The Untold Truth Of Gremlins

Speaking of ripoffs, no history of Gremlins would be complete without touching on the swarm of imitators that followed in its wake. In the years immediately after the film's release in 1984, several other flicks with one-word titles featuring diminutive rubber monster puppets chewed up screens. Even before the dawn of the '90s, there was Ghoulies, Critters, Troll, Munchies, and Hobgoblins.

They found varying levels of success, though none came anywhere near the level of the original. Most of them even spawned sequels. The Critters series, in fact, is notable for featuring early screen appearances by Billy Zane and Leonardo DiCaprio. Troll 2, though not even intended to be a sequel to Troll, would go on to find fame as the "best worst movie." Joe Dante, whose career started with the Roger Corman-produced Jaws ripoff Piranha, remains good-natured about the imitators, even commenting on each one for Yahoo! Entertainment. Munchies received Dante's particular blessing, as it was directed by Gremlins editor Tina Hirsch.