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A review by jdhacker
Gremlins by George Gipe
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I picked up these novelizations because I had heard that the author, writing directly from the screenplays without seeing the movie, just made up and filled a lot of details regarding the mogwai, gremlins, their dialogue and thoughts, and their background. And that it was absolutely bonkers.
While that is all true to a degree, there is certainly not nearly as much of that as I was led to believe, nor hoped was there. It is a pretty interesting take though. There's also a scene with the cops later on poking holes in the three rules that reminded me a lot of a scene from the Masters of Horror entry, 'Deer Woman' many many years later.
Besides the alien origins and off the wall background, the main differences between this and the movie we hopefully all love is one of tone. Its darker and more serious than the film, with Gipes' style feeling a little like the pulp detective noir. The characters are less wholesome and lovable than in the movie, the romantic subplot is a lot more subdued, and there's another subplot involving Mrs. Deagle trying to sell off most of town to a chemical company that ends up being kind of unimportant and unrelated to anything else. I did really like the additional background and lost militaristic dreams of Billy's mother, and the bit of a payoff for the bathroom buddy near the end.
I would likely have given this an even higher rating if there was more gonzo mogwai/gremlin/mogturmen background. Worth a read if you find it cheap, don't go out of your way for a collector's priced copy though.
While that is all true to a degree, there is certainly not nearly as much of that as I was led to believe, nor hoped was there. It is a pretty interesting take though. There's also a scene with the cops later on poking holes in the three rules that reminded me a lot of a scene from the Masters of Horror entry, 'Deer Woman' many many years later.
Besides the alien origins and off the wall background, the main differences between this and the movie we hopefully all love is one of tone. Its darker and more serious than the film, with Gipes' style feeling a little like the pulp detective noir. The characters are less wholesome and lovable than in the movie, the romantic subplot is a lot more subdued, and there's another subplot involving Mrs. Deagle trying to sell off most of town to a chemical company that ends up being kind of unimportant and unrelated to anything else. I did really like the additional background and lost militaristic dreams of Billy's mother, and the bit of a payoff for the bathroom buddy near the end.
I would likely have given this an even higher rating if there was more gonzo mogwai/gremlin/mogturmen background. Worth a read if you find it cheap, don't go out of your way for a collector's priced copy though.