Gremlins is just one of those movies that worked. You had a cute little creature with personality, a good original IP, and Phoebe Cates. I had it on VHS and would watch it to death.
Because the first movie was such a hit, they had to go and make a second one. Joe Dante sat back in the director’s chair and trolled the life out of Warner Bros. He knew a second movie wasn’t a good idea, so he decided to just take a pay cheque and have fun with it.
After that, Warner Bros decided not to move forward with a third movie. Well, until recently, when they are now so out of ideas, they are moving forward with Gremlins 3.
However, there is talk of a longer version of the original movie, a 2.5-hour Assembly Cut. It was recently shown in LA. The movie opened with a title card:
“Long rumored and thought lost, this rough cut captures Gremlins before it became the film we know now. Sourced from a 1983 First Assembly VHS, it preserves deleted scenes, alternate takes, and creative paths that were ultimately left behind.”
The cut is from Dante’s personal collection, and Ian Grant, from The Gremlins Museum. It was digitised, cleaned up and presented at a private screening for a select group of filmmakers and fans.
Borys Kit, from the Hollywood Reporter, was there and said:
“The cut features plenty of unseen character arcs and alternate takes. The first Gremlin doesn’t even show up until an hour in. Once the nasty little buggers do, however, there’s a lot of time spent on them (the chaos at the bar goes on for 10 or more minutes). Yes, we even get to see them walk.”
Call Off Christmas!
Kit went on to say that Cate’s character speech about why she hates Christmas was “nowhere to be found in this version”.
That’s an interesting take, since it’s one of those scenes that really sticks with you from the original movie.
Zack Galligan did a live Q&A on Instagram, where he discussed the cut. He described the rough cut as “an absolute mind blower” and “a total revelation”. Galligan also went on to say that some of the footage he has no recollection of filming.
He went on to say that Gremlins: The Assembly Cut contains some of the deleted scenes from the DVD release, but also never-before-seen footage.
You know what would be interesting? If The Assembly Cut was ever released, and then compare the numbers to Gremlins 3.
