While Gremlins 2: The New Batch isn’t as good as the original film, it was actually more imaginative, creative and dare I say, more fun? And the plot of the movie created a great story to be adapted into a video game, which it was.
Now Gizmo doesn’t just have to deal with regular Gremlins, things have gotten much, much worse.
This is because of their exposure to a crazy genetics lab ran by a mad scientist (the legendary Christopher Lee in the film). Now, the Gremlins have a wide array of superpowers and abilities that they didn’t have previously.
Because of that neat plot development, this video game has a bunch of different types of Gremlins to fight throughout this 8-bit adventure.
This is a really challenging game and honestly, it’s way too hard for the normie and even with my decades of video game experience and having played this multiple times over thirty years or so, I still found it extremely difficult and ended up resorting to a Game Genie code in order to complete it.
Even with my infinite lives code, the game is still tough as hell and frustrating. However, it’s that good kind of frustrating that leads to a feeling of accomplishment once you tough it out.
Overall, this has pretty good level design that is only slightly hindered by the game’s difficulty, a lot of which has to do with enemy placement. My only real complaint about anything design-wise though is the boss fights. They all take place in a single room the size of the screen and are comprised of oversized Gremlins in a confined space with floor traps. It makes navigated the space safely near impossible. In most boss battles, I mostly had to try and unleash as much damage as possible while trying to outlast the villain. There didn’t seem to be much point in putting an effort into developing an actual strategy.
Gremlins 2 is a pretty good game. It’s better than I remembered and it uses the movie’s plot and environments well.
Rating: 7/10 Pairs well with: other top down action platformers for the original Nintendo.
Release Date: December 5th, 2017 Directed by: Ryan Patrick Written by: Ryan Patrick Based on: the Gremlins films series by Chris Columbus Music by: Russ Howard, Grand Soleil Cast: Katherine Rodriguez, Randy Irwin, Sarah Lilly, Robert Wood
10 Minutes
Review:
I don’t often times talk about fan films here. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed one, actually. However, I like to give recognition to fan films that are really well done. And this one is pretty friggin’ cool. Mainly, because I love the Gremlins films and we haven’t had one in nearly three decades.
This little ten minute short was written and directed by a guy named Ryan Patrick, who did a superb job with this and really captured the tone of holiday dread like the original film did.
The story picks up thirty or so years after the events of the original 1984 film and sees Mogwai being sold as domesticated pets. How is that safe? Well, Mogwai need to be given an injection that keeps them from having the negative effects that turn them into terrors. With the injection, the rules for owning a Mogwai no longer apply. However, there is obviously a curveball waiting to be thrown.
The film is well shot, decently acted and the Mogwai and Gremlin puppets are really well constructed. They were made by Eric Fox, who was, at one point, a competitor on the special effects Syfy reality show Face Off. The film was also shot in just three days and all of it takes place at a diner, which works well for this just being a ten minute picture. But, it does leave things open for a sequel.
And like the original film, this takes place around Christmas, which was a nice added bonus. I have also always loved Gremlins 2: The New Batch but I wished that it took place around the holidays like its predecessor.
For a fan film, this is stupendously done. Kudos to Patrick, Fox and everyone else that put this together.
The Gremlins film series is proof that America wasn’t ruled by overprotective helicopter parents in the 80s. I’m glad I grew up in that era, as opposed to nowadays when a good old family film like Gremlins would be severely toned down and edited or have to be rated R and thus, not a family film.
I saw it in the theater with my parents. I was five. Yes, I saw people killed by little monsters and a bunch of horror violence but guess what? I loved it because I wasn’t coddled into being a complete wuss.
So let me discuss these films that, by today’s standards, should have destroyed me and turned me into a budding serial killer.
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Gremlins (1984):
Release Date: June 8th, 1984 Directed by: Joe Dante Written by: Chris Columbus Music by: Jerry Goldsmith Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holiday, Frances Lee McCain, Dick Miller, Corey Feldman, Keye Luke, Jackie Joseph, Judge Reinhold, Glynn Turman, Jonathan Banks, Don Steele (voice)
Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros., 106 Minutes
Review:
The first one is the best one. It is a classic and a “must view” film come Christmas time, even though it oddly came out in the summer months of 1984.
Gremlins is a prefect balance of comedy, horror and holiday cheer. It also is a perfect balance of cuteness and insanity and I’m not talking about the very young Corey Feldman in this picture.
The creature effects are top notch for their time and I would still rather watch these animatronic puppets than CGI any day. And one can’t not be impressed with how many Gremlins they actually put in some of these scenes. In the movie theater segment alone, it looks as if there are dozens of these creatures, all controlled and animated by some off-screen puppeteer.
The story is pretty basic and straightforward but most fairy tales are. But this is a dark and amusing fairy tale. The Gremlins, for being terrifying little monsters are hilarious. They joke around, act crazy and are lethal, even to each other. The fairy tale also has its rules that must be followed. Of course, the rules aren’t followed and that is why we end up with the glorious chaos that is this film.
Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates are perfect as the leads in this film and they had great chemistry, which also worked well in the sequel. In fact, unlike other boys my age, this is the film where I got a huge crush on Phoebe Cates, as opposed to Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Hoyt Axton was entertaining as the father character, a struggling inventor whose gadgets are the butt of several jokes in the films. Judge Reinhold and Dick Miller both show up for a bit as well.
This was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid and it has aged well. It still exudes the magic I found in it as a five year-old in the theater. Yeah, it is cheesy and over the top but it has a grittiness to it that you will never get when this film is eventually remade.
Gremlins is great. It is some of Joe Dante’s best work as a director.
And the soundtrack is fantastically nuts.
Rating: 9.25/10
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Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990):
Release Date: June 15th, 1990 Directed by: Joe Dante Written by: Charles S. Haas, Chuck Jones Music by: Jerry Goldsmith, Carl Stalling Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Christopher Lee, John Glover, Robert J. Prosky, Robert Picardo, Gedde Watanabe, Hulk Hogan, Paul Bartel, Rick Ducommun, Kathleen Freeman, Keye Luke
Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros., 106 Minutes
Review:
The New Batch is a pretty satisfactory sequel. I feel like they took too much time off between films but it still has a lot of the spirit of the original. It was also cool to see Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates return, as well as Dick Miller.
The film also has Christopher Lee in it, one of my favorite actors ever, as a mad scientist who does zany experiments on animals. His carelessness leads to the Gremlins acquiring some extraordinary abilities and a few bizarre abilities. The inclusion of Christopher Lee’s character ups the ante in this film, making the Gremlins more of a serious threat than they were in the first movie.
Also joining the cast are John Glover, as Daniel Clamp (a parody of Donald Trump in the 80s), Robert Picardo (a regular collaborator with Joe Dante) and Robert Prosky (as a late night horror movie show host dressed like a vampire). All three of these guys give superb performances, especially Glover.
Gremlins 2 isn’t as good of a film as the first but overall, it might be more fun. It is less dark but it is more campy. It has more Gremlin gags as opposed to a straightforward fluid story. The plot exists and there is a beginning and an end but the in-between stuff plays more like sketch comedy with a few plot points added in to keep it somewhat coherent.
This is a very different film than the first, which is refreshing. I probably wouldn’t want a rehash of what was done previously. This film did a great job of being its own thing while continuing the story on from the original.
I had always hoped for a third and final film but that ship has most likely sailed and Joe Dante isn’t the same director anymore.
While Gremlins 2: The New Batch isn’t as good as the original film, it was actually more imaginative, creative and dare I say, more fun? And the plot of the movie created a great story to be adapted into a video game, which it was.
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Talking Pulp 
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