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Gremlins 2: The New Batch: (Jerry Goldsmith) In the
1980's, most of the public was aware that if you go to New York and discover
cute little creatures called Mogwais, you never do two things: feed it after
midnight and/or get it wet. If you commit the first error, the cute little
fluffball grows into a big vicious gremlin that will act similarly to the
monsters in the
Alien series. If you commit the second error, you
compound the problem by causing them to multiply like tribbles. Either way,
expose them to sunshine and your problem is more or less solved. The
original 1984 film
Gremlins was a great comedy success, and in the
era of sequel exploitation, Joe Dante took the opportunity to extend himself
even further into the slapstick comedy genre with the 1990 sequel,
Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Instead of taking over the small town of
Kingston Falls, the little beasts cause their mayhem in the big city. The
first film's two stars are back to witness the fun, and a large
corporation's skyscraper is the location invaded by gremlins. Once that
little bit of story is set up for you, there really isn't much else to talk
about in the plotline, because as in
Home Alone and
Dennis the
Menace kinds of films, the premise exists only to allow the series of
gags to commence. The downfall of the
Gremlins sequel was that the
gags weren't really all that different from those in the first film,
although the second film probably had more deserving victims. While making a
reasonable return for the investment,
Gremlins 2 wasn't the box
office success of its predecessor. The film does have the distinction of
having a short cameo acting role by composer Jerry Goldsmith, a regular Joe
Dante collaborator. After a decade of classic scores, Goldsmith was just
stepping into the job of slapstick comedy-writer, with the first
Gremlins and
The 'Burbs leading a trend that would see
Goldsmith venture far into the comedy and light drama realm for the first
half of the 1990's. Being no stranger to sequel scores, he tackled
Gremlins 2 as he did with his other sequels: with an entirely
different approach than he had with the first film.
When Goldsmith scored
Gremlins, he was nearing the
height of his experimentation with synthetic elements in an orchestral
setting, and the electronically-dominated
Gremlins score remains one
of the composer's most synthetic. Fans of the composer's quirky theme for
the score who lamented the lack of an orchestral performance were treated to
a shift in focus for
Gremlins 2. Still employing an excess of
synthetic instrument samples and sound effects,
Gremlins 2 features a
robust orchestral presence. The title and Gizmo themes don't prevail in the
sequel as you might expect, but Goldsmith does provide a collection of
complimentary themes along the same stylistic lines and references pieces
from the first score when necessary. Of all of Goldsmith's ridiculous scores
--and they range from
The 'Burbs to
I.Q. with half a dozen in
between-- it could easily be argued that
Gremlins 2 is the wackiest
of them all. The malicious nature of the gremlins, along with their funny
antics, allows Goldsmith to write comedy in both the major and minor key,
and at break-neck speeds that are difficult to maintain in most other
slapstick films. A certain amount of malevolence, such as in the organ-laced
"Gizmo Escapes" is awfully fun, and Goldsmith wastes no opportunity to use
orchestra to highlight someone's death with an appropriate fanfare.
Structurally, the score doesn't differ much from
Mom and Dad Save the
World, although the 80's electronic rhythms, the quirky sound effects,
and the dark intent in most of the cues easily distinguishes
Gremlins
2. The sound effects do annoy some listeners, with a cue like "Leaky
Faucet" and all of its bells, train whistles, car horns, and other effects
sometimes interrupting the music. Likewise, the "Pot Luck" cue lets rip with
an ambitious brass motif over swooshing sound effects (similar to those we'd
hear in
Total Recall the same year), as well as the 80's beat from
Hoosiers and
Extreme Prejudice. In "Keep It Quiet," some
material inspired by
First Blood Part II is accompanied in the film
by full-fledged usage of Goldsmith's music from that previous score. On the
whole, the album's only major detraction is a severely muted sound quality.
With some of Goldsmith's other scores from that year and before remastered
and sounding as clear as his post-2000 works,
Gremlins 2 is a score
in dire need of similar remixing. The 5-minute end credits, with an
irresistible suite of themes from both scores, is worth a remastering by
itself. Because of the sound issues --something that hinders a score that
relies so heavily on funky sounds-- the album loses a star. The music is not
'Burbs quality, but it is very entertaining.
***
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
