FILM | "Gremlins" Double Feature 

When purchasing an adorably furry, exotic pet for your child from an antique shop, it's best to heed the three very important rules that come with it: don't expose your Mogwai to bright light, don't allow it to get wet, and don't feed the beast after midnight (no matter how much it pleads with its puppy-dog eyes). With such a set up, you just knew that each rule was going to be broken in quick succession — so the story goes in the 1984 horror-comedy classic, "Gremlins," and its 1990 sequel. Many of us were seriously creeped out by the supposedly unrelated Gremlin-look-alike robot toy, "Furby," which was all the rage almost a decade later.

You can relive Joe Dante's tale of an innocent gift gone awry at the New Year's Eve double feature at the Dryden Theatre (George Eastman House, 900 East Ave.). On Tuesday, December 31, "Gremlins" will be screened at 7 p.m., followed by "Gremlins 2: The New Batch." Tickets are $8, or $6 for members and students with ID. For more information, call 271-3361 or visit dryden.eastmanhouse.org.