Fear Friday - The Christmas A Go-Go Edition

Thanks for joining us for the return of Fear Fridays. A weekly review of anything and everything horror/thriller/spooky/B movie classics. This month all of our picks will have a Christmas theme. Stick around after the movie review as we have our next shop feature from our Christmas A Go-Go Giveaway.

Fear Friday - Gremlins

Tagline - Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent.
               Dangerous
               They didn't obey the rules


Directed by Joe Dante (The Howling and Twilight Zone: The Movie) and released on June 8, 1984 by Warner Brothers Pictures (PG). A cute and cuddly Christmas gift with three simple rules. Don't get him wet, keep him out of bright light, and never feed him after midnight. Ooops! Soon mayhem ensues when the cute and cuddly Gizmo multiplies into lots of not so cute and cuddly Gremlins.


OK, so it's not very scary but if you saw it as a younger kid it could be a bit creepy. Now it's just a fun nostalgic watch. The Christmas season makes the perfect background for all the mischief and mayhem these little critters get up to. If you haven't seen it for awhile give it a go. It's a nice stroll down memory lane.


Some trivia on the movie...
1. Generally credited (along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) to influence the MPAA to create the PG-13 rating, as many felt the scenes of violence in both movies were too much for a PG rating, but not enough for an R rating. The first movie to have the new rating was Red Dawn.
2. In Cantonese Chinese, mogwai means devil, demon or gremlin. The Mandarin pronunciation is mogui.
3. Both Judd Nelson and Emilio Estevez were considered for the role of Billy.
4. Although it is not clearly visible, "Four Magic Moves to Winning Golf", by Joe Dante (senior) is on Billy's nightstand. Joe Dante Junior said his father criticized him for not making the title more visible.
5. The set for Kingston Falls is the same one used for Back to the Future. Both movies were filmed in the Universal Studios backlot.
6. In addition to restoring the classic Warner Brothers logo to the opening of the movie, it was hoped to release the film along with the classic Looney Tunes short, Falling Hare, where Bugs Bunny is harassed by a plane gremlin during WW II. This fell through, but, highlights from the short do appear as part of the Behind the Scenes featurette, that has also been included on the Special Edition DVD.
7. At least one of Phoebe Cates's screams in the scene at Dorry's Tavern is genuine. An enormous cockroach crawled out in front of her during one take.
8. After watching his earlier short films, Steven Spielberg considered Tim Burton to direct the film. But decided against it because at the time Burton had never directed a full feature length film.
9. The theater that blows up was subsequently involved in another accident when Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future, smashes into the front entrance at the end of the film. The theater then burned down with the rest of the buildings in the fire that happened right after the filming of Back to the Future Part II.   
10. In this film, the Amblin Entertainment logo makes its first on-screen appearance.
11. Howie Mandel does the voice of Gizmo.

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Now, if you haven't checked out our Christmas A Go-Go Giveaway yet make sure to go enter. There is a goodie bag filled with fabulous gifts from Laughing Vixen Lounge and 6 more great shops. We'll be doing shop features each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each shop has given Christmas recipes and they will be posted in their features. There will also be recipes from some of our Lounge Vixens. Do you have something to share? You'll find out how to on the giveaway page and you'll get yourself an extra 10 entries!

Our next shop feature is Junkmill.
Junkmill is the brain child of Chandra from Rockford, Michigan. Chandra makes amazing digital collage sheets to use in all your crafting adventures. I first found her shop on Etsy when I was looking for someone to create some customs Zombie Pinups for me. Not only did she do an incredible job but she was great to work with. You can purchase your own set of Zombie Gals from her shop in a variety of sizes.

Zombie Pinups Collage Sheet

She also whipped up some great Christmas sheets for me this year. Just perfect for what I needed. You have a chance to win 5 collage sheets of your choice. Enter now on the giveaway page.

Retro Holiday Christmas Collage Sheets

12 Days of Christmas Collage Sheet

This is only a small sampling of what Junkmill has to offer. Take a look at the shop and pick up something for your next craft project.

Each shop was asked what their favorite holiday movie or special is. Chandra said "Die Hard. Nothing captures the holiday spirit quite like Bruce Willis battling terrorists at an executive Christmas party. Give me a big cozy blanket, a cup of my Insane Hot Chocolate and surround sound set to eleven and I'm set."

This is an inspired choice! I would have never thought of Die Hard for the Christmas movie list but it's great. Death, destruction and Christmas music. Too fun! And I just love Alan Rickman as the head honcho bad guy.


Insane Hot Chocolate

Chandra sent us the recipe for her signature Insane Hot Chocolate. I bought everything to make it now to stop for a moment and whip some up.

"This rich cinnamon hot chocolate is great for getting all sugared up and trimming the tree or wrapping packages. It’s my take on classic hot chocolate, amped up with a little cappuccino mix and tons of super-sweet toppings."

2 Tbsp. Instant hot chocolate

1 Tbsp. Maxwell House International Café Cinnamon Dolce Cappuccino (the powder mix that comes in the little rectangular tins)

Handful Miniature marshmallows

Handful miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Reddi-wip whipped cream

Mix powder hot chocolate and powder cappuccino in a large mug. For super-smooth, no lumps hot chocolate, add just enough boiling hot water to cover the powder, stir until blended and lump-free. Place marshmallows in mug then add 8 oz. boiling water. As the water hits the marshmallows, they melt into the hot chocolate forming an ooey-gooey layer of deliciousness. Top with a generous portion of Reddi-wip whipped cream. Sprinkle Cinnamon Dolce Cappuccino mix on top of the whipped cream and garnish with miniature chocolate chips. Delicious!