Although Steven Spielberg ensures (as executive producer) that things don't get too nasty, this remains a wonderfully anarchic affair that is probably one of Hollywood's blackest mainstream hits. Zach Galligan plays the teenager who is given a cuddly exotic pet mogwai called Gizmo, but through carelessness unwittingly unleashes a viciously murderous swarm of little gremlins. There's no doubt whose side director Joe Dante is on and he gleefully trashes the view of small-town America portrayed by feel-good movies such as It's a Wonderful Life (which is being screened on TV throughout the tale). Film buffs will delight in all the in-jokes and the long list of cameos, ranging from Roger Corman veteran Dick Miller to Spielberg himself. And Phoebe Cates's admirably straight-faced Christmas speech should be compulsory viewing during the festive season.

After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.