Gremlins

With this head-spinning genre mash-up, Joe Dante delivers one of his most entertaining films by tossing the schmaltz and warm fuzzies typical of Christmas-themed family releases right out the window, replacing them with a healthy dose of meanness, not to mention a series of spot-on barbs directed at American society (rumors circulated of repeated conflicts between the director and screenwriter Chris Columbus, a black belt in family comedy, due to their pronounced differences in creative vision).

The result is a comedy horror film geared to different types of viewers, and in fact, it garnered broad and enthusiastic approval, both from the ranks of a more commercial movie-going public as well as among a niche audience segment – the true-blue cinephile will enjoy unearthing the dozens of clever references scattered throughout the film while interpreting its numerous allegorical subtexts.

The cast fails to shine, but Dante is certainly inspired, not to mention immune to the influence of powerful executive producer Steven Spielberg’s sugar-coated vision. Dante’s crisp direction and some explosive special effects constitute the film’s trump cards.

Big box office hit: the film raked in about $150 million just in the US, against an estimated budget of around 11 million.