20 Secret Movie Sub-Plots You Didn't Notice
6. The Time Machine - Gremlins (1984)
Gremlins is a film crammed with wacky detail and background gags, the best of which is the easiest to miss entirely.
Early in the film, as inventor and family patriarch Randall (Hoyt Axon) calls home whilst attending a scientific convention, you can just about spot a time machine in the background, modelled perfectly on the famous machine envisioned by author H.G. Wells.
This would be fun enough as it is, but if you watch closely you can actually see the machine suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke, suggesting that in the world of Gremlins, time travel isn't just possible, but being actively pursued by someone now travelling the cosmos.
In a film as silly and weird and good fun as Gremlins, this is a gag that fits perfectly, poses some wild implications about what else this world has to offer, and makes for a decent laugh if you can spot it. Time travelling Gizmo spin-off, anyone?