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Modern scream queen Jenna Ortega has been a part of several iconic franchises, given her roles in Scream, Wednesday, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. If she had her pick to join any franchise she wanted to next, she pointed to the one born from the 1984 horror comedy classic Gremlins.

Per IMDb, Ortega was recently at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) to promote her new film, Death of a Unicorn. Reflecting on the movies she loved as a child, Ortega mentioned Gremlins, the film that garnered a sequel along with an animated prequel series. She also made it clear she wants to join a potential third Gremlins film if one ever gets made.

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"You know what I used to love as a kid? Gremlins," Ortega said. "Gremlins, would love... Gremlins 3? 4? I don't know. Call me!"

You know what I used to love as a kid?...

Largely considered to be one of the best directors of all time, Steven Spielberg has been a passionate filmmaker for decades who’s created some truly entertaining movies for audiences across the board. Beyond the director’s keen eye for cinema, Steven Spielberg has also toyed with his image over the years and has appeared in several films whether as a fun addition to the narrative or an indirect figure looming in a movie scene.

Having an extensive knowledge of film and mastering the art of spectacle, a Steven Spielberg feature is always a treat to behold. That said, there are also plenty of films where the lauded filmmaker was able to enter the world of his films, giving fans a chance to see him in some of the most beloved films of all time.

Spielberg’s Secluded TV Cameo Is a Treat for Jurassic Park Fans The Lost World...

Among Hollywood directors, few have the career highs and lows as Joe Dante. Dante, a lover of schlock cinema, Looney Tunes and Chuck Jones, has achieved iconic success with some of his films, while others hold the record as some of the biggest bombs in Hollywood history. This bipolar success rate likely derives from Dante’s aesthetic: for better or worse, his movies always combine horror with humor, slapstick with the macabre. For proof, look no further than Dante’s greatest success, Gremlins.

Gremlins opened in 1984 and became an immediate smash, elevating Dante as a director among the Hollywood pantheon. It also made an icon out of its star, Gizmo the mogwai. More than 40 years later, the film still commands a following, thanks to the way it slithers over the razor’s edge between horror and comedy. That mix of goofiness, satire, sincerity and excellent special effects make the movie feel as fresh as ever,...

The most upsetting death in Gremlins has been recreated in the form of an action figure. Released in 1984, Gremlins is a Christmastime cult classic film about a young man who mishandles a cute-looking creature, accidentally unleashing monsters on his small town. The movie was directed by Joe Dante and featured a leading cast including Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie, and Keye Luke. The movie was a box office success and has since been considered a classic '80s movie.

Now, @fortheloveofoldtoys has recreated one of the Gremlins' death scenes in a new action figure.

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The figurine is labeled "Kate's Dad" and shows a man in a Santa outfit. However, this man has seen better days, as he has a snapped neck and is covered in soot. @fortheloveofoldtoys captioned the photo with "It's Kate's Dad!

The 1980s were a strange time for American cinema. The bleakness of 1970s cinema was falling out of vogue, and several members of the "film school generation" of filmmakers — the ones that broke out in the '70s — began turning to more complex, effects-based pictures that received giant studio budgets. Fantasy and sci-fi were big business in the '80s (largely thanks to the success of "Star Wars" in 1977), and the decade's most popular movies tended to be kid-friendly adventure films. The fantasy films of the 1980s left a deep mark on the Gen-x kids that saw them and, to this day, lists of the Best Films of the '80s tend to boast genre films like "Back to the Future," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Terminator," "Die Hard," "The Thing," et al.

Coming hand-in-hand with the rising tide of commercial fantasy, however, was a powerful, punk-rock, anti-conservative streak.

The holiday season is here, which tends to be a useful time for streaming. More people have time off work and school, which helps stimulate the box office and brings people together in their homes to watch new titles on streaming. This year, this has meant success for some of the major streamer's newer holiday hits. Netflix's animated family holiday film That Christmas debuted on the platform to positive reception and viewership, staying in the streamer's top 10 day after day and week after week for a while. Festive rom-coms like Our Little Secret and Hot Frosty also shined.

At the same time, this is the time of year when some streaming subscribers look for alternative options to the more typical festive fare. The Christmas horror movie Krampus, for example, surged on streaming during December, showing that fans had an appetite for the darker side of the holidays. Netflix's Carry-On...

While certainly not without its horror elements, Gremlins has been a beloved Christmas movie for the past four decades. It's just dark enough that it's often recommended as a "gateway horror film" for newcomers to the genre to watch before taking on more mature content, but the original plan was for Gremlins to be much more brutal.

Nosferatu producer Chris Columbus, the screenwriter of the Joe Dante-directed film, addressed what didn't make the final cut from his original script in a new interview with Vanity Fair. He shared how the body count was pretty high, noting how Lynn Peltzer (Frances Lee McCain), Billy's (Zach Galligan) mother, was scripted to be decapitated before later getting her life spared by rewrites. Another planned death was for the dog to actually be viciously killed by the Gremlins rather than harmlessly hung up in Christmas lights.

Related "I'm Still That Nerdy Girl" -...

It's the holiday season, which can mean only one thing: it's time to watch Christmas horror movies! Christmas horror is nothing new. In the Victorian era, folks would gather by the fireside around Christmas time to tell each other ghost stories (this is how we got "A Christmas Carol"). Over the years, the horror genre has embraced this idea by unleashing horror films set on or around Christmas. Some of these films are quite bad and seem to recycle the same boring idea ("What if a guy dressed as Santa Claus killed people?!") over and over again. But there are others that make the yuletide bright. Hell, even some of the killer Santa stories work. As the weird year that was 2024 comes to a close, and the horrifying uncertainty of 2025 lurks right around the corner, let's chug some mulled wine, deck the halls, and watch the following Christmas-centric horror movies.

While viewers come to light comedy movies to escape the horrors of the world and enjoy a good laugh, some films cannot help but unexpectedly go to dark places. Whether it’s a kids’ comedy that suddenly introduces a shockingly bleak piece of information or laugh-out-loud movies that turn increasingly sinister as the runtime progresses, comedy movies can sometimes be surprisingly disarming. While a certain amount of darkness has its place in every genre, the results can be unnerving when audiences don’t see it coming.

Some of the best light comedy movies ever have sinister subtexts that make the movie unexpectedly dark. While wacky characters may seem to be laugh-a-minute personalities at first, the existential nightmare that often makes up comedy movie premises can’t help but feel dark as the story builds toward its grand conclusion. Although the point of a good comedy is to make viewers laugh,...

Horror movies with a good hook and humor can be rare, but a few manage to capture both. Some of the best horror movies from the 1980s present far-fetched humor and a good story, while many of those from the 1990s are all about suspense and satirical humor.

Even decades later, horror movies surprise audiences with intriguing premises that integrate comedic moments. Some horror movies have strong cult followings for their humor, and that wouldn't be possible without a strong starting point. These movies show that audiences will always enjoy an absurd moment or two, adding a nice contrast to the suspense and making the film even more enjoyable.

Gremlins (1984) Creatures Terrorize A Town During The Holidays

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Gremlins 8/10

When a father gives his son Billy a magical creature known as a Mogwai as a gift, the boy...

The end of Thanksgiving marks the unofficial start to the holiday season, and with that come many traditions beloved by people all over. Christmas is right around the corner, and there's a lot that needs to be done to get in the festive mood. Decorating the tree, shopping for friends and family, and snuggling up on the couch to watch Christmas classics are all in order.

There are dozens and dozens of iconic Christmas movies from over the years, and with those movies come characters whom audiences can't help but welcome back into their homes when it gets cold outside. These Christmas movie characters make it feel like the holiday season just as much as any other tradition.

Updated by Christopher Raley on December 5, 2024: Christmas is coming up faster than ever, which means that it's time to pull out the Christmas classics and have a couple of watching parties.

Let's face it: the best Christmas movies aren't complete without a good villain. In fact, for as many beloved Christmas characters as there are, more than half of them are the villains of the story. I suppose nothing gets us in the Christmas spirit more than watching it be defended from the Grinches and Scrooges of the world. So, to definitively rank them all is quite a task. Cinema's greatest Christmas villains range from the deliciously malicious to the just straight up terrifying. However, we here at /Film are up to the task.

There's an easy way to qualify for this list — be in a Christmas film — but we wanted to ask ourselves some deeper questions. When we think of the holiday season, do we think of these villains? Are the characters themselves strong or memorable? Are they embedded in the iconography of Christmas? Better yet, do they threaten the...

As the nights grow longer and the air turns crisp, it’s the perfect time to settle in with some of the best spooky films ever made. From eerie silent classics to modern horror hits, spooky cinema has evolved across decades, yet each era has its own spine-tingling gems. Whether you love atmospheric terror or heart-pounding scares, here’s a journey through the best films from the 1920s to today that will give you chills. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education, and philanthropy. 1920s - 1980s ‘The Haunting’ (1963) Cast: Julie Harris,...

Jordan Peele was first known for the sketch comedy show on Comedy Central called Key and Peele. Surprising everyone, he dropped a social commentary horror thriller called Get Out and demonstrated his talent (and love) for horror. He is now known as one of the most popular modern directors in the world of horror. Jordan Peele's films almost always invoke deep thought from his beautifully crafted scary stories.

Through his great directorial success, Peele quickly became an authoritative figure in the horror world. The following horror films inspired him to add to the genre.

Gremlins Is a Great Horror Comedy That Pushed Its MPAA Rating 1984

Gremlins Reception

IMdB Score

7.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score

86%

Gremlins is a Joe Dante film that gives audiences cute chaos with the "mogwai" creature by the name of Gizmo. Gizmo unintentionally creates evil versions of himself when he molts due to his owner ignoring explicit instructions for his care.

Behind the doors of Hollywood's biggest studios, filmmakers pitch concepts that sound too weird to become anything substantial but lead to hugely iconic movies. Some movies with seriously wasted potential also have a bizarre premise, but they were not so skillfully executed. However, it is the weird ideas that are the best material for directors and producers, when they at least lead to unique movies, hopefully showcasing important themes.

Out-of-this-world experiences and surreal fantasy have resulted in some of the best fantasy movie performances ever, while strange new worlds and magic systems mean fascinating visuals. Yet movies with weird source material succeed when they leverage their basic concepts in service of powerful metaphors. Stranger movies often become iconic when their very nature means they are memorable, with quotes and images that stay in people's heads.

Gremlins (1984) Young Man Gets A Cute New Pet & The Town Is Overrun With Monster Clones

Gizmo's a strange creature,...

The following contains spoilers for Gremlins: The Wild Batch

Gremlins: The Wild Batch, the follow-up season to Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, began streaming on Max on Oct. 3. In a new clip posted by comicbook.com, it shows the sweet and lovable Gizmo separated from his friends and captured by a Warden who runs things on the island prison, Alcatraz.

The Warden, who is voiced by Will Forte is seemingly excited to have captured the little Mogwai, offering him sustenance, but also keeping him in a cage. Gizmo, along with his friends Sam (Izaac Wang) and Elle (Gabrielle Nevaeh) had just arrived in San Fransisco but didnt quite stick the landing and ended up in the prison.

A big fan of Mogwai, the Warden wants to add him to his collection and gives Gizmo a tour of his office, which shows other animals lining the shelves, to which the Warden says they are his past pets.

Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch will start streaming on Max Oct. 1, just in time for the spooky season. Although set at Christmastime, the 1984 original Gremlins packs a scary punch at any time of the year, especially during Octobers Halloween season.

Set in the fictional town of Kingston Falls, Gremlins stars Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates and Hoyt Axton. The film was written by Chris Columbus, who also wrote The Goonies, Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and directed by Joe Dante. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. Composer Jerry Goldsmiths score sets the tone for the film.

One Heck of a Christmas Present

Galligans character, Billy Peltzer, receives a special Christmas present from his dad, Randall (Axton). That gift turns out to be a creature known as a Mogwai that he names Gizmo (voiced by Howie Mandel). Gizmo comes with specific instructions not to expose...

Shang-Chi star Simu Liu is officially stepping into the world of Gremlins: The Wild Batch as the prequel series' "Han Solo."

Per Collider, Gremlins: The Wild Batch executive producers Tze Chun and Brendan Hay opened up about what fans can expect from Simu Liu's upcoming role as Chang in the animated prequel series. "He's a little bit of our show's Han Solo," Hay explained. "He's also kind of the best/worst mentor."

Related Review: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai Is a Fun Gateway Into the Classic Franchise

The Max original animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai provides a freewheeling fun gateway into Gremlins for a new generation.

Chun added, "He's a really fun character who almost serves as a mentor to Sam and is along for a lot of the adventure. It's kind of the push and pull of, 'Okay, this guy is so fun to hang out with.

"Gremlins" is a holiday classic — a fun, nasty little monster movie that's perfect to revisit when Christmas rolls around. In "Gremlins," a small Norman Rockwell-like town descends into chaos when a group of mischievous monsters run amok. The monsters, the gremlins, spring forth from the body of a cute little critter known as a Mogwai, named Gizmo. While Gizmo is nice and cuddly, the gremlins are a bunch of slimy perverts who love to smoke cigarettes, destroy property, and kill people. All of this plays hell with the holiday season of poor local loser Billy (Zach Galligan), who is gifted Gizmo by his father (Hoyt Axton), a struggling inventor who can't quite get the hang of the whole "inventing" thing.

Also in the movie: Billy's very good dog named Barney. Barney, played by a dog actor named Mushroom (omg, adorable) is a very good movie dog — his reactions during scenes are perfect.

By 1984, films like “Jaws” (1975), “Star Wars” (1977) “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) and “E.T.” (1982) had firmly established the summer blockbuster craze, with Steven Spielberg productions leading the way. On June 8, 1984, two films were released simultaneously that continued the summer blockbuster trend, while also establishing new trends with their combination of horror/comedy and fresh marketing and merchandising strategies. Unsurprisingly, one film was produced by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, and his “Gremlins” battled for the number one box office spot with familiar faces from “Saturday Night Live” who were now “Ghostbusters.” Their quotable scripts and at-the-time unique blend of humor and gore have had long-lasting effects on the film industry and on pop culture that continue to resonate four decades later. Read on for more about the 40-year anniversary of both “Gremlins” and “Ghostbusters.”

“Gremlins” was conceived by aspiring filmmaker Chris Columbus, who was influenced by the sounds of mice skittering about...

Even in the less conventional summer of 1984, the Spielberg-produced comedy horror was a gleeful rule-breaker

There’s no character in Joe Dante’s Gremlins more beloved than Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton), a struggling inventor from small-town Kingston Falls who travels the country bearing a great sales pitch (“I make the illogical logical”) and a bunch of products that keep backfiring on him. His Bathroom Buddy, a combination shaving mirror/toothbrush/toothpick/nail file/dental mirror, could be a Swiss army knife for overnighters were it not for a misfiring toothpaste button. His coffee machine makes sludge. His peeler-juicer is a kitchen-wide pulp explosion. And his egg-cracker is much more successful at breaking eggs than it’s designed to be.

Yet when Randall comes home for Christmas, he’s greeted to a hero’s welcome from his son, Billy (Zach Galligan), and his wife, Lynn (Frances Lee McCain), who laments...

Bloody Disgusting’s 12 Days of Creepmas is nearly at an end, so it’s time to bring out the big guns in holiday horror. The 2nd Day of Creepmas brings a pair of gateway horror-comedies that will keep you busy from Christmas through New Year’s Eve.

When it comes to holiday horror, few can beat Joe Dante’s Gremlins. The charming 1984 classic decks the halls with holiday theming but it’s also unafraid to show its sharp pointy teeth. Dante’s sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, takes a drastically different direction, but its high energy and anything goes attitude make a strong case for annual New Year’s viewing.

The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 2 Gremlins movies to keep your holidays going through the New Year.

Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.

Gremlins is a Definitive Holiday Horror Classic

Breaking the...

Some movie scenes can feel completely out of place and disrupt the overall tone and narrative of a film. Unexpected scenes like random musical portions, sex scenes, or goofy dialogues can break immersion for the audience. While surprising scenes can sometimes enhance a movie, scenes that are too different from the rest can fall flat and feel like they belong in a different film.

Some movie scenes feel completely incongruous with the rest of the movie, and while sometimes this can be intentional, it often does not work. This can also happen because of last-minute script changes, reshoots, and decisions in the editing room that drastically alter a movie's tone or narrative. Random musical portions, unexpected sex scenes, and goofy dialogues in what should be serious movies are just some examples of scenes that can completely break the immersion.

Of course, a surprising, stand-out scene can often bolster a movie,...

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for “The Marvels.”]

“The Goose is loose!” That’s something I’d like to think was said by one or more of Nick Fury’s crew members upon discovering that Captain Marvel’s frisky feline companion had been furiously birthing up a storm while aboard their ship in “The Marvels.”

The film unofficially known as “Captain Marvel 2” will go down in history as “the one with all the kittens in space.” IndieWire’s Kate Erbland gave the film a “C-“ in her review, accurately citing the surprise arrival of Goose’s dozens of babies in the fourth act as “the single most bonkers set piece the MCU has ever churned out,” but still not enough to save the movie from being, at best, mid.

For Marvel’s undying fanbase, and they are legion, the scene is ostensibly a slam-dunk explosion of cute capitalizing on centuries of humanity’s unrelenting obsession with cats.

The film’s title is a reference to the mythological creatures known as gremlins, which were blamed for mechanical failures in aircraft during World War II. The film was directed by Joe Dante, who also directed the 1985 film Explorers and the 2011 film Cowboys & Aliens. The screenplay for Gremlins was written by Chris Columbus, who also wrote the screenplays for Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The film stars Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer, a young man who receives a Mogwai as a pet for Christmas. The Mogwai, named Gizmo, is given three rules: he must not be exposed to bright light, he must not be fed after midnight, and he must not get wet. If any of these rules are broken, the Mogwai will transform into a Gremlin, a mischievous and destructive creature. The film also stars Phoebe Cates as Billy’s girlfriend, Kate Beringer,...

The film’s title is a reference to the mythological creatures known as gremlins, which were blamed for mechanical failures in aircraft during World War II. The film was directed by Joe Dante, who also directed the 1985 film Explorers and the 2011 film Cowboys & Aliens. The screenplay for Gremlins was written by Chris Columbus, who also wrote the screenplays for Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The film stars Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer, a young man who receives a Mogwai as a pet for Christmas. The Mogwai, named Gizmo, is given three rules: he must not be exposed to bright light, he must not be fed after midnight, and he must not get wet. If any of these rules are broken, the Mogwai will transform into a Gremlin, a mischievous and destructive creature. The film also stars Phoebe Cates as Billy’s girlfriend, Kate Beringer,...

The cowboy singer—that rugged rambler yodeling his way across the wide, lonesome plains of the American West—lost his mystique so long ago that some might assume that the character was just made up for old black-and-white movies. So when you first catch a glimpse of Colter Wall, a twentysomething singer-songwriter from Saskatchewan in a Stetson hat, it’s reasonable to assume that it’s a put-on. As it turns out, though, Wall doesn’t just sing cowboy songs, he lives them. When not on tour, he works as a rancher.

Only with that in mind can Wall’s fourth studio album, Little Songs, be fully appreciated as not just a charming batch of old-fashioned country-western tunes, but as something more personal and carefully considered. While it lacks the stark viscerality of the signer’s self-titled 2017 debut, Little Songs, like 2020’s Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, eschews...

Nyctophobia is an irrational fear of the dark, leaving many reaching for a night light. Horror, and the creatures that lurk within it, thrive on darkness. Light becomes a weapon against them.

The Boogeyman, releasing in theaters on June 2, presents the latest monstrous foe to terrorize unsuspecting victims from the darkest recesses of their homes. So, this week’s streaming picks are dedicated to supernatural entities and monsters with an extreme aversion to light.

Here’s where you can stream these five titles this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.

The Hallow – AMC+, Tubi

This dark fairytale is part creature feature, part body horror, and all Irish folktale. Corin Hardy’s feature debut follows a British plant conservationist and his family as they discover the hard way what it means to ignore warning signs and invade the territory of fairies, banshees, and changelings. There’s nothing...

In 1984, one of cinema's strangest yet most enduring films was released in Joe Dante's Gremlins. Written by Chris Columbus and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, who helped turn the movie from a bloody horror film on the page to something more family oriented (though not enough to stop the film from being partially responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating), Gremlins has one of the craziest premises. In the film, a father named Rand Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) buys his son, Billy (Zach Galligan) a very odd Christmas present in Chinatown. That present is an adorable, long eared creature called a Mogwai. That Mogwai comes with rules, however. Don't get it wet. If you do, it'll multiply. Don't put it in sunlight. If you do, it'll die. And don't ever, no matter how much it begs, feed a Mogwai after midnight. If you do, it'll transform into a devil-like,...

Gizmo is back and he’s as cute as ever in the upcoming animated prequel Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.

The series (which debuts on Max Tuesday, May 23 with its first two episodes) takes viewers back to 1920s Shanghai where the Wing family first meets the young Mogwai called Gizmo (voiced by Aj LoCascio). “Sam Wing (future shop owner Mr. Wing in the original Gremlins film; voiced by Izaac Wang) accepts the dangerous task of taking Gizmo home, embarking on a journey through the Chinese countryside,” reads the official description. “Sam and Gizmo are joined by a teenage street thief...

“Matt Dillon comes across like a young Brando or James Dean.” —Houston Post

Coolness Personified As Matt Dillon Stars In Mvd Rewind Collection’S ‘Liar’S Moon’ Making Its Long-awaited Debut On Blu-ray Through Mvd Entertainment Group. –The 1982 Teen Drama On Blu-ray Coming February 2022.

Here’s a trailer for the restoration:

Matt Dillon (The Outsiders) stars in this tender tale of love’s first promise… and its enduring strength. Dillon plays Jack Duncan, an athletic, hardworking boy from the small town of Noble, Texas. Jack is happy just enjoying himself with the local boys, until he meets Ginny Peterson (Cindy Fisher), the town’s wealthiest young lady. Despite their obviously different backgrounds, Jack and Ginny fall desperately in love. Even though their parents have forbidden them to meet, Jack and Ginny sneak out, and finally elope, hoping to find happiness far from their hometown. But theirs is a love that falls...

John Langley, who created the long-running TV show “Cops” which helped usher in the reality TV era, died Saturday of an apparent heart attack in Baja, Mexico, according to his reps. He was 78. Langley was competing in the Coast to Coast Ensenada-San Felipe 250 off-road race.

“Cops” was canceled in 2020 after the George Floyd protests, and had become controversial for showing primarily the point of view of the police.

For 32 seasons, it was a reality TV juggernaut, running for over 1,000 episodes and introducing the cinéma vérité style of documentary to television. The familiar theme song by Ian Lewis of Inner Circle became a part of pop culture. It remains in production for overseas networks.

After being canceled by Fox in 2013, “Cops” moved to the Spike network, now Paramount Network before being canceled again in 2020. A podcast had detailed how police were able to remove portions of the shows that showed them...

Hello, dear readers! We’re back with a brand-new batch of home media releases for this week, and there’s definitely something for everyone in Tuesday’s Blu-ray and DVD titles. If you missed it when it was released late last year, you can finally catch up with Spell this week, and for those of you who are looking to add some more classic titles to your personal collections, there’s certainly an array of films headed home this week that surely fit that bill.

Kino Lorber is showing some love to Frank Darabont’s Buried Alive this Tuesday, and Code Red is keeping themselves busy with a pair of cult titles headed to Blu as well: Just Before Dawn and The Devil’s Wedding Night. Other notable releases for January 12th include Rituals, Go/Don’t Go, It Cuts Deep, Devilman: Special Edition, and a Double Feature Blu-ray for both Zombieland films.

Ronee Blakley still remains better known to many as an actor than a singer-songwriter, thanks to screen appearances like her Oscar-nominated turn in “Nashville” and later appearance in “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” But she was releasing major-label albums in the early ’70s before a plum Robert Altman part landed her on the cover of Newsweek. Now she’s returning to music with her first non-soundtrack studio album in years, “Atom Bomb Baby,” which has just been released on digital services.

The album has a strong tie-in to another project that brought her back into the limelight last year: Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue” documentary about the legendary Bob Dylan ensemble tour on which she was one of the top-billed performers. Before the tour commenced, Blakley was called into a recording studio for a seat-of-their-pants recording session for an epic single, “Hurricane,” about the plight of incarcerated boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter,...

Cathy Smith, the onetime girlfriend of singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot who might have been best remembered for inspiring the hit song “Sundown” had she not met up with John Belushi at the Chateau Marmont on March 5, 1982, died Aug. 18 at the age of 73.

Her death was reported by Canada’s The Globe and Mail. The longtime resident of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, had been on oxygen and in failing health the past few years, the newspaper said.

Smith, who had been a back-up singer (and occasional drug supplier) to the Canadian rockers who would later become The Band (she claimed “The Weight” was inspired by her), admitted to injecting Belushi with the heroin and cocaine that led to his death at age 33. In a 1986 plea bargain, she pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and several drug charges and served a 15-month prison sentence at California Institution for Women. Upon release, she was deported to her native Canada,...

Like some evil twin of its producer’s earlier film Et, this sharp and wacky 1984 kids’ horror movie makes fun of American materialism and Christmastime commercialism

In 1984, Steven Spielberg produced this cheeky horror movie for kids, directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus – now on rerelease. It is a wacky, satirical spectacle of chaos. It consciously alludes to other films, such as It’s a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz and Indiana Jones, and has characters watching Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck in To Please a Lady on TV. But on the unconscious level, or semi-conscious level, it surely alludes to Spielberg’s own Et. In fact, Gremlins is Et’s late-spawning evil twin.

Hoyt Axton plays Randall Peltzer, an inventor who lives in a sweet, Bedford Falls-type small town, one of whose local characters is an old drunk who rails against foreign automobiles and foreign things generally...

If you checked out our Gremlins 30th anniversary issue of Deadly Magazine or you read Heather Wixson's two-part interview with special effects artist Chris Walas, then you know we're big fans of Joe Dante's beloved 1984 horror comedy, which is why we're especially thrilled that the film is coming back to theaters for one week this December.

The 4Dx screenings of Gremlins will take place from Thursday, December 5th through Wednesday, December 11th at Regal theaters. To learn more and to keep an eye out for updated showtimes, visit Regal's official website.

For those unfamiliar with the immersive elements of 4Dx screenings, read Heather Wixson's previous 4Dx experiences with It (2017) and Jigsaw.

Directed by Joe Dante from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, Gremlins stars Hoyt Axton, Phoebe Cates, Zach Galligan, Frances Lee McCain, Polly Holliday.

Synopsis: "A boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes...

The exclusive 4K Ultra-hd club welcomes a worthy new member, Joe Dante’s evergreen horror comedy (and Christmas delight) about a cute furry critter and its 2nd-generation horde of scaly, impish demons. These aren’t Gremlins from the Kremlin, but homegrown domestic terrorist monsters, and Dante contrasts their killer antics with a sentimental parody of small town America. No CGI … You will believe that the animatronic rascals can multiply like rabbits, break dance, and run amuck!

Gremlins

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Code

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date October 1, 2019 / 41.99

Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Keye Luke, Frances Lee McCain, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Judge Reinhold, Polly Holliday, Belinda Balaski, Edward Andrews, Don Steele, Scott Brady, Corey Feldman, Harry Carey Jr., Chuck Jones, Glynn Turman, Jerry Goldsmith, William Schallert, Steven Spielberg, Kenneth Tobey.

Cinematography: John Hora

Film Editor: Tina Hirsch

Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith...

[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 of “Stranger Things,” including the finale.]

Another season of “Stranger Things” brings another slew of opportunities to drop pop culture references by avowed cinephiles, the Duffer Brothers. Set in 1985, Season 3 includes plenty of nods to the decade, in addition to various horror and sci-fi films that influenced the more monstrous elements from the Upside Down.

Here’s an episode-by-episode breakdown of all the references and homages in the third season, beyond the Eggo waffles and Dungeons & Dragons that fans already know and love. Unless the songs have particular significance to the story, they won’t be mentioned here but are included in this separate soundtrack post.

“Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?” “War Games” (1983) – A popular trope in movies that involve high security or nuclear weapons, the real-life two-man rule (or two-keyed lock) shows up at the beginning of the Matthew Broderick hacker movie “War Games” when two soldiers are tasked...

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 1984’s Gremlins will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital on October 1. Directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, the film stars Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer, Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer, and Hoyt Axton and Randall Peltzer, along with the voices of Frank Welker as Stripe and Howie Mandel as Gizmo.

Gremlins was produced by Michael Finnell and executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Steven Spielberg.

Ultra HD* showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (Hdr) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.

Gremlins will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack for $41.99 Srp and includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the feature film in 4K with Hdr and a Blu-ray disc with the feature film and special features.

Just in time for the Halloween season (and the Christmas season beyond that), Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is releasing Joe Dante's Gremlins on a 4K Ultra HD combo pack that also includes a Blu-ray and digital release of the iconic horror comedy.

Press Release: Burbank, CA, June 4, 2019 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 1984’s Gremlins will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital on October 1. Directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, the film stars Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer, Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer, and Hoyt Axton and Randall Peltzer, along with the voices of Frank Welker as Stripe and Howie Mandel as Gizmo.

Gremlins was produced by Michael Finnell and executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Steven Spielberg.

Ultra HD* showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (Hdr) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike...

Burbank, CA, June 4, 2019 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 1984’s Gremlins will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital on October 1. Directed by Joe Dante and written by Chris Columbus, the film stars Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer, Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer, and Hoyt Axton and Randall Peltzer, along with the voices of Frank Welker as Stripe and Howie Mandel as Gizmo.

Gremlins was produced by Michael Finnell and executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Steven Spielberg.

Ultra HD* showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (Hdr) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.

Gremlins will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack for $41.99 Srp and includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the feature film in 4K with Hdr and a Blu-ray disc with the feature film and special features.

Hulk Hogan: “Okay you guys, listen up! People pay good money to see this movie! When they go out to a theater they want cold sodas, hot popcorn, and no monsters in the projection booth! Do I have to come up there myself? Do you think the Gremsters can stand up to the Hulkster? Well, if I were you, I’d run the rest of Gremlins 2! Right now! Sorry folks, it won’t happen again!”

Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch are screening This Saturday, December 15th, at the St. Andrews Cinema in St. Charles, Mo. The doors open at 2:00pm and the first film starts at 2:30. Admission for both films is $5. Gremlins will be introduced by Mark Dodson. Mark was the voice of Salicious Crumb in Return Of The Jedi and Mogwai in Gremlins. His other voice credits include Day Of The Dead and Star Wars The Force Awakens.

Recently over Christmas break my girlfriend and I watched Gremlins. The movie came out way back in 1984. We both haven’t seen the movie since we were kids. So, we thought it would be a good idea to check it out and watch it, and give a quick review. When I think back to watching Gremlins as a child, I can remember being scared–not at the little green guys running around and causing havoc–but as the credits start rolling the voice of Billy’s dad (Hoyt Axton) telling me that there might be Gremlins in my house. So, whenever there was a weird noise or something, I always thought there just might be a Gremlin lurking around. Earlier in the day we were discussing if Gremlins was a Christmas movie. After watching the movie, it was clear to me that I should watch this film every Christmas, because...

If you're a fan of Gremlins and it's one of your favorite Christmas movies, you'll be happy to learn that the film is being re-released in theaters starting on December 8th! The event is called Gremlins: Breaking The Rules, and it's definitely something I'd love to take the family to.

I love this movie and I always try to watch it around Christmas time. Now I'll be able to watch it this year on the big screen! That's pretty rad. There's even a trailer that was released for the screening event that you can watch below!

The most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight…The tale of a cute and furry Christmas gift that multiplies into many, many, many terrifying Christmas gifts, Gremlins is a sublimely perfect mix of comedy and horror.

“You say you hate Washington’s Birthday or Thanksgiving and nobody cares, but you say you hate Christmas and people treat you like you’re a leper.”

Gremlins plays midnights this weekend (May 5th and 6th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of the Reel late at The Tivoli Midnight series.

It’s Christmas in American picture-postcard town Kingston Falls. Billy Peltzer is given an unusual present; a cute little furry creature called a Mogwai. He is delighted with the gift until he accidentally gets it wet and it quickly multiplies. Worse still is to come when the new creatures are fed after midnight and transform into horribly mischievous Gremlins …

Gremlins (1984) is a fabulous flick, because it somehow manages to be both a sentimental good-natured modern-day fairytale, and an uproariously riotous comic horror film that stomps all over the nice wholesome image of Christmas and small-town America. The script by...

When Blake Shelton told the folks at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to take a seat, he really meant it: The Voice coach's famous chair will soon be making a guest appearance at the Nashville museum as part of a new exhibit honoring the star, People has exclusively learned.

The exhibit opens Friday and runs through Nov. 6 – but don't worry, Blake fans. Shelton will still have a place to sit on the highly rated NBC show. It turns out the revolving chairs were made in multiples, so the exhibit will feature just one of Shelton's very limited edition chairs.

When Blake Shelton told the folks at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to take a seat, he really meant it: The Voice coach's famous chair will soon be making a guest appearance at the Nashville museum as part of a new exhibit honoring the star, People has exclusively learned. The exhibit opens Friday and runs through Nov. 6 - but don't worry, Blake fans. Shelton will still have a place to sit on the highly rated NBC show. It turns out the revolving chairs were made in multiples, so the exhibit will feature just one of Shelton's very limited edition chairs.

[A variation of this interview appeared in the December 2014 issue of Deadly Magazine] Released more than 30 years ago, Joe Dante’s Gremlins has left an indelible mark on both the horror genre and the entertainment world as a whole. The movie was a true rarity at the time, masterfully blending a heartwarming holiday story with a cautionary tale of what happens when you let nature run amok, Gremlins has become a true classic film that continues to impact new generations of fans.

At the time he came onto Gremlins, Dante had mostly independent projects under his belt, making the project a huge leap for him as a filmmaker. In fact, when he was first approached to direct Gremlins, he thought it was a mistake after receiving Chris Columbus’ initial spec script in the mail one day unexpectedly. “Chris had written Gremlins initially as a spec script and it was intended to be the first, low-budget horror movie out of Amblin Entertainment. I remember...

[Originally published in the December 2014 issue of Deadly Magazine] A little over thirty years ago, an inventor named Randall Peltzer walked into a tucked away antique shop in Chinatown in search of a memorable present for his son, Billy. Amidst the store’s candlelit relics, Randall discovered a cute critter known as a Mogwai. Against the owner’s wishes, he bought the Mogwai and later named him Gizmo, bringing him home to become a part of the family.

When Billy unwrapped Gizmo in the glow of the fireplace’s flickering flames, he became fast friends with the furry brown-and-white creature. Gizmo provided escapism to Billy, an aspiring cartoonist working at the local bank to help support his mom and dad. But the creature would unintentionally unleash manic mayhem on the tiny town of Kingston Falls, leading to a Christmas Eve nobody would forget… if they survived.

The star of the dark comedy creature feature, Zach Galligan, chatted with us...