Few Christmas horror films are as beloved as Joe Dante's Gremlins. The PG-rated family-oriented horror outing produced by Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Entertainment production company was the fourth highest-grossing movie of 1984, turning an estimated $11 million budget into a massive $212 million international moneymaker.
The superb '80s creature-feature follows Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan), a typical American teenager who is given a strange creature called a Mogwai for Christmas. Billy is given three rules to follow: do not expose the Mogwai to bright light or sunshine, do not get it wet, and do not feed it after midnight. Of course, all hell breaks loose when the rules are broken. For all the hidden references to Spielberg films of yore, scroll below.
Rockin Ricky Rialto Billboard
While the reference is easy to notice if given enough time, an opening shot in the film cranes upward toward the sky and reveals a billboard advertisement for Rockin Ricky Rialto, a radio personality modeled after one of Spielberg's most iconic film characters.
In addition to the costuming, the colors and typeface of the Ricky Rialto billboard are patterned after Indiana Jones, which Spielberg was ironically working on via The Temple of Doom at the same time Dante was directing Gremlins. However, rather than Harrison Ford, Rialto is modeled after actor Don Steele, who appeared in Dante's Rock 'n' Roll High School.
John Louie/Ke Hyu Quan
Gremlins will always be linked to Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Following their releases in 1984, both films became responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating by the MPAA when they were deemed too violent for a PG tag.
Oddly, both movies also feature a young Chinese boy who becomes integral to the plot. Moreover, both John Louie in Gremlins and Ke Hyu Quan in Temple of Doom wear a New York Yankees baseball cap in their respective films, which cannot be a coincidence.
Movie Theater Marquis & Toy Robot
Two more Spielbergian movie references can be spotted in the movie theater marquis at the beginning of the movie. In a montage of the quaint Kensington Falls town, a moviehouse presents showtimes for features called A Boy's Life and Watch The Skies.
A Boy's Life was the working title of Spielberg's runaway hit film E.T., which was released two years prior to Gremlins. In addition, Watch the Skies was the working title for Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. According to Dante, he added the titles so that producer Spielberg would be happy when he viewed the daily rushes. There is also a red and white toy robot that falls out of a Christmas stocking in Gremlins that also appeared in Close Encounters.
Spielberg's Dog
Although this one is a bit harder to spot unless you know Spielberg personally, the fact remains that the visual appearance of Gizmo the lovable mogwai was changed to closely resemble Spielberg's pet beagle.
According to production designer Chris Walas, Dante phoned him up one day and said "Steven is wondering if you can match the color of his dog...so we had to look at photos and match the fur of his beagle. We were tearing our hair out the whole time on the movie."
Rolled-Up Poster
Gremlins marked the second time in as many years that Spielberg and Dante worked together. In 1983, they both collaborated on the tragic production of Twilight Zone: The Movie, which Spielberg co-directed and produced. Dante directed the opening segment "It's a Good Life," while Spielberg helmed the final chapter "Kick the Can."
When Billy shows Pete the gremlins for the first time in his bedroom, a rolled-up poster for Twilight Zone: The Movie can be spotted leaning against the wall by eagle-eyed observers as they walk up the stairs.
The Road Warrior
Speaking of posterized easter eggs, when Billy is watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers in his bed at night, the camera shows the bottom half of another movie poster associated with Spielberg and Twilight Zone: The Movie.
The poster hanging above Billy's bed is for that of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, which was directed by Australian filmmaker George Miller. Just as Dante and Spielberg did, Miller also helmed an entry in the anthological Twilight Zone: The Movie, directing John Lithgow in what is universally lauded as the scariest chapter in the film, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.
Department Store
One of the most hilarious Spielbergian easter eggs found in the film comes when Stripe, the vicious Gremlin leader, hides out in a stuffed animal section of a department store as Billy tries to capture him.
When Billy passes by the toy aisle that Stripe is hiding in, the creature immediately pops his head out to reveal his presence. As he does so, he tramples over a stuffed E.T. doll sitting at the bottom of the frame. In addition to cross-marketing Spielberg's most recent standalone release, the implication is that a creature like the one in E.T. could never stand a chance against the menacing mogwai.
Phone Home
In a third, hard-to-hear reference to Spielberg's classic sci-fi family film E.T., a mumbling mogwai pokes fun at the film by uttering the most iconic line from the film.
During one of the gremlins' hyper-violent onslaughts, a creature can hardly be heard saying "phone home" in reference to Spielberg's classic film as Billy tries to call his mom. Since the gremlins speak in nearly unintelligible gibberish, the line is easy to miss, especially with all the chaos swirling around at the time it's uttered.
Spielberg Cameo
One of the biggest Spielbergian easter eggs in Gremlins comes via the producer's own cameo appearance during one in-joke laden scene during the science convention that Billy's dad attends in the middle of the movie.
When Randall (Hoyt Axton) calls to check in on his family, Spielberg appears as a man riding a tricked-out tricycle around the phone booth. His face is seen in profile for just a second or two. Additionally, the film's legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith also makes a cameo in the scene disguised as director Joe Dante.
Back To The Future Set
The biggest Spielbergian Easter egg in Gremlins is hidden in plain sight. The central location of Kingston Falls Square in Gremlins is the exact same Universal Studios set used for the Hill Valley plaza in Back to the Future.
Of course, Spielberg produced Back to the Future one year after Gremlins. Moreover, actress Frances Lee McCain plays both Billy's mother in Gremlins and Lorraine's mother in Back to the Future. The movie theater that the gremlins destroy in the film is the same theater that Marty McFly crashes into in his return to 1985 at the end of the film (thanks to throwbacks.com for the pic)