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Gremlins

Gremlins

Fantasy · Horror · Comedy · 1984

After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.

Movie details

Gremlins

“Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous.”

1984 Fantasy · Horror · Comedy 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Gremlins?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her

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Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.

The Fearless Vampire Killers

The Fearless Vampire Killers

Comedy · 1967

A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.

Red Riding Hood

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Valerie is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry another man. Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter plan to run away together when Valerie's older sister is killed by a werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. Panic grips the town as Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast--one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect ... and bait.

R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls

R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls

Comedy · 2015

Teenage friends must resist the spell of an evil showman staging a house of horrors show in their small town.

The Curse of Bridge Hollow

The Curse of Bridge Hollow

Comedy · 2022

A Halloween-hating dad reluctantly teams up with his teenage daughter when an evil spirit wreaks havoc by making their town's decorations come to life.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Fantasy · 1983

In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection

Comedy · 2001

Survivalist Burt Gummer returns home to Perfection, to find that the little town has been shaken up again by morphing, man-eating Graboids.

Dave Made a Maze

Dave Made a Maze

Comedy · 2017

Dave, an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration, only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation. Ignoring his warnings, Dave’s girlfriend Annie leads a band of oddball explorers on a rescue mission. Once inside, they find themselves trapped in an ever-changing supernatural world, threatened by booby traps and pursued by a bloodthirsty Minotaur.

The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

Horror · 2007

Cassie, a 13 year old Gothic girl, is trying to fit in at her new school. To entertain herself, she plays a series of pranks on the popular kids and her younger brother, Max. When she goes to a Halloween store looking for new tricks, she finds a little book called "The Evil Thing"

The Car

The Car

Horror · 1977

The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joe Dante

Written by

Chris Columbus

Zach Galligan

Zach Galligan

Billy

Phoebe Cates

Phoebe Cates

Kate

Hoyt Axton

Hoyt Axton

Rand Peltzer

Frances Lee McCain

Frances Lee McCain

Lynn Peltzer

Corey Feldman

Corey Feldman

Pete

Keye Luke

Keye Luke

Grandfather

John Louie

John Louie

Chinese Boy

Court is in session

Put Gremlins on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.