Gremlins

In the 80's the PG rating was forever affected by a slew of films that tested the rating by including incredibly dark content for those said 'kids films'. More than enough complaining and controversy eventually led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. One of these films was the cult classic Gremlins. Unsure of whether to be a lighthearted kids film or a crazy horror flick, the movie managed to ingrain itself in the brains of youngsters for better or worse. How better to score a flick about crazed Furbies than Jerry Goldsmith.

The album release for the film was pretty short, containing 14 minutes of pop music and 16 minutes of score, totalling 30 minutes altogether. 'The Gift' establishes the mood for the following score; starting with a very soft melody, suddenly turning dark, introducing violins in the style of some of Goldsmith's music for the Twilight Zone movie, and finally exploding into the Gremlins theme. 'Gizmo' is a mix between soft orchestral music and quirky Danny Elfman moods. 'Mrs. Deagle' is a synthesized theme that is quirky enough without description. 'The Gremlin Rag' is a full encore of the iconic Gremlin theme and I have to admit, it's one of Goldsmith's most fun theme.

Despite the short release, Gremlins captures the tone of the film perfectly. Jerry Goldsmith's music is quirky much in the way that Danny Elfman's work on Bettlejuice was quirky. The theme itself is nothing short of iconic. Overall a good release if you can get your hands on it. Hopefully there will be an expanded release in the future.