Editorials
Ranking the 10 Coolest ‘Gremlins’!
There really is no Christmas horror-comedy out there quite like Gremlins. With his 1984 blockbuster, director Joe Dante raised the bar to significant heights with the legend of the mischievous little critter. Gremlins gave the mythical troublemakers a new look, hilarious yet malicious personas, and a set of rules to abide by in order to avoid an invasion of little green monsters. I think it’s fair to say that the “Mogwai” have come a long way since that infamous gremlin tormented the shit out of William Shatner at 20,000 feet.
One of my favorite things about the Gremlins films and the cinematic evolution of this little beast is the different personalities each Gremlin possesses. While most look pretty similar, each Gremster has some feature that helps separate them from the horde. Of course, it was a lot easier to tell some of them apart in the second film, thanks to the Splice O’ Life Lab in the Clamp building.
With the holidays looming over us, I wanted to celebrate one of the greatest Christmas horror-comedies with a look back at 10 of the goddamn coolest Gremlins from the series!
10. Daffy Gremlin
Daffy, the hyperactive member of the New Batch squad, was probably the least evil out of the original four Mogwai. He was more prone to plain old-fashioned mischief than pain and suffering. Daffy is that drunk best friend you have to babysit, and if he’s not carefully watched, chances are he’ll turn into a deranged version of Frank the Tank.
9. Flasher Gremlin
Simply known as the almighty “Flasher Gremlin”, this Gremlin has some balls (no pun intended). Sure, his appearance lasts for mere seconds, but his scene stands out as one of the funniest moments in the film.
8. Gremlin Carolers
The squad of fa-la-la nightmares were instrumental in bringing down the biggest bitch in Kingston Falls, Mrs. Deagle. The caroling crew serenaded that dog threatening, cold-hearted wench to her death, and I loved every second of it. Face it, she had it coming and we all cheered when she met her demise, thanks to these anti-heroes.
7. Spider Gremlin
Now, this is a true arachnophobes nightmare. He was already a sufficient bad-ass before his eight-legged transformation, however, this version is considerably cooler. Although, to be fair, not quite as cool as Rambo Gizmo who got the better of ol’ Spidey Gremlin.
6. Bat Gremlin
Half bat, half Gremlin terror and one mean little sucker from The New Batch. The Brain helped fulfill this Gremster’s destiny by injecting his comrade with some handy bat serum along with added UV protection from the Splice O’ Life Lab. The results left us with a bad-ass flying nightmare that created chaos on the streets of New York City.
5. Greta Gremlin
The only female Gremlin, technically by way of a sex change serum, but a lady nonetheless. Greta is the most docile creature in both films put together. Presumably because of her gender, and her newly raging hormones, Greta has only one thing on her mind – a man. She develops a quick obsession with Clamp employee Forester, channeling that Gremlin killer instinct into doing everything she can to win his heart. She’s also the only Gremlin to survive the fallout of the Clamp Center. You go girl.
4. Phantom Gremlin
This Gremlin is so cool because he channeled his inner horror fan and turned his misfortune into one of the most memorable characters from the sequel. The Phantom Gremlin perfectly recreates one of horror’s most infamous scenes as seen in Phantom of the Opera. “So do you end your days with me, or do you send him to his grave?”
3. The Brain Gremlin
While the Gremsters managed to utter nonsense and a few random words here and there, a full-fledged talking Gremlin came on the scene in the sequel. The little bugger who drank a brain-enhancing serum in Clamp Labs quickly replaced the Mohawk (Spider) Gremlin as the leader. With his intelligence quadrupled, the serum allowed him to speak and ultimately become the most dangerous out of the squad. Being able to communicate and with his heightened awareness, the Brain spoke exclusively with Grandpa Fred laying out exactly what he wanted for himself and his fellow tribe.
2. Bogart Gremlin
At the end of the day, almost no other Gremlin is cooler than the Humphrey Bogart Gremlin. This dude is just sitting there listening to jazz, drinking, and minding his own business when one of the other Gremlins comes along interrupting his “me” time. He gets deservingly Bogarted.
1. Stripe
Facts. Stripe reigns supreme as King Gremlin and always will. The little terror-bomb was the alpha male in the original movie and remained so up until his demise. He also seemed to be the most clever out of the entire squad, being one step ahead of Billy at every turn. He was also the only Gremlin that managed to avoid the Snow White Massacre at the theater (even if it was circumstantial, due to him being on the hunt for some yum-yums). Vicious, cunning, and boasting wonderful little one-liners, I’ll leave you with my personal favorite clip because nothing beats Stripe doing a cannonball into the school’s pool.
The problem with filming sequels back-to-back is that, unless you can afford expensive reshoots, there’s no easy way to adjust course in between movies if fans react badly to where the story is headed. That’s why it’s important to have a complete narrative thought out well in advance lest you accidentally kill a budding franchise.
However, this isn’t always the case. Every once in a while, it seems like the cinema gods smile upon certain chaotic productions and gift moviegoers with complete franchises that feel like more than the sum of their hastily produced parts. Ted Nicolaou’s Bloodlust: Subspecies III is precisely one of these miraculous pictures, with the raw talents of the artists involved (as well as the continued support from Romania) turning the feature into an effective conclusion for a series that kind of made things up as the filmmakers went along.
That’s why I’d like to invite my fellow readers to join me on this third part of our journey through the Subspecies franchise as we look into Bloodlust and talk about how it remains a surprisingly satisfying finale to the original trilogy.
A Trilogy Planned on the Fly
Released only a year after Bloodstone found plenty of success in rental stores and mail-in VHS catalogues worldwide, 1994’s Bloodlust was produced at the same time as its predecessor in (mostly) the same locations and with the same team. This means that the movie benefited from all the same upgrades as Bloodstone, with the crew now being more experienced with the ins and outs of surviving a low-budget Romanian production and the cast really settling into their characters.
At this point, everything from location scouting to the makeup process had been streamlined, with Wayne Toth and Norman Cabrera, the main duo behind special effects, even switching out time-consuming prosthetics for latex gloves in order to speed up Anders Hove’s monstrous transformation. The titular “subspecies” demons were also once again relegated to a mere cameo appearance due to the laborious puppetry required to bring them to life.
The only real hiccup came from the fact that actress Denice Duff had replaced the first film’s Michelle (Laura Mae Tate) and was immediately expected to portray the character as both an innocent victim in part II and as a secondary villain in part III. According to behind-the-scenes interviews, the hectic production schedule that blended two different movies meant that Duff would often find herself having to alternate between two incredibly different versions of Michelle during the same shooting day – though it’s obvious that she’s having more fun with Bloodlust’s more traditionally vampiric version of her character.
In the finished film, we pick things up immediately where the previous entry left off as Rebecca (Melanie Shatner) is forced to leave her vampire sister Michelle (Duff) behind in the dungeons of Castle Vladislav due to the rising sun. This allows Mummy (Pamela Gordon) to use Michelle’s blood to revive the vicious Radu (Hove) so that he may continue his quest for the coveted Bloodstone – a magical artifact that perpetually drips the Blood of Saints.
Meanwhile, the dreamy US embassy agent Mel (Kevin Blair) agrees to help Rebecca plan a rescue mission, though they’re unaware that Radu has become infatuated with Michelle during his attempts to guide her growing bloodlust. This all culminates in a climactic confrontation meant to tie up all of the series’ loose ends in one of Full Moon Pictures’ most ambitious productions.
The Evolution of Radu
Like its predecessor, Bloodlust: Subspecies III was also warmly received by fans who argued that the series was an even bigger success than Full Moon’s other major horror franchise, Puppet Master. This praise wasn’t unanimous, however, as 1994 had seen the rise of a more modern breed of sexy vampire popularized by Anne Rice, with old-school Nosferatu like Radu being viewed as obsolete when compared to the likes of Lestat and Gary Oldman’s take on Dracula.
In a way, one might argue that Nicolaou’s film is something of a swan song for the classic vampire story, as Bloodlust combines all of the traditional elements we tend to associate with these tales into a single tragic yarn that ties a neat little bow on Radu’s story as well as the old-fashioned monster movies that he represents. The finale remains shocking despite the fact that this is the third time we see Radu get brutally killed onscreen, with the brief tease that he may one day return feeling more like a nod towards the nature of evil rather than sequel bait.
The film dabbles a bit in gothic romance and even explores the inherent power fantasy behind transforming into an immortal creature of the night, but the filmmakers never lose sight of Radu as a demonic force even when he’s willing to betray his beloved Mummy for Michelle’s sake. In fact, his twisted “love” for his fledgling makes him even creepier as we get the feeling that his passion comes from a dark and disturbing place.
Anders Hove is at his absolute best in this film, with the effects department boosting his moments of what the younger generation would call “aura farming” whenever Radu emerges from shadows like a 90s version of Count Orlok. There are even a couple of surprisingly effective jump-scares here, which is why I’d argue that Bloodlust cements Radu as one of the most memorable cinematic vampires of all time despite his humble origins.
Subspecies Saves Its Best For Last
Nicolaou and Vlad Panescu also saved the best for “last” (more on that in a bit) regarding the film’s visuals, with the cinematography and overall atmosphere of Bloodlust absolutely surpassing what we saw in the previous films. Everything feels appropriately climactic this time around (including the wonderful soundtrack that was co-composed alongside an authentic Romanian orchestra), and I appreciate how this is the fastest-paced entry in the trilogy since the film doesn’t need to waste time setting anything up.
Bloodlust still suffers from some of the same low-budget blemishes as its predecessors, but there’s so much creative passion here that no amount of wonky effects work or stilted dialogue can get in the way of appreciating the flick’s gothic grandeur. That’s why it’s not surprising that the movie’s definitive(-ish) ending would later be retconned as fans begged for more Radu.
Of course, the next entry in this series would be a different kind of vampiric endeavor altogether, with the filmmakers attempting to engage with the same trends that ultimately killed Radu and his antiquated kin. That, however, is a story for another time. For now, I’ll merely insist that Bloodlust: Subspecies III remains a highlight of Full Moon’s expansive catalogue and is definitely worth seeking out today.
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