It's Christmas Eve, so Michael and Nakea are sitting down for a true holiday classic: Joe Dante's Gremlins (1984), starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Howie Mandel.

First, we're briefly celebrating the completion of The Unenthusiastic Critic Podcast's inaugural year, and seeing whether Nakea will admit to liking any of the over 50 films she endured in 2018.

Then, we're sitting down for Dante's Christmas-adjacent comedy, a feel-good holiday confection of murdered Santas, microwaved imps, and the rich smell of rotting human flesh wafting from the chimney.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Program

0:00: Prologue: from Gremlins (1984)0:53: Preliminary Conversation: Our Year in Review10:47: Interlude: Scene from Gremlins11:41: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion18:48: Interlude: Original Trailer20:42: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion58:43: Outro and Next Week's Movie1:00:04: Outtake

Notes and Links

—Movie Reviewed: Gremlins (dir. Joe Dante, Warner Bros., 1984)—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation at unaffiliatedcritic.com.—Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are very welcome.)—Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC BY 3.0.