What actually happens
Three rules and a gift shop
Randall Peltzer, an inventor who has not had much luck, goes to a Chinatown antique store looking for a Christmas present for his son Billy. There he finds a small furry creature called a mogwai. Its owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell it, but his grandson does it secretly and tells Randall the rules: keep it away from light, especially sunlight, which kills it; never let it get wet; and never let it eat after midnight. Randall brings it home to Kingston Falls, where Billy works at the bank and is afraid Ruby Deagle, a miserly widow, will have his dog Barney put down. Billy names the mogwai Gizmo. It is friendly and quiet, until Billy's friend Pete spills water on it and five more mogwai pop out. Their leader is Stripe, who has a white tuft of fur on his head.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
Past midnight at the Peltzer house
Billy shows one of the new mogwai to his old science teacher, Roy Hanson, which produces yet another one that Hanson experiments on. Back at the Peltzer house, Stripe and the others sabotage Billy's bedside clock so they can trick him into feeding them after midnight. They all form cocoons, including Hanson's, and hatch as gremlins, which are destructive reptilian monsters. The scene people dread comes early. Hanson's gremlin murders him. Meanwhile the ones at the Peltzer house torture Gizmo and go after Billy's mother, Lynn. Billy and Gizmo then dispatch every gremlin except Stripe, who gets away.
Kingston Falls loses its patience
Stripe escapes to the YMCA and jumps into the swimming pool, which gives him an entire army of gremlins that take over Kingston Falls. People are hurt or killed during the rampage, including Deagle, and the police can't do anything because the gremlins prank them too. Billy saves Kate Beringer, who is both his coworker and his girlfriend, when the gremlins storm the bar where she works, and the two of them hide in the bank. Kate tells him that her father vanished on Christmas Eve when she was nine and was found dead in their chimney days later. He had been dressed as Santa Claus to surprise the family, slipped, and broke his neck. She still has trouble with the holiday because of it.
Gizmo knows where the skylight is
The three of them find that the gremlins have collected in the movie theater because morning is close. They set off a natural gas explosion that kills every gremlin except Stripe, who left earlier to get candy at a department store on the other side of the road. Billy, Kate and Gizmo chase him there. He tries to use a fountain there to make more gremlins, but Gizmo opens a skylight and the sunlight kills Stripe. Afterward Mr. Wing shows up at the Peltzer house to reclaim Gizmo. He lectures the family about their carelessness and about how Western society treats nature. As he leaves, Gizmo says goodbye to Billy, and Mr. Wing decides that Billy may be ready to take care of Gizmo properly someday.
The ending, explained
Billy, Kate and Gizmo blow up the movie theater full of gremlins with a natural gas explosion. Only Stripe survives, because he went to a department store for candy. Gizmo opens a skylight in the store, and the sunlight kills Stripe. Mr. Wing then comes to take Gizmo back, scolds the family for being careless, and almost leaves with him. When Gizmo says goodbye to Billy, Mr. Wing changes his mind a little and says Billy may be ready one day.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Gremlins scary?
Gremlins is a 3 out of 10 with low dread. It has a few jump scares and some mean moments, but the gremlins are played mostly as comedy, so it is far more silly than frightening.
How does Gremlins end?
Sunlight kills Stripe in a department store after the other gremlins die in a theater explosion. Mr. Wing takes Gizmo back, and he says Billy may be ready to look after him one day.
Does the dog die in Gremlins?
No, the dog does not die in Gremlins. Billy's dog Barney is in danger from the miserly Ruby Deagle early on, but he is fine.
Is there a post-credits scene in Gremlins?
No. Gremlins has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
What are the three rules in Gremlins?
In Gremlins the mogwai must stay out of light, especially sunlight, which kills it. It must not get wet, and it must never eat after midnight.
