Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous.

Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, John Louie, Key Luke, Don Steele, Scott Brady, Corey Feldman, Harry Carey Jr., Dick Miller, Polly Holliday, Donald Elson, Judge Reinhold, Edward Andrews

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"First of all, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him. Second, don't give him any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight." - Chinese Boy

Why watch this? I re-watched this recently, and was pleasantly reminded now much I love these nasty, deadly and devious little creatures.

Plot Summary: A loving father finds a unique gift to surprise his responsible teenage son, who happens to have a huge crush a girl he works with at the bank. The rich, evil town spinster wants his dog so she can put it down. The father's gift is a small, living teddy-bearish thing that coos and beeps and even sings little tunes. They call it Gizmo, and it's A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. But later that night, it accidentally gets wet (see quote above), and starts to multiply. Gizmo's "offspring" aren't quite as nice. Then the boy accidentally feeds them after midnight...

Dad's Review: This film starts just like a cutsie film about a puppy for Christmas. Then this quaint little holiday movie turns into an action horror flick, as the gremlins take over the town! It was produced by Stephen Spielberg and wonderfully directed by Joe Dante, so its quality is top-notch. The devilish conduct of the rampaging mob of spiny mini-monsters is very entertaining, even if it ruins Christmas Day for the local folks.

Amblin Entertainment; Warner Bros.