, the movie is one from the ‘80s that I just cannot get enough of and is often the reason I can’t decide whether the ‘80s or the ‘90s had the best movies. I mean, ‘Gremlins’ is top-notch for a multitude of reasons. Right off the bat, Gizmo. One of the most iconic creatures in cinema. Who has watched that movie and not fallen in love with Howie Mandel’s little voice coming outta that puppet? Exactly. Plus, you have the hilarious chaos that Stripe and his band of mutated mogwais caused throughout the film never failed to make me cackle. When that old lady in the stairlift is tossed…I’m going to hell, but that was probably one of the first scenes that ingrained a dark sense of humor in me.
‘Gremlins’ is rated PG-13, which meant it was obviously a little mature for a five-year-old but that is probably around the time my mom or older brother introduced me to it. Because why not put on a movie intended for an older child for a kindergartner? I’d already taken in ‘Dirty Dancing,’ so what was the harm? Really though, it’s a miracle I didn’t scream and run out of the room given I was already mortified of ‘Child’s Play’ and ‘Critters,’ but something was charming about Gizmo and Co. that caused ‘Gremlins’ to become one of my go-to’s as a kid alongside ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Grease.’ Wait, do I just love movies that start with G?
There are a great deal of movies from before the ‘80s that are cinematic gold, classics that are forever ingrained into the zeitgeist but there was something special about the movies from the decade that delivered MTV and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I’m not sure what it was, but that’s the decade in which my favorite films started to arise, and ‘Gremlins’ will always be a part of that pack of movies that helped grow my VHS, later DVD, collection.
Crushgasm 