THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT... JOE DANTE

Zany, wacky, warped...they're not words you'd normally use to positively describe a film-maker, but when it comes to Joe Dante they're entirely complimentary. One of the most unique students of the Roger Corman school of film-making, Dante hit his stride with 1978's Jaws spoof Piranha after debuting in 1976 with Hollywood Boulevard, and has excelled in making irreverent, tongue-in-cheek horror/sci-fi films ever since. Here, we run down five of the best Dante efforts to get a clearer picture of the man who has taken on gremlins, psychotic toys and curtain-twitching neighbours...

The Howling (1981)
Following the success of Piranha, Dante stayed in the horror genre with The Howling. Written by Piranha scribe and indie legend John Sayles, it's a smart, sassy upgrading of werewolf lore which stars Dee Wallace as a newswoman who stumbles across a colony of the lupine beasts while on the trail of a serial killer. Released in the same year as John Landis's An American Werewolf in London, it received less acclaim than its brother film, but is an arguably more intelligent and complex affair, with Sayles's smart script neatly plundering the sexual and psychological undertones of lycanthropy and Dante placing more emphasis on suspense and scares than Landis's more gory picture. It spawned an amazing seven sequels (the first of which was subtitled ‘Stirba - Werewolf Bitch’), each one more absurd than the last, but don’t hold that against it…

The 'burbs (1989)
Ah the burbs. In all my years, I've never met anyone who doesn't like it. A classic tale of small-town paranoia, it stars Tom Hanks as an ordinary guy who suspects his neighbours may not be all they seem. Blending horror and science-fiction, it's a typically playful Dante film, but for once more credit must go to his writer, Dana Olsen, whose script plays its cards close to its chest and keeps you guessing as to what exactly is going on right till the very end. The ’burbs is also notable for having a fantastic use of the Universal logo. Once the company's name has moved from the screen, the globe remains and the camera zooms in closer and closer and closer, until finally we're on the street where all the forthcoming action will take place. It's a wonderfully off-kilter way to set up the movie and lets the audience know from the very start that something is very much amiss...

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
This space was going to be taken up by the original Gremlins film as it is - just about, in my opinion - the superior picture. However, it’s also more of a straight-up horror film, and with The Howling already taking care of that side of Dante's oeuvre, I felt it best to highlight his madcap, cartoony talents with this sequel. Phoebe Cates and Zach Galligan reprise their role from the first film, but they (and even the loveable Gizmo) play second fiddle to the Gremlins, who have now mutated into bats, spiders and Tony Randall-voiced cultural commentators. Dante subverts movie sequels by turning much of the film into a live-action cartoon and when the big finale comes, it’s not an action-packed special effects spectacular, but a Gremlin sing-along to New York, New York. What other director would give you that?

Small Soldiers (1998)
On one level, this tale of toys going on the rampage is exactly the same as Gremlins, but in terms of tone, Small Soldiers features Dante in a more melancholic mood. Starring the late Phil Hartman and a young Kirsten Dunst, it finds hyper intelligent soldier toys the Commando Elite waging war upon their peaceful alien counterparts the Gorgonites on a small suburban street. Although it boasts all Dante’s usual subversion (Denis Leary gives a great turn as the sleazy CEO whose company creates the toys) and spot-on movie references (the Gorgonites are played by Spinal Tap; Commando Elite by the Dirty Dozen), this is arguably his most mainstream and accessible film to date and, as it makes explicit the nostalgia which courses through all his films, Small Soldiers plays as well to wistful adults as it does to bloodthirsty kids.

Masters of Horror: Homecoming (2005)
Bringing us bang up to date, Dante has directed two episodes for anthology TV series Masters of Horror in recent years. The second of the duo is The Screwfly Solution, which I have yet to see, but it'll have to be something of a masterpiece to trump its predecessor Homecoming. Dante's most brutally satirical work yet, it's a zombie film in which the dead from the Iraq war return not to chomp on brains but to vote in a forthcoming election. Government officials tow the party line by insisting that the dead support the war that they died in, but soon the amount of deceased returning grows, putting one of the president's top advisors in danger...By turns sharp and melancholic, this is one of the most unique zombie films you'll ever see, featuring almost no bloody killings or brain eating. It's also a pretty original protest film, questioning not only the war, but the false rhetoric the government churns out to keep the public quiet. All in all, essential viewing which proves Dante is still one of the most interesting film-makers around, despite Hollywood’s seeming hesitance to give him work.