Editing Gremlins (section)

== Plot ==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, the plot summary should be 400–700 words. -->
Struggling inventor Randall Peltzer visits a [[Chinatown]] antique store to find a Christmas present for his son, Billy. In it, Randall uncovers a small and furry creature called a {{lang|yue-Latn|mogwai}} ([[Cantonese]]: {{wikt-lang|yue|魔怪}}, 'devil'). The owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell it to Randall, but his grandson secretly does, warning Randall to remember three important rules concerning the ''mogwai'' – do not expose the creature to light, especially sunlight, which will kill it; do not let it come in contact with water; and above all, never let it eat after midnight.

In Randall's hometown of Kingston Falls, Billy works at the local bank, but fears that his dog Barney will be put down by widowed miser Ruby Deagle. His father returns and offers him the ''mogwai'', now named "Gizmo", as a pet, and informs him of the rules. Gizmo is friendly and docile, but when Billy's friend, Pete Fountaine, accidentally spills water on Gizmo, five more ''mogwai'' spawn from him – a more mischievous sort led by the aggressive Stripe, named after the white [[Mohawk hairstyle|mohawk]]-like tuft of fur on his head. Billy shows one of the ''mogwai'' to his former elementary school science teacher, Roy Hanson, spawning another ''mogwai'', whom the latter experiments on. Back at home, Stripe and his fellow ''mogwai'' trick Billy into feeding them after midnight by severing the power cord on his bedside clock. They form [[Pupa#Cocoon|cocoon]]s, as does Hanson's ''mogwai'', which soon hatch, emerging as destructive and [[Reptile|reptilian]] imp-like monsters called "gremlins". Hanson is murdered by his gremlin, while those at the Peltzer house torture Gizmo and assault Billy's mother, Lynn.

Lynn and Billy are able to dispatch all the gremlins except for Stripe, who escapes to the local [[YMCA]] where he jumps into its [[swimming pool]], spawning an army of gremlins that wreak havoc on Kingston Falls. Many locals are injured or outright killed during their rampage, including Deagle. The police are helpless in the ordeal, as they too fall victim to the gremlins' mischief. After Billy rescues his co-worker and girlfriend, Kate Beringer, and they seek refuge in the bank, the latter discloses that her father went missing on Christmas Eve when she was nine years old, but was then found dead in their house's chimney<!-- Kate explicitly states that although she was lighting a fire in the fireplace, her father was found in the actual chimney --> several days later. Planning to surprise his family in a [[Santa Claus]] costume, he inadvertently slipped and broke his neck while climbing down the chimney. Still suffering from [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] due to the incident, Kate confesses how this led to her dislike of the holidays.

The trio find the gremlins gathered in the local [[movie theater]] due to [[morning]] approaching and set off a natural gas explosion, killing them all except for Stripe, who left the theater earlier to retrieve candy at a [[Montgomery Ward]] store across the street. They follow Stripe into the store, where he attempts to use a [[fountain]] to spawn more gremlins, but Gizmo then opens a nearby [[skylight]], exposing Stripe to sunlight and killing him.

As the local news reports on the day's mysterious tragedies, Mr. Wing arrives at the Peltzer house to reclaim Gizmo. He scolds the family for their negligence and criticizes [[Western world|Western society]] for its carelessness with nature. However, as he turns to leave, Gizmo, having bonded with Billy, bids him goodbye. A compassionate Wing then concedes that Billy may be ready to properly care for him one day.