Released in 1984, Gremlins quickly became an iconic film. Billy Peltzer, played by Zach Galligan, receives a Mogwai named Gizmo and unknowingly unleashes an army of mischievous gremlins. Yet, this family-friendly horror-comedy wasn’t always intended to charm viewers young and old.
The film’s original script was written by Chris Columbus as a darker and violent R-rated horror story. Steven Spielberg, recognizing the potential, brought it to life, but not without significant changes. Spielberg tweaked several scenes to create a movie suitable for more audiences.
Diluting the Horror
A notable example of these changes was the fate of Billy’s mother. According to the original script, the gremlins would have eaten her alive. However, Spielberg found this too traumatic and changed it to the gremlins pushing her out of a window.
The inclusion of dark humor was pivotal. Joe Dante, the director, emphasized moments that struck a balance between horror and comedy. The scene where Phoebe Cates’ character recounts a gruesome Christmas story faced pushback from Warner Bros. executives.The studio was like, ‘What is this?’ Some people were like, ‘Is this real? Is this a joke? Is this supposed to be funny?’ So we had to go and tell Phoebe that they were gonna cut the scene… She was not happy about that, and Joe was not happy about it.
This quote underscores how the original gory tone shifted towards something more palatable.
Puppets Over Monkeys
The filmmakers also faced technical challenges. Initially considering monkeys in costumes for the gremlins, they quickly abandoned the idea due to unmanageable logistics.We got a rhesus monkey and put a gremlin’s head on him, and he bounced around the editing room and shit all over everything
, recalled Dante.
Instead, they turned to puppetry. Chris Walas led the creation of these intricate models. His designs ensured that both Mogwai and Gremlins had distinct personalities.
Perseverance Over Obstacles
The production was fraught with challenges. Puppeteers worked tirelessly against equipment failures to bring believable chaos on screen. This relentless effort paid off with memorable scenes such as gremlins caroling or causing mayhem in a bar.
Despite initial resistance from Warner Bros., once they witnessed audience reactions during previews, they realized they had a hit.The reaction was phenomenal… We knew we had something special when they reacted positively
, said Dante. The studio smelled money
, added him further.
An Unintended Legacy
The movie helped establish the PG-13 rating due to its intense scenes that some felt didn’t fit into the usual PG category but wasn’t gory enough for an R rating.Actually, because of Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which also had some kind of gnarly things in it, the PG-13 rating was invented
.
A Timeless Cult Classic
Todays’ cozy Christmas classic hides its historical shift from gore-fest beginnings rather successfully. Its shifts allowed it to worm its way into popular culture widely. As Phoebe Cates reflectedYou can always tell when somebody comes up to me and says ‘My favorite movie…’ I know which one it’s going to be.
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