Joe Dante
Director 79 years old

Joe Dante

Morristown, New Jersey, USA

Joseph James Dante Jr. (born November 28, 1946) is an American filmmaker, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably Gremlins (1984) alongside its sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with 1960s radicalism and cartoon... Read full bio →

Directed Films

Every film this person directed

19 titles
Nightmare Cinema

Nightmare Cinema

Joe Dante, Mick Garris 2019 1h 59m 7.0

A series of down-on-their-luck individuals enter the decrepit and spine-chilling Rialto theater, only to have their deepest and darkest fears brought to life on the silver screen by The Projectionist – a mysterious, ghostly figure who holds the nightmarish futures of all who attend his screenings.

Burying the Ex

Burying the Ex

Joe Dante 2014 1h 29m 3.0

Before horror enthusiast Max can break things off with his girlfriend Evelyn she dies in a bus accident. In time, Max meets another woman only to have Evelyn resurface as a zombie ready to resume their relationship.

The Hole

The Hole

Joe Dante 2009 1h 32m 5.8

A pair of brothers stumble upon a mysterious hole in their basement that leads to the darkest corridors of their fears and nightmares.

The Screwfly Solution

The Screwfly Solution

Joe Dante 2006 59m

A strange virus renders the entire human male population into homicidal maniacs who end up wiping out all females, leaving a woman and her daughter to fend for themselves.

Homecoming

Homecoming

Joe Dante 2005 58m

A hotshot White House speech writer deals with the publicity nightmare of his life when recently deceased soldiers return from beyond the grave.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Joe Dante 2003 1h 32m 6.1

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck team up with an aspiring stuntman and a studio executive in order to rescue the stuntman's missing father and locate a mythical diamond before the head of a major conglomerate uses it for his own wicked deeds.

Small Soldiers

Small Soldiers

Joe Dante 1998 1h 50m 6.0

When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.

The Second Civil War

The Second Civil War

Joe Dante 1997 1h 37m

When a planeload of Pakistani orphans are shipped to his state for permanent relocation, the governor of Idaho defies the president and closes the state's border. News Net Television, a cable news program that makes hay by reporting on political scandals, quickly spins the racist act into an overnight media sensation, creating a divide in nation...

Matinee

Matinee

Joe Dante 1993 1h 39m 6.2

A showman introduces a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalises on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitschy horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and actors in rubber suits in this salute to the B-movie.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Joe Dante 1990 1h 46m 7.3

Gremlins 2 is the sequel to the extremely successful horror comedy from 1984 about small furry monsters who cheerfully cause terror and fear to humans.

The 'Burbs

The 'Burbs

Joe Dante 1989 1h 42m 7.3

An overstressed suburbanite and his paramilitaric neighbor struggle to prove their paranoid theory that the new family in town is a front for a cannibalistic cult.

Innerspace

Innerspace

Joe Dante 1987 2h 7.4

A hapless store clerk must foil criminals to save the life of the man who, miniaturized in a secret experiment, was accidentally injected into him.

Amazon Women on the Moon

Amazon Women on the Moon

John Landis, Carl Gottlieb 1987 1h 24m 6.4

A series of short sketches, most of which parody late-night television and the low-budget movies one often finds there. Other skits include a man being attacked by his apartment, a funeral hosted by classic comedians and a teen-age boy's big night turning into a nightmare.

Explorers

Explorers

Joe Dante 1985 1h 49m 6.8

Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take ...

Gremlins

Gremlins

Joe Dante 1984 1h 46m 7.8

Gremlins is a horror comedy film from 1984. A tiny furry animal turns into a monster on Christmas Eve causing a small town fear and chaos. This is the first of two very successful Gremlins films.

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Twilight Zone: The Movie

John Landis, Steven Spielberg 1983 1h 41m 7.0

An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."

The Howling

The Howling

Joe Dante 1981 1h 31m 6.8

After a bizarre and near fatal encounter with a serial killer, a newswoman is sent to a rehabilitation center whose inhabitants may not be what they seem.

Piranha

Piranha

Joe Dante 1978 1h 34m 6.1

When flesh-eating piranhas are accidently released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.

Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood Boulevard

Joe Dante, Allan Arkush 1976 1h 23m 8.0

A young woman arrives in Hollywood to try her luck as an actress. An incompetent agent hooks her up with a production company which specializes in low budget B-movie fair, plagued by strange deadly accidents.

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