51 Reasons Why Gremlins Just Might Be The Greatest Film Of All Time...

By Simon Gallagher / May 5, 2014

31. It was Nutritionally Ahead of its time: Think of the second rule- No Food after Midnight. Isnt that reminiscent of one of the cardinal sins of weight-gain? "Nutritionists" on the telly-box have been telling us for years that eating late at night makes you lardy, while looking at our poo and telling us it smells bad (no shit, Gillian McKeith). So really, Gremlins was a pioneering allegory for the ravages of ill-advised snacks at night, but rather than getting back tits and a rash where your gravy-soaked thighs rub together, you spawn hundreds of beastly green creatures. You couldnt make it up! 30. The Ultimate 80s Sex Bomb: Step forward Phoebe Cates, who Im fairly sure was the not so proud recipient of the award for star of my first "nocturnal emmission" dream.

29. It (Almost) Came With a Short: The Merrie Melodies short Falling Hare, starring Bugs Bunny alongside a very different Gremlin, was originally intended to be attached to the cinema showings of Gremlins (and parts of it are available as part of the Special Edition release), but perhaps due to Dante's publicly voiced concerns that his Gremlins were not to be judged by any that went before, the plan was eventually scrapped. I for one would welcome the return of shorts to the big-screen before the feature, rather than the fucking endless adverts we now have to put up with. Four or five previews and a short please- if I wanted to watch adverts about cars and mobile phones I'd stay at home. 28.

The most important rule of all, no mater how much he cries, no mater how much he begs, never, never feed him after midnight.

27. The Lack of Star Power: Ghostbustershad a frightening amount of comedy talent on show, in fact there was an embarrassment of riches. Gremlins on the other hand in comparison might as well have been cobbled together using local amateur dramatic groups- the effect is that the Gremlins are the stars, and rightly so.