by Ann Marie Remember those rules you learned from the first installment of Gremlins? Well you may want to remember them right about now.
That's right they're back, this time in Gremlins 2: The New Batch. This time the movie takes place in New York City, where Billy and Kate have moved working for mogul Daniel Clamp. As for Gizmo he is still living with his owner, until Gizmo's owner dies. Gizmo then escapes out of the store and runs into a lab technician who works a genetics lab in the Clamp building. All of a sudden Billy finds out Gizmo is there and rescues him. But before Billy can take Gizmo home, Billy needs to run out the door to dinner and asks Kate to pick up Gizmo. As Gizmo waits for Kate to pick him up, he gets wet and that's when just like in the first film, Gizmo starts to multiply. The new Mogwai are meaner then before and stuff Gizmo inside an air vent. From here the gremlins find food so they can hibernate and becomes the green gremlins they metamorphize into, but this time their goal is to take over New York and start their civilization. This movie is wackier than the first one with more jokes and continuous fun as the gremlins start to take experimental drugs from the Clamp laboratory.
Just like the first movie, the actors who play Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates) are back on the big screen. As for Gizmo, Howie Mandell continues to bring the cute lovable character to life. Also joining this round of fun is Christopher Lee (Corpse Bride) as Doctor Catheter, Robert Picardo as Forster and John Glover as Daniel Clamp.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch has some a few differences from the first movie. The new Mogwai are black and white as opposed to brown and white. Also they have different personalities. Just like the first installment, the movie sticks with its set formula, meaning Gizmo gets wet forming new gizmos, then they eat so they can hibernate and lastly cause havoc. But this time the gremlins start getting their hands into the laboratory trying all different types of potions. This pushes the animatronics to the limit as each gremlin goes through a transformation. Also the special effects creators produced animatronics that can walk, which was something Gizmo and friends never did in the first movie.
This film is goofier than the first one. There was an interesting technique used in the middle of the movie. The film all of a sudden breaks as if the gremlins had been messing with it, but it also adds a disconnect instead of making the audience feel they are there with the characters. Depending on which version of the movie you bought there were different scenes. For instance in the VHS version, there was a scene in the wild west with John Wayne. The DVD version takes place in a movie theater. Both ideas are very cool and give the movie an added quirk. Also included is a musical number where the gremlins make fun of the rules of the Mogwai.
Joe Dante is back and directed Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Just like in the first movie, this movie was released when another popular movie was playing. Warner Brothers released it along side Batman to keep the movie from reaching box office record sales that weekend.
Overall, Gremlin 2: The New Batch is funnier and wackier than the first movie. It still had me humming the theme song, which who can't. Just like the first one, gore was prominent, but it didn't over power the movie.
I would recommend this movie for anyone who wants a good laugh and also enjoyed watching Gremlins. For those who aren't fans of scary movies, this one is tolerable with a scary rating of 3/10.
(c) 2011 Beyond the Films
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