Gremlins is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo the Mogwai. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"gremlins"—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows Billy Peltzer, who receives Gizmo as a pet, who then spawns more of his kind that evolve into the titular imp-like monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's hometown during Christmas Eve.