Christmas Classic Turning 42 This Summer Almost Had a Much Darker Plot

The Summer of 1984 is considered one of the most epic few months in cinematic history, with a slate of box office behemoths that also went on to become classics still beloved by many to this day.

The lineup was truly insane, with blockbusters including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, Sixteen Candles, The NeverEnding Story, and Purple Rain among the many movies packing cinemas around the country from May through August.

Hitting theaters the very same day as Ghostbusters was a movie that feels a little out of place for the summer season: Gremlins. That's right, a movie set in the snow-covered town of Kingston Falls during Christmas was released in June. And, even against Ghostbusters, it was a massive success.

In fact, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones all managed to pull in more than $100 million at the box office that year-though all four came in behind the #1 movie of 1984, Beverly Hills Cop, which, ironically, did release in December.

With the movie celebrating its 42nd anniversary on June 8, we're taking a look at how Gremlins almost told a much darker story.

What Is Gremlins About?

If you've somehow been living under a rock since 1984, Gremlins highlights the havoc released when a young man receives a creature called a Mogwai from his father for Christmas. His fuzzy little friend, named Gizmo, comes with three rules: Don't feed him after midnight, don't get him wet, and don't expose him to sunlight.

When Billy breaks the rules, however, Gizmo spawns evil offspring who wreak absolute chaos throughout town. Billy, his girlfriend Kate, and Gizmo work together to take out the gremlins before a final showdown between them and the gremlins' leader, Stripe, at a toy store.

While a horror comedy, there are some pretty dark, disturbing, and violent moments throughout the film. Billy's science teacher is killed, his mom and stuck-up neighbor are both brutally attacked by the creatures, and his girlfriend even has one chilling monologue detailing how her father died getting stuck in the chimney dressed as Santa.

Released as PG films, both Gremlins and Temple of Doom are credited with the creation of the PG-13 rating later that year.

Original Gremlins Script Was Even Darker

While the film has its fair share of darker moments, especially for what was marketed as a kids' movie, the original plan was even more sinister.

Screenwriter Chris Columbus-who also wrote The Goonies, and directed Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies-has been pretty candid about his initial approach for the film, telling Collider in 2020 that he wrote it as a "straightforward horror film."

"It was very dark," he said.

In a 2024 interview with Vanity Fair, Columbus gave additional insight into the changes from his first script to the finished product.

"I think the dad stayed behind and fought the Gremlins. I don't quite remember if he survived. The mom certainly didn't," he shared. "Billy 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," he continued.

In the final movie, both Billy's mother and dog survive.

Columbus also told Collider that producer Steven Spielberg inspired the changes.

"Steven was very instrumental because I was a young writer, and I was like a kid in a candy store getting to work with Steven Spielberg, and he steered me into – he said, ‘This needs to reach a wider audience,'" said Columbus.

"He goes, ‘What you've done could be great, but it's an R-rated horror film. There's a way that what you've written can reach a much wider audience,'" he added. "So we worked on several drafts of the script."

Columbus, Spielberg, and director Joe Dante all fought to keep Phoebe Cate's monologue about her father in the film, however, and won.

Toned Down Death Scene

The death of Billy's science teacher, meanwhile, was toned down with reshoots.

According to an interview Dante did with The Gremlins Museum, Glynn Turman's Roy Hanson's initial death scene showed him being stabbed with multiple syringes by an escaped gremlin. Billy then finds his body, riddled with needles.

"We previewed the movie with this shot of Glynn Turman lying dead on the floor with several syringes sticking out of his face. Although it was a fabulous preview, there were two controversial items-one was the Santa Claus speech (I won that one) and the other was Mr. Hanson's demise," recalled Dante.

"So it was decided to tone it down via a reshoot with a double, this time with a single syringe protruding from his butt. Having won the Santa argument, I felt I had to go along with the reshoot," he added.

Dante and The Gremlins Museum recently hosted a very private screening of his original 1983 Gremlins first assembly rough cut, with the original Hanson death scene and additional violent scenes intact. The Museum hopes to hold additional screenings in the future.

Gremlins is currently streaming in full for free on YouTube.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 9:00 AM.