Written by Chris Columbus (Goonies, Young Sherlock Holmes), and directed by Joe Dante (Explorers, Matineé), Gremlins manages to send shivers up your spine one minute, then have you howling with laughter the next. The bar scene is probably the funniest thing I have ever seen. NOTE: 'Gremlins' is quite gory for a PG, this, and Temple of Doom, are the two movies that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. (Rumor has it, if Spielberg's name hadn't been on the project, it would have been given an R.) And, after seeing this movie, you will, no matter what age you are, want a mogwai for a pet.
Gremlins
-
Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
-
Common Sense says
A comic horror movie classic.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 9–10
What to watch out for
-
Violence:
-
Sex:
-
Language:
-
Consumerism:
-
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Gremlins was written by Randy White
Parents need to know that this horror film has many scary scenes, including a mom chopping up a Gremlin with a kitchen knife is scary, a Gremlin-in-blender and classic Gremlin-in-microwave scenes.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the movie's message. What do you think the point was? Do most horror movies have messages? What are some others you can think of?
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on Gremlins
What’s the Story?
In the heart of Chinatown, Billy's dotty dad discovers a Mogwai (mog-why) and buys it as a Christmas present for him. Billy loves his sweet furry pet Gizmo, but disregards the basic rules of owning a Mogwai. Gizmo spawns nasty offspring, and the new creatures immediately go wild, dispatching a science teacher and tearing up the house. Billy and his mom are forced to destroy the little suckers. The mayhem looks under control until Spike, the malicious Gremlin leader, hops into the school swimming pool and multiplies exponentially. Soon the whole town is under attack. In the end, Billy and his girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates) blow up the town theater with the Gremlins inside. Just when the plot seems predictably laid out, the movie transforms into something else -- something much worse. The monsters mutate, and you just don't see the nastiness coming.
Is It Any Good?
This hit from the 1984 has lost none of its ability to frighten and entertain. Both a dark comedy and a cultural commentary, GREMLINS adds up to much more than a monster flick. Although they grow meaner, the Gremlins possess a sick sense of humor that establishes the twisted comic tone. Visually, the movie is also filled with fun touches, like a "Have a Safe and Happy Holiday" sign shown while a science teacher is rather indelicately butchered.
The special effects are also convincing if not original: Gizmo looks a bit like an Ewok from Star Wars, and the Gremlin pods seem lifted directly from Alien. Gremlins even attempts a message by exploring the evils of mid-'80s corporate culture: human acquisitiveness and the drive to conquer and control nature. In the end, the old Chinese man who sold Billy's dad the Mogwai returns to sum it up: "You do with Mogwai what your society has done with all of nature's gifts. You are not ready."
Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros., Director: Joe Dante
Run time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release: 6/8/1984, DVD release: 9/30/1997
MPAA Rating: PG for scary situations and mild violence
Run time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release: 6/8/1984, DVD release: 9/30/1997
MPAA Rating: PG for scary situations and mild violence
Our Members Say
See 45 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
-
I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Classic 80s flick.
-
I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
funny movie, but with little kids and parents, it might scare you
this is one of the funniest movies i have ever seen. the characters are great but the gremlins and gizmo totally steal the show. the movie is funny, but little kids shouldn't see this.
-
Kids ages: 10
I rate this title on for age 10 and give it- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
its a very good movie but age 10 and over is on
-
Kids ages: 9, 15
I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
Great "Starter" horror for kids 9 and up.
This was a great movie. I just showed my kids this movie. My 14yo enjoyed it however my 9yo was a bit freaked out much like I am when watching an intense horror film. The violence is not too bad and the language is not something you may want repeated but is still not too bad. The villains are the ones involved in the bad behavior so they are anti-role models.
-
I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
hey yay4anime they didn't have PG-13 back when this movie was made and this movie had the people who make ratings for movies make PG-13
-
I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
- My highlights are:
A total classic!! Not to be missed!
"1-:- Don't shine light on them, it hurts them, and sunlight will kill them. 2-:- Don't ever get them wet= Bad idea. =( 3-:- And finally, don't ever- and I mean EVER, let them eat after midnight." "Yeah, okay whatever kid, can I just have him now." Thus begins a classic tale of mayhem, obeying, and laughs. Gremlins was made back in 1984 and is said(like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) to be one of the movies to push the rating of PG-13. As it seemed to violent and scary for PG(kitchen kills), yet not bad enough for R. And it is! This movie isn't HUGELY violent, nor is it profane, but it IS much for kids. I stumbled upon this movie when I went over to our landlords. I saw it in it's VHS box and thought, 'Oh, how cool!' So she let me borrow it. I had nightmares the first night. And another one some other time in my life, but I kept watching it anyways. It was a really fun movie for me, even at age 8 or 9. But as I said, it gave me a couple nightmares and the whole 'And that's how I found out there was no Santa Clause,' talk was real disturbing and unnerving. But I was still to young to grasp the magnitude of the disturbitude. But violently, people kill gremlins(and, yes, they bleed) with blenders and knives. They are also melted to the bone(it's a disturbing visual, but you get an extra surprise), imploded in microwaves, and cut. Also, the 'And that's how I found out there was no Santa Clause' talk, which I have already mentioned, is GREATLY disturbing. People are cut, stabbed, injected, bitten, shot at, and strangled. Plus, Gremlins smoke some, drink voraciously, and gamble some. Also, if you REALLY try to dig deep, you might find underlying messages about obeying rules, trust, working together, loyalty to your family, and just plain, flat-out loyalty. But, that's only if you wanna dig REALLY deep and ruin watching this laugh-out-loud riot of a movie. Gremlins are the boogeyman for your kids. Tuck them into bed and say, "Remember, you better obey our rules, or else a Gremlin might come and gobble you up!" ... Not really...don't do that...that's just terrible. But, like I said, I approve this for ages 7+(if they already know there's no Santa Clause, I mean). And recommend this for EVERYONE ages 11+. Great movie! Ultimate classic for me. Watch it.
-
I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
I thought the film "Gremlins" was pretty good. I think that if you have a child under the age of 7 years old, do not let them see this movie.
-
I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
-
I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
A Bit Strong For Kids , The Part when one of the gremlines poped inside the microave creeped me !!!
-
I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
ooh; freaky movie
this movie is not for young kids; the gremlins may seem cute but they can get pretty scary.
-
I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
Horrible!
Tells about the man in red!
-
Kids ages: 5
I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
I loved this as a 12 year old. The cute Gizmo, the rules of caring for a mogwi, the silly inventor father and how his family rallies around him, even though he isn't the greatest inventor. That said, it was pretty scary and the scene where a girl tells how her father gets stuck and dies in the chimney while playing Santa is very upsetting. Not for little kids at all.
-
I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Good, but Could Scare Young Kids
First off, Gremlins is a great movie, and although it's fantastic, it's very violent for a PG movie.
-
Kids ages: 10
I rate this title iffy for age 8 and give it
- My concerns are:
It's OK, if your kids don't believe in Santa!
It's been awhile since I have seen this movie. My 9 year old does not scare easily and I new she would love the cute little Gremlin that never changed. However, I deeply regret showing this movie to my daughter who still holds onto a belief in Santa Claus. There is a scene where a young woman is telling her boyfriend why she hates Christmas. She explains her father died in her chimney when he was dressed as Santa attempting to surprise her one Christmas. The woman states, "That's how I found out there is no Santa Claus". My daughter was very upset by this. If your children still believe in Santa, don't show them this movie!
-
Kids ages: 3, 6, 8, 12, 15, 18
I rate this title on for age 15 and give itGremling Love
Might scare young viewers, great movie overall. Deffinitely scared me when I was younger, but I love it now!
-
Kids ages: 11, 14
I rate this title on for age 3 and give it- My highlights are:
Joe Dante Classic
A Terrific Kid's Horror Film! it was PG at the time, but some parents found it too scary for kids, but i don't think it's a big deal! depends on the kid you have, but i reccomend it for all ages
-
Kids ages: 11
I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
Have to carefully judge for yourself regarding "right" age to watch
We were looking for a "scary" movie for my daughter's birthday sleepover. The clerk recommended Gremlins as a classic, and assured me it was rated PG. I now understand that some 80's movies with PG ratings were rated before PG-13 existed, and therefore I need to be suspect of PG from that era. My biggest complaint is that the story line begins by humanizing the first "good" gremlin, so when the killing and horror begins, it feels really disturbing in an almost "human on human" kind of violence. I also was very uncomfortable with the casual inclusion (and glamorization/humor) of smoking and alcohol use. In the long run, we watched "Arachnophobia" for our party, which I would love to review but is not currently listed on this site. My 10 yr old and I did watch Gremlins together alone after the party, and she did enjoy it for the most part--she just is a kid who kinda likes gross and scary things. But I would have been horrified to have accidentally hosted it for a large group of 10 yr olds, some of which could easily been bothered by the content.
-
I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
-
I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
This is the funniest movie ever! I own it, but I cannot see at all why the Canadian rating is 14A. I'm only mostly concerned over the language: words like "g-dd--n", "a-s", "d--n", "h--l", "s--t", and "b---h" are used pretty infrequently.
-
I rate this title on for age 5 and give it
Depends on the child
My 6 yr old and I watched this movie when he was 5 and he loved it so much he begs to let him watch it over and over. We discussed it in great length, he knows movies aren't real, never has nightmares, knows he's not allowed to use adult language and he laughs at most of it because the 'gremlins' aren't real, now he can pretty much tell me the whole story, and somehow the 'Santa' reference gets unnoticed every time he watches. Every child is different and has a different level of comprehension, it should ultimately be up to the parent to know their child well enough to know what they can handle and what they can't. I never considered this a 'horror' flick ever and actually told my son when we watched it that it's a super funny movie and laughed during most of it myself - ergo why he laughs at most of it. It's important for parents to always watch any kind of movie for the first time with their child and to really know their child. I know dozens of kids I wouldn't dream of letting watch this movie but I know my own kid and know he can handle it. And I was going to be one of those parents who censored everything and sheltered my kid from all of these things, only to find out that won't help him in the long run. There has to be open discussion about everything and the younger the better.
Give Recommendations, Get Them, Too!
Become a member and get recommendations from other parents based on your child's age.Tell us your child's age:
Already a member? Log inOur Members Rate It
Ratings at a Glance
| 38% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 33% | of parents say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking |
Have you seen it?
For Your Family
Get age-based recommendations for your kids:
Customize based on your child's age
