10 Absolutely Must See Joe Dante Films

Joe Dante has never limited himself to working within the genre. He’s put together quality comedies, some action pics and even some animated material. The man can do it all, but us horror fans will always remember Joe Dante as the genius who gave us Gremlins, and there’s certainly no shame in that association.

But here’s the thing, if you can respect Gremlins, you should definitely take the time to seek out some of his other, top notch films.

10 Trapped Ashes

The actress Phoebe Kane and her boyfriend Andy, the architect Henry and his wife Julia, the former director Leo and Nathalie receive an invitation for a VIP Tour in the Ultra Studios. When they see the spooky house where the missing director Desmond Hacker filmed “Hysteria”, they ask their tour guide to stop the car to visit the infamous house. In a moment, they find that they are trapped in a room without any exit and the guide suggests them to tell the scariest experience of each one like in “Hysteria”. Each one tells a spooky tale until they finally discover the end of their stories.

09 The Screwfly Solution

A strange virus renders the entire human male population into homicidal maniacs who end up wiping out all females, leaving a woman and her daughter to fend for themselves.

08 The Hole

Susan and her sons Dane and Lucas Thompson move from Brooklyn to Bensonville, in the countryside. Dane is upset with the constant changes of address and the family has lived in many cities. Lucas and Dane befriend their next door neighbor, the gorgeous Julie and the brothers find a bottomless hole in the basement of their house locked with several padlocks. They take the locks off and soon they are haunted by their darkest fears. Further, they believe that the hole might be a gateway to hell.

07 Burying the Ex

When Max (Yelchin) learns that his new live-in girlfriend, Evelyn (Greene) is controlling and manipulative, he is afraid to end the relationship. However, fate occurs and Evelyn is killed in a freak accident. A couple months have passed and Max meets his dream girl, Olivia (Daddario). The new romance gets tricky when Evelyn comes back from the grave and insists on continuing their once relationship by all means.

06 Piranha

When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort’s rivers, the guests become their next meal.

05 Gremlins 2: The New Batch

An army of malevolent little monsters take over a high-tech corporate skyscraper when a cute and intelligent exotic pet is exposed to water. The “Mogwai’s” owner joins forces with the Trump-like head of the corporation to regain control.

04 Twilight Zone: The Movie

Four directors collaborated to remake four episodes of the popular television series ‘The Twilight Zone’ for this movie. The episodes are updated slightly and in color (the television show was in black-and-white), but very true to the originals, where eerie and disturbing situations gradually spin out of control.

03 The ‘Burbs

In a Surburban Town, in a Less Gothic-like house lives the Klopeks, although they are strange neighbors, A man named Ray Peterson (who lives next door on right with Klopeks), and his buddies are figuring what are up too? But one day an Elderg Neighbor named Walter Selznick was gone, they thought the Klopeks killed him, Although Wlater just got back from the Hospital presumably Heart assues, during Ray was in ambulance, a figure crept in the ambulance, the figure was Dr. Werner Klopeks, he tells Ray that The Klopeks wanted to sell the Knapps’s House, but they refused, then They killed them and Eat them (which Means Cannibalisim like eating the same species), but the Klopeks ended up getting arrested.

02 The Howling

In a red light district, newswoman Karen White is bugged by the police, investigating serial killer Eddie Quist, who has been molesting her through phone calls. After police officers find them in a peep-show cabin and shoot Eddie, Karen becomes emotionally disturbed and loses her memory. Hoping to conquer her inner demons, she heads for the Colony, a secluded retreat where the creepy residents are rather too eager to make her feel at home. There also seems to be a bizarre connection between Eddie Quist and this supposedly safe haven. And when, after nights of being tormented by unearthly cries, Karen ventures into the forest and makes a terrifying discovery.

01 Gremlins

Minature green monsters tear through the small town of Kingston Falls. Hijinks ensue as a mild-mannered bank teller releases these hideous loonies after gaining a new pet and violating two of three simple rules: No water (violated), no food after midnight (violated), and no bright light. Hilarious mayhem and destruction in a town straight out of Norman Rockwell. So, when your washing machine blows up or your TV goes on the fritz, before you call the repair man, turn on all the lights and look under all the beds. ‘Cause you never can tell, there just might be a gremlin in your house.