Joe Dante

Biography

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 comedy.

Dante's output includes the films Piranha (1978), The Howling (1981), Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), The 'Burbs (1989), Matinee (1993), Small Soldiers (1998), and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). His work for television and cable include the social satire The Second Civil War (1997), episodes of the anthology series Masters of Horror ("Homecoming" and "The Screwfly Solution") and Amazing Stories, as well as Police Squad! and Hawaii Five-0.

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Known For

Great Performances

Self

Eli Roth's History of Horror

Self

Beverly Hills Cop III

Jailer

Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow

The Real History of Science Fiction

Himself

Eerie, Indiana

Director

The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time

Self

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Grandpa Fred Director (uncredited)

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role
2025	The Creeps
2024	Sharksploitation	Self
2024	The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee	Self
2024	Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters	Self
2024	Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director	Himself
2022	In Search of Darkness: Part III	Self
2022	Razzennest	Joe Dante
2022	Soylent Green and Red Alert: When Reality Catches Up with Fiction	Self
2022	Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story	Self - Interviewee
2022	In Search of Tomorrow	Self - Interviewee
2021	Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida	Self [archival]
2021	Roger Corman, the Pope of Pop Cinema	Self
2021	Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster	Self
2020	Bugs Bunny's 80th What's Up, Doc-umentary!	Himself (archive footage)
2020	Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness	Host
2020	Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi	Host
2020	Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies	Self
2020	Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp	Host
2020	In Search of Darkness: Part II	Self
2020	Tales of the Uncanny	Self
2019	In Search of Darkness	Self
2019	Mark of The Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf	Self
2019	Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters	Self
2019	Class of '79: 40 Years of Rock 'N' Roll High School
2019	Love, Antosha	Self
2019	Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film	Self
2018	The Fear is Real	Self
2018	King Cohen	Self
2018	Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros. Years	Self
2018	Sad Hill Unearthed	Self - Filmmaker
2017	Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur	Self
2016	24×36	Self
2016	Long Live the King	himself
2016	Unspeakable Horrors: The Plan 9 Conspiracy	Himself
2015	42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street	Himself
2015	Tales of Halloween	Prof. Milo Gottlieb
2015	Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex	Self
2015	Eaten Alive! The Rise and Fall of the Italian Cannibal Film
2014	We Come In Pieces: The Rebirth of the Horror Anthology Film	Self
2014	Clawing! A Journey Through the Spanish Horror	Self - Director
2014	That Guy Dick Miller	Self
2014	Out of Print	Self
2014	There Goes the Neighborhood: The Making of The 'Burbs	Self
2014	From Gizmo to Gremlins: Creating the Creatures	Self
2014	Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous: Making Gremlins	Self
2013	Blast Vegas	Salesman #2
2013	House of Wax: Unlike Anything You've Seen Before!	Self
2013	A Fuller Life	Self - Reader (segment "Sicily Black and Blue")
2012	The Butterfly Room	Cab Driver
2012	Trailer War	Himself
2012	The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie	Self
2012	The Flesh and the Fury: X-posing Twins of Evil
2012	To Be... A Film Favorite
2012	Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan	Self
2011	American Grindhouse	Himself
2011	A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas!	Self - Interviewee
2011	Corman's World	Self - Filmmaker
2011	Produce Your Own Damn Movie!	Self
2011	The Future of Fear	Self
2010	The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth	Self
2010	Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.	Self
2010	Machete Maidens Unleashed!	Self
2010	The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry	Self
2010	The Bloodiest Show on Earth: Making Vampire Circus	Self
2009	Nightmares in Red, White and Blue	Self
2009	Monsterland	Self
2009	Direct Your Own Damn Movie!	Self
2009	Fulci in the House: The Italian Master of Splatter	Himself
2009	Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer	Self
2008	Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX	Self
2008	RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”	Self
2007	Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman	Self
2007	The Return of the Living Dead: The Decade of Darkness	Self
2007	The Hatching of Spider Baby	Himself
2007	Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema Sounds of Ronald Stein	Himself
2007	Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story	Self
2006	Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon	Self
2006	Hitchcocked!	Self
2006	Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet	Self
2006	Karloff: The Gentle Monster	Self
2006	Lugosi: The Dark Prince	Self
2005	Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
2005	Behind the Tunes: Tish Tash - The Animated World of Frank Tashlin	Himself
2005	The Perfect Scary Movie	Self
2005	Behind the Tunes: Looney Tunes Go to War!	Himself
2005	Behind the Tunes: Bosko, Buddy and the Best of Black and White	Himself
2004	Männer im Trenchcoat, Frauen im Pelz	Self
2004	Edgar G. Ulmer – Der Mann im Off	Self
2004	Welcome to Werewolfland
2004	Mario Bava: Operazione paura	Self
2003	Unleashing the Beast: Making ‘The Howling’
2002	Cinerama Adventure	Self
2001	It Conquered Hollywood! The Story of American International Pictures	Self
2001	Making The Earth Stand Still	Self
2000	Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre	Self
2000	Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation	Self
1999	She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'	Self / Host
1999	Ray Harryhausen: Working with Dinosaurs	Self
1997	Hollywood Rated 'R'	Self
1994	Beverly Hills Cop III	Jailer
1994	The Silence of the Hams	Dying Man
1994	Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror	Self
1994	A Century of Cinema	Self
1992	The Magical World of Chuck Jones	Self
1992	Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The 'Plan 9' Companion	Himself
1992	Sleepwalkers	Lab Assistant
1991	Oscar	Face on the Cutting Room Floor
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Grandpa Fred Director (uncredited)
1987	Innerspace	Vectorscope Employee (uncredited)
1986	The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal	Self
1982	Eating Raoul	Busboy (uncredited)
1981	Making a Monster Movie: Inside 'the Howling'	Self
1978	Piranha	Scuba Diver #2 (uncredited)
1978	Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel	Self
1976	Cannonball	Kid
1976	Hollywood Boulevard	Party Waiter (uncredited)
1975	Tidal Wave
	Mary Woronov: Cult Queen
	The Reality Trip	self

Year	TV Show	Role
2022	The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time	Self
2022	Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow
2018	Eli Roth's History of Horror	Self
2014	The Real History of Science Fiction	Himself
2004	100 Scariest Movie Moments	Self
2004	Leçon de Cinéma	Self
1991	Eerie, Indiana	Director
1971	Great Performances	Self