Gremlin

Gremlin isn't a reboot or remake that associated with the mogwai movies, this is a complete different type of story. Going into this film i didn't know what to expect hoping it would impress me in being a good movie as the premise of this film's background of the box is good in setting it tone but sadly this film lack's any impact in being a great.

The acting is OK but amateurish with minimal effort in trying to carry this film forward which didn't appeal to me alone, at best this film is a typical syfy channel movie. The only good thing is the visual effect which seem to have some budget which all the money has gone into as the creature itself is well designed.

Sadly this film might appeal to the demographic that enjoy these low budget B movies which this film is, but if you looking for a well made film i would recommend avoiding this film as it not that great.

I should mention up front that I am not a huge gore/horror film fan. Perhaps this means I am a bit harder on films in the genre or not, I am not sure…but I do occasionally enjoy a horror film if the story engages me. In addition, the film has absolutely nothing to do with the film Gremlins and the creature looks nothing like a gremlin…and ultimately, you learn it isn't a gremlin…so why the title?! I have no idea.

When the film begins, some selfish guy gives a fancy looking box to a family member. But inside is a horrible creature that has an insatiable thirst to kill. And, once you've received the box you must find someone you love and give it to them soon or the monster inside will eventually kill your entire family. After the monster came out and started killing people, none of them ever called the police but they just piled up the dead family members in the basement for safekeeping. And, they didn't consider throwing the box into a blast furnace or inside a huge block of cement or in the middle of the sea. Instead, they just wait as one by one they are sliced and diced. If it sounds as if I didn't like the story in Gremlin, you are absolutely right. The problem was although the acting is competent and the CGI acceptable, the story just never made a lot of sense to me. And, when you ultimately learn what the creature is, this isn't enough of a surprise to save the picture. The movie is watchable but nothing more.

Gremlin, a story about a rather dangerous box, was surprisingly entertaining. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, although since it was listed with a comparable movie of "Gremlins", I was at least expecting a few more giggles. There were a few giggles to be had, but Gremlin doesn't try to be anything other than a horror- movie you rubberneck at. And that is to its credit. The exact premise is one that I don't actually think I've come across before. It's amazing how sometimes just a small tweak can add a new dimension to something. 

Adam Hampton proved strong in the male lead role, and I found myself rooting for him even when though he wasn't really a particularly likable character. His wife, Julie Thatcher, was played by Kristy K. Boone. Boone's performance had moments when it was fairly strong, but wavered frequently. I think if Katie Burgess, who played the daughter, did a good job, but wasn't able to bring out her full potential. The rest of the supporting cast, apart from the brother and the main detective, were unmemorable. Catcher Stair, who played the young boy, Charlie Thatcher, gave the weakest performance of the lot. It felt like the child had no real desire to be in the movie, and his character was almost a cardboard cutout as a result.

Gremlin had a surprisingly high production quality with some solid cinematography for their budget. Unfortunately, it was hampered by some regrettably bad special effects at some points.  Thankfully, the special effects were relatively few, and most of the on-screen magic was a CGI 'Gremlin' that wasn't horrible. I've seen, much, much worse. It looked interesting, and watching it go after the various actors was a good bit more entertaining that you would think. 

The main problem I had with it was that some of the decisions that family members make are just flat-out stupid. And not only stupid, but stupid stuck on a loop. I found myself yelling at the screen at least twice when watching it. (Upside, I was involved enough in what I was watching that I actually did yell at the screen?)

Overall, Gremlin was a pleasant surprise to watch. I've got the attention span of a flea, and I found myself wanting to see how things ended. It wasn't a great movie, by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't bad. I don't regret watching it, and might even tune in for a re-watch at some point!

Disclaimer: I received a screener of this film from October Coast Publicity for review consideration. This did not influence my review in any way.

If you enjoyed The Gate (1987) you will enjoy this.

The acting is low caliber, but it doesn't detract from the movie. I've seen worse acting in recent Hollywood blockbusters.

Definitely worth a watch.

Not an entirely bad movie. The story concept has a lot of promise. An insidious curse is placed on a mysterious box that contains a blood thirsty gremlin. Before the gremlin is released, the person in possession of the box must pass it off to someone they love, or the gremlin starts killing everyone around them.

It's actually an entertaining movie with some pretty bad acting. Not all acting is bad, but enough to raise eyebrows many times throughout the movie. A few actors are pretty good.

The nail in the coffin was what the writers did with the script. There were some seriously illogical (dumb) decisions made in the movie. Why on Earth would the characters do some of the things they did? No answers, except some seriously bad plot writing. There was so much more the writers could have added and subtracted to make this a good film. Like redo the dad character and add maybe add a little more X-Files like mystery to the detective. And darken the film and give the creepy critter some shadows to hide in like old 70's flicks with horrifying creatures that hide in the dark.

Otherwise, it was entertaining and had a couple scenes I didn't anticipate.

Not as cheesy as ScyFy flicks. Could have been on par with other creepy critter flicks with more budget, small plot rewrites, and more creative camera work. Maybe a big studio will get some ideas later.