It isn’t a Gremlins reboot or a sequel, lest the title or the photo above cause you to jump to the wrong conclusions. However, the ’80’s horror-comedy was referenced in the description for the film director Mike Mitchell is set to helm for Paramount.
Variety posted the news, stating that Mitchell would direct the film, which is called Jitters and is described as a “family actioner” The story follows, “a dysfunctional family moving to a new neighborhood where they're terrorized by genetically altered bugs." described as being in the vein of ‘Gremlins.’”
Granted, I was on the young side when the first Gremlins came out, but I remember that being a mix of scary and funny, but not necessarily what you’d describe as a family movie, at least not by today’s standards, and certainly not by comparison to Mitchell’s other films, which include Sky High, Shrek Forever After, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. So I’m thinking, assuming "family actioner" can be interpreted as an action movie targeted toward families, that they may go a bit tamer or goofier for this film, possibly closer to Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which was almost more of a spoof of the original movie and much more humor-focused, despite receiving the same PG-13 rating.
The Gremlins comparison may be more of a nod to the scary-creatures concept, which was fairly popular in film during the ’80’s. Even the name Jitters rhymes with Critters, which was a 1986 Gremlins-like horror movie about a bunch of furry little creatures with too many teeth. In this day and age of vampires (scary or sparkly) and zombies, creepy critters seem to have faded into the shadows of film, though the 2010 horror Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark may be an exception (or literal proof, given the plot) to this. Either way, kids like to be scared too, so their may be a market for a more family-friendly horror.
