What ‘Gremlins’ gets right about 1980s horror
Midway through 1984’s Gremlins, Kate (Phoebe Cates) brings all the action to a record-scratching halt. Invoking a whopper of a tragic urban legend, she tells Gizmo and her boyfriend Billy (Zach Galligan) the horrifying story of how her Santa-costumed dad ended up dead in a chimney at Christmastime.