The horror film experienced a true golden age in the 80s. In that decade, up to eight films from the Friday the 13th saga were released, Halloween also premiered several sequels, and the king of the genre par excellence was Freddy Krueger, who also became an icon of pop culture. Additionally, it was a good time for monster productions, highlighting titles like The Thing (1982) or Gremlins (1984).

The latter was one of the most successful films of the decade because of its way of combining the best of horror cinema with the most chilling creatures and also helped to modify the age rating system.

Classified as a horror comedy, the feature film directed by Joe Dante included truly realistic creatures and ended up being a box office hit that many tried to replicate tirelessly, although without achieving the same result.

Gremlins tells the story of Rand (Hoyt Axton), a traveling salesman who one day gives his son Billy (Zach Galligan) a cute and strange creature, a mogwai. The innocent gift, however, will be the origin of a wave of mischief and mayhem in a small town in the United States. Everything starts when the three basic rules that must be followed to take care of a mogwai are broken one after the other: do not feed it after midnight, do not get it wet, and keep it away from sunlight.

A classic that never loses its relevance and is ideal for watching with family. In a careless moment, Gizmo gets wet and several identical creatures come out of him, which, unlike this friendly being, are much more aggressive.

A plot twist

Originally written by Chris Columbus as another monster movie for adults over 18, Gremlins told the story of how the protagonist's mother dies, Gizmo turns evil, and the gremlins kill everyone inside a McDonald's. However, the producer Steven Spielberg wanted to make a more accessible movie and turned it into the story of a boy and his dog.

If we combine this change with Joe Dante's talent as a director, who had previously directed The Howling (1981), also a combination of the best of horror cinema and comedy, the result ends up being something that the audience flocked to see in theaters.

Gremlins has it all. A love story like the one that emerges between Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates), hilarious and chaotic scenes, and also diabolical and terrifying creatures. And this combination of elements elevated the film, which ended up having an equally fun sequel six years later - and is available on Max and Movistar Plus.

*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence