The 1980s produced many timeless movies that have become much loved classics to several generations. While it may not sound like the kind of film that fits into that category, one 1984 release about a town being besieged by a horde of vicious little monsters intent on causing destruction and chaos wherever they go managed to capture the imagination thanks to its near-perfect mix of comedy and horror that could be enjoyed by families around the festive holidays. Helped along by Steven Spielberg’s unquestionable abilities as a producer, Joe Dante’s love of horror movies with a dark humorous threat, and the introduction of one of the cutest creatures in cinema history, Gremlins is a movie that never grows old and, thanks to its high-end practical effects, has not aged badly at all in the 42 years since its release. Now with a new movie finally in production, the movie that came with three simple rules that were very easily broken is a streaming success on HBO Max.
Everyone knows the story of Gremlins as Billy Peltzer has a fluffy little critter called Gizmo gifted to him as a Christmas present by his inventor father. While Gizmo seems to be the ultimate pet, he comes with some rules that must be followed, namely don’t get him wet, don’t expose him to sunlight, and never feed him after midnight. However, when Gizmo accidentally has a glass of water spilled on him, and then his cute but mischievous offspring are fed after midnight, the town of Kingston Falls becomes the eye of the storm for the chaotic and hilarious rampage of hundreds of gremlins. Like every movie involving Spielberg in some capacity, Gremlins is a movie with a lot of heart and is a lot of fun, which is exactly why fans have been wanting a new movie for decades.
The success of Gremlins led to Warner Bros. greenlighting a sequel, which was released in 1990 and took a very different approach to the franchise. Gremlins 2: The New Batch was both a direct sequel to the events of the original movie, but interweaved several parodies, sub-plots, and unadulterated gremlin chaos into its very loose plot. The film also saw the gremlins getting some upgraded designs, with special effects legend Rick Baker creating some colorful and wildly different versions of the creatures to life through the same combination of puppetry and stop-motion animation as the 1984 movie. Now, after almost three decades since the last feature-length film in the franchise, Gremlins 3 is on the way and has been set with a release date of June 10, 2028.
Joining the ranks of legacy sequels that have been released in the last several years, Gremlins 3 is yet to reveal anything about the plot, which means there is a lot to speculate on right now. Original movie writer Chris Columbus is behind the camera this time around, with Steven Spielberg on the project in executive producer roles, so that could mean the new movie continues to expand the crazy side of the Gremlins franchise or may return to a more controlled plot like that of the 1984 classic. Either way, the first brief teaser for Gremlins 3 was released shortly after the announcement, giving fans a tantalizing glimpse of Gizmo but release date that means a long wait to see more. It has been made clear that the film will continue the tradition of using puppetry as the core part of its production, and that should be enough to convince Gremlins fans that the film will do justice to the franchise that has been mostly dormant since 1990 in a live-action sense. With that in mind, there can be no better way to pass a little time reminding yourself of just how good Gremlins is and give it a click while it is available on HBO Max.
Should Gremlins 3 be more like the original 1984 film or its 1990 sequel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
