3. Gremlins
What The Trailer Says: After Steven Spielberg's E.T. hit at the box office, alien creatures became totally in vogue, as did the idea of portraying them as cuddly, benevolent creatures rather than the slimy monsters we had become accustomed to (James Cameron's Aliens notwithstanding). The vague trailer for Gremlins did well not to reveal much about the titular beasties, though turned to flat-out deception as well, by giving viewers the impression that this would be another "boy and his pet alien" tale, which of course just isn't true at all. The Truth: Gremlins may make me laugh now, but as a kid, I found it downright terrifying; while Gizmo is incredibly cute, the evil Gremlins he spawns when he gets wet are horrifically scary. Though the tone is basically in the vein of a campy horror movie, that takes an adult mind to understand - to kids, it's scary all the same.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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