Don't get them wet. Don't feed them after midnight. And whatever you do… don't press play alone.
This week on Midnight Cinema, Art and Erik head to Kingston Falls to unwrap one of the most chaotic holiday gifts ever committed to film: Gremlins.
What starts as a sweet 1984-era Christmas fantasy quickly mutates into a punk-rock creature feature stuffed with anarchic humor, broken rules, and homicidal puppets in Santa hats. Directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg, Gremlins somehow manages to be heartwarming, horrifying, and completely unhinged often in the same scene.
We dig into:
Gizmo: how Spielberg saved our little furry hero
The gremlin rulebook (Erik breaks down timezones and liquids.)
That infamous chimney/Santa monologue and how it traumatized a generation
Why Gremlins helped create the PG-13 rating
Small-town Americana vs. full-scale creature chaos
And how this movie still feels dangerous in a way modern studio films rarely do
From barroom mayhem to movie-theater mania, Gremlins is a Christmas movie that actively wants to ruin Christmas, and we love it for that.
So pour some eggnog, lock up your mogwai, and join us as we celebrate the holiday classic that proved the '80s were absolutely feral.
Happy Holidays from Midnight Cinema! And remember, follow the rules!
And if you make it out of Dotty's bare without getting your mogwai wet come hang with us for more late-night deep dives into cult classics, holiday oddities, and all the wonderfully unhinged cinema we adore at midnightcinemapod.com
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And come hang with us on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube for clips, chaos, behind-the-scenes shenanigans, and the occasional message scrawled in green goo by someone who definitely broke the rules. and the occasional message scrawled in green goo by someone who definitely broke the rules.
