Awww, whos a cute widdle Mogwai, then? Just make sure you dont get these adorably furry creatures wet and then feed em after midnight, or youll live to regret it, as poor Billy discovers in the director Joe Dante's cult movie. The resultant rampage through the small town of Kingston Falls sees a movie theatre burned down, a microwave used in a way that definitely isnt in the instruction manual, a digger driven through a house and a fantastically memorable scene in the local bar, where the Gremlins behave like they're on spring break. It's the kind of destruction most monsters dream of. The creatures have their origins in World War 2 where engineers would jokingly blame mechanical failures on "Gremlins". Dante's interpretation of the idea, with the Gremlins as tiny, green unpredictable and scaly terrors, resulted in a monster that has terrified and delighted a whole generation of kids who grew up in the 80s. The original movie's ability to contrast the creatures' rampage with the atmosphere of movies like Its a Wonderful Life creates a unique atmosphere and some absolutely brilliant sight gags. And as if that isnt enough, the Gremlins return in 1991's The New Batch to cause absolute terror throughout a New York skyscraper, reducing the most expensive and technologically sophisticated building in the world to little more than a mess of terrified people and broken machinery. They even find time to perform one of the greatest musical numbers in the history of cinema.
