“They might even replace the dog as the family pet.”

‘Tis the holiday season, which means it’s time for another Next Reel Christmas movie, and how better to share in the joy and festivities of the Christmas season than with some wacky laughs and slimy gore from Joe Dante’s 1984 horror comedy “Gremlins.” Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we celebrate another end of the year with some holiday cheer (and mayhem), this time with Gizmo, Stripe, Billy, Kate, Mrs. Deagle, Barney and the rest of the residents of Kingston Falls (aka Universal’s backlot). We talk about our impressions of this film from when we were young and how those changed (or didn’t) since then. We chat about the actors, from Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates to Polly Holliday and Howie Mandel, and what they brought to the table. We discuss Jerry Goldsmith’s score and why it works really well for Andy while not so much for Pete. We talk about Chris Walas and his creature effects, and banter about the script and how it really is pretty simplistic. And we touch on what Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and Chris Columbus all bring to the table here. It’s a fun film, one that certainly seems to have held up better for Andy than it has for Pete, and definitely fun to talk about. Check the movie out then tune in!

Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon
• Script Transcript
• Original theatrical trailer
• Original poster artwork
• Art of the Title
• Flickchart
• “Falling Hare” — Looney Toons 1943
  Trailers of the Week
• Andy’s Trailer: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot — “Tina Fey usually cracks me up. Sure, she’s had some fumbles, but I will always give her a chance. The fact that this is based on a true story makes it all the more interesting to me. Plus, Alfred Molina with a great big bushy beard!”
• Pete’s Trailer: Eddie the Eagle — “Hugh Jackman as the crotchety coach of an underdog British ski jumper in the Calgary Olympics. Sure, it might be saccharine. But when he says ‘fly…’… yeah, that’s going to be a tear jerker.”

• Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, and Movements
• The Film Board
• Movies We Like
• Sitting in the Dark

• The Web
• Letterboxd
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Threads
• Bluesky
• YouTube
• Flickchart
• Pinterest
• Pete 
• Andy

• You can buy our movie-related apparel, stickers, mugs and more from our MERCH PAGE.
• Or buy or rent movies we’ve discussed on the show from our WATCH PAGE.
• Or buy books, plays, etc. that was the source for movies we’ve discussed on the show from our ORIGINALS PAGE.
• Or renew or sign up for a Letterboxd Pro or Patron account with our LETTERBOXD MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNT.
• Or sign up for AUDIBLE.