Part of Holiday Classics

Joe Dante’s 1984 horror/comedy classic scarred the minds of children everywhere and, along with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, was responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating. It made Mogwais as big as Ewoks and showed that a microwave could be used as a weapon. The cartoonish violence took on Looney Tunes levels of mean-spiritedness, and proved that despite being funny, the Gremlins could inspire fear. Gremlins killed people, which is something that the countless imitators like the Ghoulies series, Hobgoblins or Munchies forgot.

“It’s the movie I’m going to be remembered for. If I get hit by a bus tomorrow the headline is going to be ‘GREMLINS Director Hit By Bus.’ I’ll never do something that’ll outlast that in terms of the public image of who I am — which is fine with me.” —Joe Dante, Little White Lies