This Picture Of Gizmo's Rotting Body Is Scarier Than Anything In Gremlins

Movie monsters tend to be ghouls, zombies, and other things relegated to the realm of fiction. But there's one horror that's all too real that's scarier than all those creatures put together — time. Each minute passing brings all of us closer to death. Time comes for us all, and the years have not been kind to dear old Gizmo, or at least the puppet of Gizmo that's been kept on display at the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture.

This is terrifying! This Gizmo puppet is located in the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture pic.twitter.com/hItWNnDxDs

— Papa Woof und Krampus und Bleaken (@woofknight) April 21, 2024

On X, formerly known as Twitter, @woofknight uploaded an image of the Gizmo puppet with a horrific expression. A certain amount of degradation is to be expected, seeing how the original "Gremlins" movie came out in 1984. To make it even worse, its mouth is twisted, almost as though Gizmo has witnessed horrors beyond comprehension. The creature seems aware that time is passing him by as he remains encased behind glass. Gizmo may have almost been the villain of "Gremlins," but not even an antagonist deserves a fate like this. 

Many online have made amusing comments about Gizmo's present condition. X user @64bitAtheist pointed out, "A reaction meme is born." It's a solid pitch, as Gizmo's haunting expression could surely accompany many modern news headlines. However, @Vicky_Ruprecht had a different interpretation: "Little dude looks like they ate 4 brownies and a mushroom and is staring at the faces of the gods."

One little-known truth of "Gremlins" is that the original version was supposed to be much darker. But honestly, it's hard to envision anything darker than having to watch sweet Gizmo slowly deteriorate into oblivion. It's even worse that Gizmo's just lying on the ground, entirely helpless. But even though plenty of people want to help the Gizmo puppet, it may be best not to follow the advice from @MainMotar, who wrote, "[He'll] be fine hes just a little dehydrated, he might needs some water."

This isn't even the first time a degraded movie prop has sparked widespread discussion online. In 2019, a rotting Leonardo costume from 1993's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" went up for auction and sparked a lot of discussion over how creepy it was, especially with its exposed teeth and gums. Now, dehydrated Gizmo is carrying on the legacy and inspiring many comments from people ruminating on what could've happened to the little guy, including this one from @MustacheHam: "Gizmo looks like they were left in the car without A/C for 30 minutes on a hot day."

When looking up what the cast of "Gremlins" looks like today, it's a safe bet this isn't what people had in mind for Gizmo. For now, everyone should be prepared to see the image of a horrified Gizmo crop up as a meme across social media. At the very least, all of this attention may convince the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture to prop the puppet up so that it doesn't look so much like a tiny, adorable corpse.