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Two years after E.T. , Steven Spielberg gave it a mischievous sibling in Joe Dante’s anarchic creature feature, a subversive parable on the dangers of irresponsible pet care that doubles as an antidote to small-town Americana and Yuletide sentimentality.

Built around a cutesy furball that spawns an army of uncontrollable ids when allowed to get wet, it’s as much a Freudian nightmare as a celebration of monsters behaving badly.

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Neil Smith is a freelance film critic and writer who contributes regularly to Heat, SFX and Screen International. He's a long-time member of the London Film Critics’ Circle and was a contributing editor at Total Film for many years.