By Filmmaker Chris Columbus is responsible for several Christmas movies over his life, but none as famous as “Gremlins” and “Home Alone” – the former he wroter, the latter he directed.
Over four decades on, “Gremlins” is still a beloved hit and still considered one of the darker Christmas films out there. However Columbus says that the film would’ve actually been far darker if the original script had been done.
Columbus was out promoting Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” a film he produces, when he discussed the original script plans for the film with Vanity Fair this week. He says that the film’s hero Billy (Zach Galligan) ended up with many members of his family slaughtered by the end:
“I think the dad stayed behind and fought the Gremlins, I don’t quite remember if he survived. The mom certainly didn’t. Billy [Zach Galligan] ran into the foyer of his house, and his mom’s head came rolling down the stairs. So there were some deaths.
And Barney the dog was not so lucky to just be hung up in the Christmas lights. He was actually hung up by his neck and died. We killed the dog! They ate him! Then they went into McDonald’s and ate the people – but not the food. We had a lot of things that didn’t make the final script. Honestly, that stuff is in my DNA, so it is a joy to come back to something like Nosferatu.”
Columbus says he was too young in his career to push back against producer Steven Spielberg and say he wanted the film to be “as violent as possible”. He does credit Spielberg for sparing Gizmo from transforming:
“He was absolutely right. Gizmo turned into a gremlin on page 30 and did not remain [soft and cuddly] throughout the entire film. That was one of Steven’s best ideas – that Gizmo remained by Billy’s side. He knew this and I didn’t: The audience needed someone to relate to in terms of the gremlins, and that was Gizmo.”
He adds that the one scene he, Spielberg and director Joe Dante fought for was Phoebe Cates’s father dying in the chimney.
He also weighed in on one debate about “Home Alone,” namely how could the McCallister parents afford that beautiful Chicago house? He tells THR that they decided Catherine O’Hara’s Kate McCallister was “a very successful fashion designer” while John Heard’s Peter McCallister possibly worked in advertising. He did shoot down the theory that they were involved in organized crime though.
The post Columbus: “Gremlins” Had Lots More Deaths appeared first on Dark Horizons.
