Crooked Table Podcast: Episode 146 — ‘Gremlins’ (featuring Cristian Garcia of Nerds with Friends)

It’s the holiday season. So, of course, it is time to bust out all our favorite Christmas movies. We’ve got White Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, and — what do we have here? — Gremlins. That’s right, folks. That 1984 Joe Dante horror-comedy about a furry little Mogwai with a very particular set of rules is technically a Christmas movie. And we’ll take any opportunity we have to revisit a nostalgic favorite.

Cristian Garcia of Nerds with Friends joins us to talk about why Gremlins is such a hallmark of the 1980s. We’ll discuss the practical effects used to bring the titular creatures, marvel at Mrs. Peltzer’s battle skills, and ponder what the long-in-development Gremlins 3 might look like.

Remember to stay away from the light, steer clear of water, and — whatever you do — do NOT eat anything after midnight. It’s time to talk Gremlins.

SYNOPSIS

A gadget salesman is looking for a special gift for his son (Zach Galligan) and finds one at a store in Chinatown. The shopkeeper is reluctant to sell him the `mogwai’ but sells it to him with the warning to never expose him to bright light, water, or to feed him after midnight. All of this happens and the result is a gang of gremlins that decide to tear up the town on Christmas Eve.