“Mom, they hatched. Get out of the house!”
I can’t even try to be objective about this one, Gremlins is hands-down my favourite movie of all time. Having missed it in theaters, I was lucky to rent it in November of 1985 as a new release (it took that long to hit home video), and it was an absolute revelation. Nay, it blew my 12 year old mind. I must have I watched it 4 times before begrudgingly returning it the next day. Unfortunately buying the VHS would have set me back a cool 79.95 (that’s about 220 today), which was way too rich for my parents’ blood.
The Tape might have been off-limits, but it wasn’t long before the gorgeous John Alvin poster was on my wall (after begging the video store owner to sell it to me), and the soundtrack was fused to the inside of my walkman for months.
Also, am I the only one who can’t hear Johnny Mathis’ “Do You Hear What I Hear?” without expecting the scene breaks, or the shut-off and slowdown at ‘A song, a song, High above the trees, With a voice aaaaaaaaw….”
-Pop
That’s right, Gremlins first hatched in theatres today in 1984 – the same day as Ghostbusters!