DIRECTOR Joe Dante lets rip in Gremlins (Pearl, 9.30pm), a film which is no more aimed at children, bless their cotton socks, than was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Return of the Killer Tomatoes.
It starts nicely enough. A boy (Zach Galligan) buys a furry animal, called Gizmo, from a mysterious old Chinese man in an antique shop. Then things get nasty. Gizmo is cute, but the offspring that spring from him like bullets from a machine gun are murderous. Soon there are so many of them they have taken over Galligan's picture-postcard home town and turned it into a living hell, somewhere between rush hour Bangkok and Alien.
Dante holds nothing back. Gremlins is a dizzying, enthralling and sometimes hilarious homage to the kitsch Hollywood monster movies of the 50s. It is also downright scary.
The big scenes are memorable, particularly the one in the cinema. Dante shows special concern for the safe use of microwave ovens.
Gremlins is being shown as part of Pearl's tribute to Steven Spielberg because he was executive producer. He makes a cameo (as does Robby The Robot) but you will have to be quick to catch it.
In Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Dante ensures that the beasties meet a sticky end. We cannot help but feel a little sad for them. They may be nasty, but they know how to party.
PIERCE Brosnan, last seen choking on nouvelle cuisine alongside Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire, chokes on his smooth-guy image in the 1988 Merchant Ivory production The Deceivers (World, 9.30pm), a bomb with an Indian flavour.
