Gremlins

Gremlins Movie Poster

"Cute, clever, mischievous, intelligent, dangerous".  Gremlins was a cult classic horror film released in 1984.  The movie starred Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer, Phoebe Cates as Kate Beringer, and Corey Feldman as Pete Fountaine.  Reviews of the movie were mixed, although some heavy hitters, such as Roger Ebert, like the movie.  Ultimately it was a huge box office success, and popular enough to warrant a sequel in 1990 (Gremlins 2: The New Batch).

In the original, a father buys a little furry animal in Chinatown as a Christmas gift for his son, Zach, called a Mogwai.  Before he leaves, he is given a few rules to follow in caring for the creature:  keep it away from the light, do not get it wet, and do not feed it after midnight.  After giving the Mogwai to his son for his birthday, all these rules are quickly broken, and "Gizmo" soon reproduces into an entire contingent of Mogwai after Gizmo gets wet.

These new little Mogwai's are very sneaky, and they trick Zach into feeding them after midnight.  The metamorphose into lizard like, vicious creatures ("Gremlins"), with only Gizmo remaining normal (he did not eat).  Before long, the Gremlins, having continued reproducing, take over the entire town.  In the end, Gizmo saves the day by exposing the gremlins to sunlight.  Gizmo then is given back to the man in Chinatown, who knew how to properly care for him.