Gremlins Cackle in Pasadena

Street Food Cinema screens the '80s classic, with star Zach Galligan in the house.

Cinema holds many unanswered, still-argued-over questions. Like... what's in the briefcase in "Pulp Fiction"? What does Bill Murray whisper to Scarlett Johansson at the end of "Lost in Translation"? And if you shouldn't feed a Gremlin after midnight, lest they turn evil, when can you feed them next? Dawn? 8:15? Brunch?

But that isn't even our biggest question regarding the 1984 hit, which marks its 30th anniversary this year with a bevy of special to-dos, including a screening on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Pasadena. It's this: Is "Gremlins" a summer or winter film? It debuted in June of '84 but it is, of course, one of the snowiest, most Christmassy of all movies. Also, it a small-town cute flick or a love letter to LA's studio backlots?

Joe Dante's much-revisited cackle-a-thon is all of those things, and, moreover, it features the incomparable charms of Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, and Polly Holliday. Mr. Galligan will, in fact, make an appearance at the Oct. 11 Victory Park screening, though we're fairly confident he will not have Gizmo in tow.

The Street Food Cinema event will also boast live music from Reasons Be and a host of food trucks (think Tocky's Pitas, Riceballs of Fire, and such).

And the summertime movie-music-meal-it-up lovers aren't through; the Street Food Cinema run will include "The Conjuring" in Culver City and "The Exorcist" in Eagle Rock, both on Oct. 18. And hello hello: Star of "The Exorcist," animal rights advocate Linda Blair, will make a cameo, in support of her World Heart Foundation.

Reserved seating for "Gremlins" is seventeen bucks. The weather is still fine, and not at all snowy like the small town square depicted in the movie. So, we ask again: Is it a film that celebrates sleepy hamlets or the many charms of the Warner Bros. and Universal backlots? And is it a film best enjoyed in summer or winter?

We vote fall, this time around. And as for feeding little balls of fluff after midnight? It's probably best that they eat right after their bath.

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