21 Things You Might Not Know About 'Gremlins'

Jennifer M Wood

Image credit:  warner bros pictures

You know not to get them wet, expose them to bright light, or feed them after midnight. But here are 21 things you might not know about Joe Dante’s creature-filled dark comedy classic, which turns 30 years old today.

1. ITS UNEXPECTEDLY DARK THEMES ARE PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CREATION OF THE PG-13 RATING.

Truth be told, it’s Steven Spielberg who is really responsible for the introduction of the PG-13 rating. Both Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which he directed, and Gremlins, which he executive produced, were rated PG upon their release, and subsequently criticized for not being kid-appropriate. To avoid being slapped with an R rating in the future, Spielberg suggested that the MPAA add a rating between PG and R. On August 10, 1984, Red Dawn became the first movie to be released with the new PG-13 rating.

2. BUT GREMLINS COULD HAVE BEEN A WHOLE LOT DARKER.

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The original Gremlins script, written by Chris Columbus, was much, much darker. Case in point: Earlier scenes included the Gremlins eating Billy’s dog then decapitating his mom and throwing her head down the stairs. Spielberg, director Joe Dante, and Warner Bros. were all in agreement that they should tone down the gore in order to make the movie more family-friendly.

3. CHRIS COLUMBUS DIDN’T WRITE GREMLINS WITH THE IDEA THAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE MADE.

He wrote it as a spec script and writing sample. It found its way into the hands of Spielberg, who explained that, “It's one of the most original things I've come across in many years, which is why I bought it.”

4. THE GREMLINS WERE INSPIRED BY MICE THAT INHABITED COLUMBUS’ APARTMENT.

“By day, it was pleasant enough,” Columbus noted of the Manhattan loft that he lived in while attending film school at NYU. “But at night, what sounded like a platoon of mice would come out and to hear them skittering around in the blackness was really creepy.” Those mice inspired the Gremlins.

5. THE SCRIPT DOESN’T INCLUDE MUCH GREMLIN DIALOGUE.

Much of the chatter spoken by Gizmo and the Gremlins is ad libbed, or in reaction to whatever is happening in the scene. Keeping the dialogue loose also allowed the filmmakers to localize the dialogue for the film’s various international markets.

6. HOWIE MANDEL IS THE VOICE OF GIZMO.

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It was the suggestion of voice actor Frank Welker, who voiced Stripe in Gremlins (and Fred on Scooby-Doo before that), that Howie Mandel be hired for the role.

7. BUT MANDEL DIDN’T SING “GIZMO’S SONG.”

The song was written by Jerry Goldsmith, who hired a 13-year-old girl who was a member of his synagogue to sing it for the film.

8. MICHAEL WINSLOW HELPED TO VOICE THE GREMLINS.

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Yes, this is the same Michael Winslow who is better known as “the guy who makes all those funny noises in the Police Academy film series."

9. TIM BURTON WAS IN CONTENTION TO DIRECT IT.

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There was a lot of buzz surrounding Burton after the success of his short film, Frankenweenie—so much so that Spielberg considered him to direct Gremlins. But the fact that Burton had yet to direct a feature film worked against him, and the gig was given to Joe Dante. A year later, Burton released his first theatrical feature, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.

10. SECURITY WAS TIGHT WITH THE GREMLINS.

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Because there was no CGI at the time of Gremlins, the creatures were animatronic puppets, each of which took a major chunk out of the film’s budget. Zach Galligan revealed that when leaving the set each night, security personnel asked the cast and crew to open the trunks of their cars to ensure that they hadn’t stolen any of the props.

11. BALLOONS CAME IN HANDY.

Creature creator Chris Walas used balloons in an innovative fashion: they were the secret VFX ingredient when the new Mogwai popped out of Gizmo’s body, and he used a balloon again to explode the Gremlin in the microwave.

12. PHOEBE CATES WAS A CONTROVERSIAL CASTING CHOICE.

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Given her sweet demeanor as Kate, it’s hard to imagine that not everyone was on board with casting Cates. But her infamous topless scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High gave the studio pause about putting her in the lead.

13. CATES’ CHEMISTRY WITH ZACH GALLIGAN WAS WHAT GOT HIM THE ROLE.

Though there were better-known actors like Emilio Estevez and Judd Nelson in contention for the role of Billy, Spielberg cast his vote for Galligan, based on the chemistry he and Cates displayed during auditions.

14. IT’S THE FIRST FILM TO FEATURE THE NOW-ICONIC AMBLIN ENTERTAINMENT LOGO.

By now, Spielberg’s E.T.-themed logo for Amblin Entertainment is familiar to all moviegoers. But Gremlins marked its first on-screen appearance.

15. KINGSTON FALLS AND HILL VALLEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME.

If the fictional town of Kingston Falls in Gremlins looks familiar, that’s because it was filmed on the same set used for the town of Hill Valley in Back to the Future, released a year later.

16. THE FILM WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR A CHRISTMAS RELEASE.

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Offbeat as it may be, Gremlins is definitely a Christmas movie, and as such had been planned for release during the Christmas season. But when Warner Bros. realized it didn’t have a "summer movie" to put up against Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or Ghostbusters, it moved up the release date. The film performed well and ended up being the fourth highest-grossing film of 1984, behind Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

17. KATE’S STORY ABOUT HER FATHER’S DEATH WAS A POLARIZING SCENE.

As a nod to the popular urban legend, Kate tells the story about how her father died while dressed up as Santa Claus and climbing down the chimney. When the rough cut was complete, both Spielberg and the Warner Bros. executives wanted it cut, as it wasn’t clear whether it was meant to be sad or funny. Dante insisted that that’s what made it a perfect metaphor for the film itself, and insisted it be kept in. In Roger Ebert’s three-star review of the film, he singled out this scene in particular, citing her story as being “in the great tradition of 1950s sick jokes.” 

18. BILLY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE HERO.

At the end of the film, Gizmo saves the day by pulling up a window blind and exposing Stripe to sunlight. Originally, Gizmo lifted the first blind, followed by Billy. Spielberg suggested the scene be edited so that it was clear that it’s Gizmo, not Billy, who is the movie’s hero. 

19. GIZMO AND STRIPE WERE THE SAME CREATURE AT ONE TIME.

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It was also at Spielberg’s suggestion that Gizmo’s role in the film grew. Originally, it’s the cute little Mogwai pet himself who transforms into Stripe the Gremlin. But Spielberg knew that audiences would want to see as much of Gizmo as possible, so he withdrew the idea so that they would appear as totally separate characters.

20. THE GREMLINS MAY RISE AGAIN.

Warner Bros

Though Gremlins did spawn a sequel (1990's Gremlins II: The Next Batch), there’s been much talk in recent years about a reboot of the original. In April 2014, Ain’t It Cool News reported that Warner Bros. had placed the film on the remake fast track.

21. BUT CHRIS COLUMBUS, FOR ONE, DOESN’T SEE HOW A REBOOT WILL WORK.

In a 2012 interview with Screen Rant, Columbus noted: “I think it’s impossible to re-create [Gremlins] in a CGI environment. I think it will inevitably lose some of its charm. Those are edgy Muppets in a sense and you don’t want to lose that sense of anarchy that those gremlins had, because behind the scenes are 25 puppeteers making them to come to life.”

10 Monsters That Inspire Dread

Mysterious creatures of the night – the stuff of nightmares! This list takes a look at ten monsters from history, myth and folklore that ought to scare the pants off us. I have tried to restrict the list to creatures that have not been presented on Listverse before, to keep things interesting. Be sure to tell us your own favorite (or rather, despised) monsters in the comments.

10 Cockatrice

The Cockatrice can cause death with a single glance. Reports indicate that anything catching sight of the lethal bird’s eyes is turned instantly to stone. Just as deadly is their poisonous saliva, which can fell even an elephant. Also known as a Basilisk, a Cockatrice has the head and feet of a cockerel and the tail of a serpent. The Cockatrice is believed to be the product of a seven-year-old cockerel’s egg, laid during a full moon, and then hatched for nine years by a serpent or toad. There are a few ways to protect oneself from a Cockatrice. One is to carry something reflective – like a mirror – and turn the creature’s gaze back on it. Another is to keep either a weasel or a cockerel nearby. The weasel is said to be the mortal enemy of the Cockatrice, While the crowing of the cockerel is even more effective as it causes the Cockatrice to have fatal fits and ultimately thrash itself to death.

9 Manticore

The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a shark), and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged or both. The tail is that of either a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims. It devours its prey whole. It leaves no clothes, bones or possessions of the prey behind. The creature’s feet may be those of a dragon, but are most often described as the paws of a lion. Its size ranges from the size of a lion to the size of a horse. It is also mistaken as a bearded man when seen from a distance – a deception which makes it easy to fall victim to the creature.

8 Kelpie

The kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore, that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland. The horse’s appearance is strong, powerful and breathtaking. Its hide was supposed to be black (though in some stories it was white), and it will appear to be a lost pony, but can be identified by its constantly dripping mane. Its skin is like that of a seal, smooth, but is as cold as death when touched. Water horses are known to transform into beautiful women to lure men into their traps. The water horse is a common form of the kelpie, said to lure humans, especially children, into the water to drown and eat them. It performs this act by encouraging children to ride on its back. Once its victims fall into its trap, the kelpie’s skin becomes adhesive and it bears them into the river, dragging them to the bottom of the water and devouring them—except the heart or liver.

7 Soucouyant

Not only is the soucouyant scary – it is probably the most bizarre entry here. The soucouyant in Dominica, Trinidadian and Guadeloupean folklore, is a kind of vampire. The Soucouyant lives by day as an old woman at the end of the village. By night, however, she strips off her wrinkled skin, puts it in a mortar, and flies in the shape of a fireball through the darkness, looking for a victim. Still in the shape of a fireball, the soucouyant enters the home of her victim through the keyhole, or any crack or crevice. Soucouyants suck the blood of people from their arms, legs and other soft parts, while they sleep. If the soucouyant draws out too much blood from her victim, it is believed that the victim will die and become a soucouyant herself, or else perish entirely, leaving her killer to assume her skin. The soucouyant practices witchcraft, voodoo and black magic. Soucouyants trade the blood of their victims for evil powers with Bazil, the demon who resides in the silk cotton tree.

6 Umibōzu

Umibōzu is a spirit in Japanese folklore. The Umibōzu is said to live in the ocean and capsize the ship of anyone who dares speak to it. This spirit’s name, which combines the character for “sea” with the character of “Buddhist monk,” is possibly related to the fact that the Umibōzu is said to have a large, round head, resembling the shaven heads of Buddhist monks. Alternatively, they are enormous Yōkai (spectres) that appear to shipwreck victims and fishermen. They are believed to be drowned priests, exhibit the shaven head and typically appears to be praying. It is usually reported as having a grey, cloud-like torso and serpentine limbs. As you can see from the image above, this is not a creature you want to bump into in the middle of the night.

5 Hidebehind

A hidebehind is a nocturnal fearsome critter from American folklore that preys upon humans that wander the woods, and was credited for the disappearances of early colonial loggers when they failed to return to camp. As its name suggests, the hidebehind is noted for its ability to conceal itself. When an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature hides again behind an object or the observer, and therefore can’t be directly seen; a feat it accomplishes by sucking in its stomach to a point where it is so slender that it can easily cover itself behind the trunk of any tree. The hidebehind uses this ability to stalk human prey without being observed, and to attack without warning. Their victims, including lumberjacks who frequent the forests, are dragged back to the creature’s lair to be devoured. The creature subsists chiefly upon the intestines of its victim. Tasty.

4 Bakeneko

Cats are meant to be furry and cute – but not when it is five feet high and shoots fireballs! A bakeneko (“monster-cat”) is, in Japanese folklore, a cat with supernatural abilities akin to those of the fox or raccoon dog. A cat may become a bakeneko in a number of ways: it may reach a certain age, be kept for a certain number of years, grow to a certain size, or be allowed to keep a long tail.

A bakeneko is a cat that gains paranormal powers after certain circumstances. They also have the ability to eat (bigger or smaller) anything in its way, no matter what it is. Poison is its main food. A bakeneko will haunt any household it is kept in, creating ghostly fireballs, menacing sleepers, walking on its hind legs, changing its shape into that of a human, and even devouring its own mistress in order to shapeshift and take her place. When it is finally killed, its body may be as much as five feet in length. It also poses a danger if allowed into a room with a fresh corpse; a cat is believed to be capable of reanimating a body by jumping over it.

3 Draugr

A draugr is an undead creature from Norse mythology. Draugar were believed to live in the graves of dead Vikings, being the body of the dead. As the graves of important men often contained a good amount of wealth, the draugr jealously guards his treasures, even after death. Draugar possess superhuman strength, can increase their size at will, and carry the unmistakable stench of decay. The draugr’s ability to increase its size also increased its weight, and the body of the draugr was described as being extremely heavy. Thorolf of Eyrbyggja Saga was “uncorrupted, and with an ugly look about him…

swollen to the size of an ox,” and his body was so heavy that it could not be raised without levers. In folklore the draugar slay their victims through various methods including crushing them with their enlarged forms, devouring their flesh, devouring them whole in their enlarged forms, indirectly killing them by driving them mad, and drinking their blood. Animals feeding near the grave of a draugr may be driven mad by the creature’s influence.

2 Monstrous Races

Pliny (in his Natural History, 77AD) gives us the first accounts of monstrous races in his attempt to describe the various unknown peoples of foreign lands. Some of the races he describes are hairy choromandae, which make a terrifying gnashing noise, half-beasts and half men created by the gods to terrify men for their amusement, and perhaps most horrifyingly a race of creatures who feed exclusively on the milk of dog-headed men (cynocephalae). In medieval history we find men with chests in their heads, and gigantic men who roam about on one leg, but prefer to lie on their back using their giant foot to protect them from the sun (sciapods). Pictured above is a weird mix of a man with a head in his chest, mixed with a bird.

1 Tiamat

We are all familiar with dragons from various historical tales and myths, but Tiamat really takes the cake for inspiring terror. Tiamat comes to us from Babylonian mythology. She is often wrongly described as being a sea-serpent or dragon, but it is far worse than that. First, here is a description:

“[Tiamat had] a tail, a thigh, “lower parts” (which shake together), a belly, an udder, ribs, a neck, a head, a skull, eyes, nostrils, a mouth, and lips. She has insides (possibly “entrails”), a heart, arteries, and blood.” She was made up of such a jumble of things that she truly was a creature of chaos. But it gets worse. Tiamat was so horrifying, so monstrous, and so dread-inspiring because, from her bizarre pseudo-human cum cryptozoological body, she gave birth to dragons, scorpion-men, merpeople (yes, that is a real word), and countless other horrifying things. The Tiamat myth says that she was eventually killed by the god Marduk, who then split her body in two forming heaven and earth.

Jamie is the founder of Listverse. He spends his time working on the site, doing research for new lists, and cooking. He is fascinated with all things morbid and bizarre.