New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

There are almost as many differences as there are similarities between Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Gremlins. That fact in and of itself is worthy of commentary as we are all familiar with sequels that exist simply as retreads or amped-up versions of their younger selves. Both films fall squarely into the horror comedy slot, although the second film has more of the latter and the original has more of the former. Both clock in at around 105 minutes. Three of the key cast members from the first - Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates and Dick Miller - reprised their roles and Howie Mandel once again provided his unique vocal stylings for the voice of the furry Mogwai would-be hero Gizmo. Jerry Goldsmith's wonderfully catchy carnivalesque score from Gremlins is featured in The New Batch although not as frequently and not to nearly the same joyous effect. Joe Dante occupied the director's chair on both occasions and Steven Spielberg (along with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy) executive produced. But here is where things diverge, in my opinion. To really understand how the sequel veers off in a different direction, one need only look at how the gremlins are portrayed within the frameworks of the respective films. More on that in a moment.

First, the requisite extended introduction that is fast becoming a staple of Chapter Two. Back in the summer of 1984, the first Gremlins debuted a mere two weeks after Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (featured in last week's column) and after a strong second place opening with $12.5 million, proceeded to hang out for five more weeks in the bridesmaid's position (kept out of the top spot all that time by Ghostbusters) and spent a total of 16 consecutive weeks in the top ten, finishing out the year with nearly $150 million. Released almost exactly six years later, Gremlins 2 transplanted the creatures from small-town America to big city New York. It debuted with only $9 million and closed out its domestic run with $41 million. Chris Columbus scripted the first film, while a writer named Charlie Haas (who also penned the script for Dante's delightful 1993 comedy Matinee) worked on the second.

The difference in sensibilities between those two scribes is roughly the gap between throwing a grab bag of movie clichés on screen and having nasty, icky fun with them (which is what Gremlins did) and poking satirical fingers at storytelling/cinematic conventions and clichés (The New Batch, natch). Satire, it has been famously observed, is what closes on Saturday night, meaning the "kids" are not at all down with it and the general public won't be standing around the water cooler at church or the office talking it up. I consider it an achievement that Warner Bros. not only allowed the sequel to head in the direction it did but also — from observing the original theatrical trailer and poster work featured on the DVD Special Features - understood precisely what they had on their hands and used the marketing tools to convey that. There was honesty in advertising from the team in marketing. You have been served notice that it has happened at least once. That The New Batch grossed what it did is a small victory as well. It's a comic romp more than an adventure or an action film, satirical but not pushing over into cynicism, with jokes both subtle and embedded coming fast and furious almost as if this was a ZAZ production. Or, perhaps, a live action cartoon?

Continued:       1       2       3