5 Crazy Facts About The ‘Gremlins’ Movie
Very few films remind us of our childhood as much as 'Gremlins' does. As a child or a young teenager, it was the best possible blend of horror and comedy imaginable. It was scary enough to provide a few genuine thrills, but family-friendly enough for your parents to allow you to watch it. We all wanted to keep a gremlin as a pet, even though we know none of us were responsible enough to avoid getting it wet or resist feeding it after midnight.
Sadly, it doesn't seem like we'll ever get a sequel to the second 'Gremlins' movie, which came out in 1990. Writer Chris Columbus has been working on a third film for several years and was said to have come up with a script in 2015, but there's no sign of it being made even though he gave an interview in 2017 where he was hopeful that a studio might fund it. Without a new movie on the horizon, the best we have to look forward to is the inevitable TV replays of the first film that come with each Christmas. They're better than nothing!
Even if you’re the biggest fan of the first film imaginable, there are a few things you probably don’t know about it. As a celebration of the movie, let’s look at five of those crazy facts and the stories behind them!
It Was Originally Supposed To Be A Horror Movie
This film would definitely have been R Rated if it had been shot according to the original script, and Chris Columbus’ original intent. When the evil Gremlins went on the rampage in the first draft of the tale, they would have eaten Billy’s dog. Not content with doing that, they would also have decapitated his mother in the attic and then thrown her head back down the stairs at Billy. We have Steven Spielberg to thank for the tone changing. The legendary director wasn't sat in the chair for the making of the movie, but he was the executive producer, and he vetoed the more violent aspects of the story. He wanted to make a more family-friendly version of 'Gremlins' so children could enjoy it, and he probably made the right call. We'd still love to see someone shoot a version of the original draft, though.
‘Gremlins’ Have Taken Over Casinos
We’ve already said that the ‘Gremlins’ movie evokes a powerful feeling of nostalgia in us, and we guess we must not be the only ones. If we were, how could it be the case that an official ‘Gremlins’ game has become so popular at UK slots site? Children aren’t allowed to gamble or to play online slots, so the game must be aimed at adults. The people who made it must be aware that the children who grew up watching it are in their 30s and 40s now, and so the value of the brand can be used to draw them in and persuade them to spell their money. This isn’t the only time they’ve used that trick - there are online slots based around many different 80s movies available at some websites, including ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Halloween.’ Slots have come a long way from being simple fruit machines in the corners of bars!
It Isn’t A Christmas Movie
Many of the films we believe are Christmas movies aren’t actually Christmas movies at all. It’s often said that ‘Die Hard’ is a Christmas movie, but Bruce Willis disagrees and, as the star of the film, he should know. In that same vein, even though you see Gizmo wearing a Christmas hat in the 'Gremlins' film and the movie is set at Christmas, it technically isn't a Christmas movie. If a studio intends to release a Christmas film, they do it in late November or early December. 'Gremlins' hit movie theaters for the first time in June 1984. That's as far away from Christmas as it's possible to get, and so it's a summer film! This doesn't apply in the United Kingdom, though - over there, the much more sensible decision was taken to release the movie just three weeks before Christmas Day.
Gizmo Was Supposed To Turn Heel
Aside from the original script being far darker and more violent, it also contained a very different fate for Gizmo. Although he'd have started the movie as the cute and cuddly Gizmo we still adore today, he wouldn't have finished that way. Columbus' original treatment didn't have Gizmo and Stripe down as different characters - they were one and the same creature. Gizmo would have gone from fluffy friend to slimy enemy, and presumably, he'd have met with the same fate as Stripe by the end of the movie. Again, changing this aspect of the plot was a Spielberg decision, and again, it was the right move to make. Aside from missing out on millions of dollars' worth of Gizmo merchandising, turning Gizmo into Stripe would have made the second 'Gremlins' movie almost impossible.
Columbus Had To Fight For The Big Speech
Other than the general cuteness of Gizmo and the gremlin battles, the main thing people remember about the 'Gremlins' film is the speech given by Kate about her distaste for Christmas. It's a masterful monologue with dramatic twists and utterly implausible details, all delivered in a hysterically deadpan fashion. Unless you've seen the movie very recently, it's probably one of the only sequences of dialogue you remember by heart. This was something else that Spielberg wanted to change because he didn't think it fit the tone of the film - but this time, Columbus dug his heels in and insisted that the scene was shot as it was written. In one aspect, Spielberg was correct - it does stick out like a sore thumb compared to the tone of every other spoken conversation in the movie - but that only serves to make it more special.
Can you watch the film the same way knowing that Gizmo should have been the villain, or Billy’s dog ought to have been eaten? We suppose the only way to find out is to try - and there’s never a bad time to watch ‘Gremlins,’ so add it to your ‘to do’ list!
