Gremlin (2017)

Director: Ryan Bellgardt

Starring: Adam Hampton, Katie Burgess,

A man receives a mysterious box containing a terrible secret, a creature that will kill everyone else in his family unless he passes it on to someone he loves to continue its never-ending circulation.

Combine an inexperienced director with an inexperienced cast and you get…Gremlin! Director Ryan Bellgardt doesn’t have directorial experience and it shows. He also wrote the film, which has a rather silly premise overall. The acting is bad and the dialogue really bad. After her boyfriend was killed, Adam Thatcher says unsympathetically to his daughter “He was a dipshit anyway.” On finding a gutted victim in a hotel room a police officer says “Holy shit! Imagine being the cleaning lady finding this.” I mean honestly…

So, the film is about a box that was created as a weapon centuries ago, and is intended to destroy entire bloodlines. The rule (to live) is to give it to someone you love. This is a really bad premise. When the Grandmother dies, no one seems to really care and continue with their daily routine as if nothing happened, even still jokes about things. The characters do and say the strangest things at the most inconvenient times. Their behavior is just not normal. Even when their daughter is killed, Mr & Mrs Thatcher are more concerned about Mr Thatcher’s infidelity!! Their entire reasoning is absurd. Why is Adam’s girlfriend killed instantly when he gives her the box? Why did she not get a timer as well like everyone else? Why is the box everywhere towards the end? There’s also inappropriate attempts at pointless humor. The dialogue is so bad its no wonder the actors are so bad.

The Gremlin effects are rather good, though. I managed to keep watching despite all the flaws. Maybe thanks to Adam Hampton (who plays Adam Thatcher), who is also the most experienced actor. His thick moustache must also be the envy of numerous men…