Crazy Cupid Giveaway Hop Giveaway ~ $31+ Prize Value

Welcome to the Laughing Vixen Lounge blog. As part of the Crazy Cupid Giveaway Hop, hosted by Cheap Is The New Classy, we have a new giveaway for you. One winner will win their choice of 1 Compact Mirror/Pill Box ($16 value) and 1 Necklace ($21.50 value or less) OR 1 Photo Pendant ($15 value) from the shop. You choose the two designs you want from 200+ styles. Giveaway is open worldwide to anyone 18 and over.

Sassy Vintage Ladies Compact ~ Wild

Key To My Heart Necklace

After you enter our giveaway make sure to visit the other blogs, via the Linky List below, and enter to win lots of other fabulous giveaways. Follow the event on Twitter with the Official Event Hashtag #crazycupid.

Bloody Valentine Compact ~ Style B

 

Vintage Skull Photo Pendant ~ Style B

This is just a peek at some of the designs you can choose from if you win. Everything can be customized to make it your own.

Magic Potion Compact ~ Love Potion

You Make My Heart Spin Necklace

Laughing Vixen Lounge ~ Bangles, Baubles and Other Needful Things for the modern Vixen. Pop Culture, Retro, Horror and Custom Designed Jewelry and Accessories. Here is a look at some of the 380+ designs that Laughing Vixen Lounge offers.

 

Art Deco Photo Pendant ~ Style A

Laughing Vixen Lounge offers Charm Bracelets, Necklaces, Compacts and Photo Pendants. Pop Culture designs with a flair for Retro, Horror and Custom Designs. This year we'll be adding lots more Pendants styles, Bracelets styles and new Ring and Locket styles. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or the Blog to keep up on the many giveaways we'll be having this year! Visit Laughing Vixen Lounge.

Zombie Apocalypse Premium Charm Bracelet

Luck Of The Irish Charm Bracelet

Laughing Vixen Lounge will be donating $1 from each item sold through the shop to sponsoring DJ the Cougar. The fundraising stared on November 1st, 2013 and will go until the whole $500 has been raised. The total raised so far is $400. Click here to read DJ's story and more about the fundraising project.

 

Once you are finished here make sure to stop by Laughing Vixen Lounge's 4th Annual "14 Nights of Valentine's Day Movie Marathon Giveaway". 16 shops and a Prize Pack worth $400. Giveaway ends February 14th.

How to enter the giveaway ~ It's easy!

1. Login in to the Rafflecopter widget below with either your email or Facebook.
2. You must do the first entry to qualify for this giveaway.
3. You can do as many of the extra entries as you like.
4. Please read each entry's directions carefully. If you do not do what is asked of you for each entry the entry will not count.
5. If you have any questions feel free to ask for help. You can leave your question as a comment below and I will answer as soon as I can.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


The Fine Print...
Giveaway will run from 9:00pm (PST) January 31st, 2014 through 12:00am (PST) February 16th. Winner(s) will be picked randomly from all eligible entries. The winner(s) name and choices will be posted on this blog as soon as the winner(s) has been contacted. If selected winner(s) does not respond back within 48 hours a new winner(s) will be chosen. All decisions made final by Laughing Vixen Lounge.

Funny Best Friends Compact ~ Enemies

Fear Friday ~ "Micro changes in air density, my ass."

Soooo, the horror newb is still filling in here at Laughing Vixen Lounge!  Today I chose a movie that is closer to my science fiction love.  Though I do want you all to know I did try to do my homework for this week and started out re-watching American Psycho.  As it had been a long time since I've seen it, it came as a surprise to me that I don't think this is a horror movie.  Whether or not you like Huey Lewis and the News, I kept thinking it was closer to dark comedy.  Hard not to laugh with all that 80s stuff going on!  Alas, I fell back on a staple of scariness. And yes, it is like Jaws.....but in space!

Every Friday at the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is Fear Friday. Fear Fridays are a celebration of all films spooky. Horror is a very broad genre and the Lounge loves it all. Each Friday you will find a review of a different film. These can range from Classic Horror (black and white and cheesy), Thrillers (suspense, jumps and a good mystery), outright Horror (chop chop, slash slash, die die) and anything else in between.

So pop some popcorn, kill the lights and enjoy tonight's selection. And please, share your comments on the film. Bad or good let me know what you thought of it. And now, my little ghouls and dolls, the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is proud to present this week's film.

Fear Friday ~ Alien

Tag line:  In space no one can hear you scream

This 1979 film uses a psychological aspect as well as great special effects (awarded an Oscar for them) to scare the pants of viewers.  This alien monster is clearly the scariest being anyone in Hollywood has ever come up with because you see so many aspects of it in horror and sci-fi films in the decades to follow.

Briefly,

• The crew of the deep space towing vessel Nostromo are awaken from hypersleep to investigate a strange signal from a nearby planet. While investigating the signal, they discover it was intended as a warning, and not an SOS.
  - Written by Colin Tinto

As they say, "no good deed goes unpunished".  Go to help an sos and get your face sucked by an alien!  And then find out it was only using you....

Director Ridley Scott builds great tension between crew members and the hunt for the alien.  Though who is hunted and hunter always makes for good suspense.

Trivia bit:  The original design for the Alien by H.R. Giger had eyes, which were eliminated to make the creature look even more menacing.

I think it worked!

Fear Fridays ~ Sister's Scary Pick!

What could be scarier than being on vacation and letting your sister choose the Fear Friday Film?!  Especially when she is completely clueless about all things Horror.....

Hello and welcome back to another Fear Friday here at Laughing Vixen Lounge.  I'm happy to fill in and today's pick is not my typical movie view.  I do admit to being short on "spooky" film knowledge.  So my selection is one that actually scared me more after the movie than during it.  Being the helpful type of fool who is quick to come to another's aid, even I wouldn't help load furniture into a stranger's van.....at night.....getting in first!

Every Friday at the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is Fear Friday. Fear Fridays are a celebration of all films spooky. Horror is a very broad genre and the Lounge loves it all. Each Friday you will find a review of a different film. These can range from Classic Horror (black and white and cheesy), Thrillers (suspense, jumps and a good mystery), outright Horror (chop chop, slash slash, die die) and anything else in between.

So pop some popcorn, kill the lights and enjoy tonight's selection. And please, share your comments on the film. Bad or good let me know what you thought of it. And now, my little ghouls and dolls, the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is proud to present this week's film.

Fear Friday ~ The Silence of the Lambs

From the Thomas Harris novel, this 1991 film by director Jonathan Demme is creepy on more than one level. Unlike the blood spurting gore of many "horror" movies, this "thriller" spells more horror for me in that some scenes seem possible outside the cinema. I had figured the lower rank of this film on a few Top 100 may have been due to that lack of spurting red and the thriller vs horror genre. Then again there is the gore of Lecter's escape....

So what we have is a serial killer needed to help catch a serial killer. So of course bring in the FBI cadet! We don't want to waste the time of a seasoned veteran. Anthony Hopkins does a fine job of being scary and creepy while putting on a cultured air. Jodie Foster does well looking nervous and scared.  And seriously, a guy sewing a skin suit? Ewww. And wearing it? Double ewwww!

The film earned 5 Academy Awards and many other prizes. Most critics raved (except that gal from the Trib) and it has a place in the top 10 of a few "Horror" lists.  The reason I agree that it deserves the praise is that the film does most of it's scary, creepy stuff in your head.  Yep, a psychological scare is worth 10 arterial fountains for me!

So weigh in with your thoughts!  I'll admit to being a horror newb so feel free to educate me : )

On a tangent:  The movie Sleeping with the Enemy came out the same year and I had a bad habit of referring to my pick as "Sleeping with the Lambs"....doh!

Trivia bit:  Chris Isaak makes a cameo as the SWAT Commander.

Fear Friday ~ And They Do Not Mean Trivial Pursuit!!!

Is is Friday again??? Welcome back to another Fear Friday here at Laughing Vixen Lounge. January's films are all "new to me" selections I have just watched. This week comes a tale about a dinner party that no one wants an invitation to!!! While I can not imagine many people in real life would ever be stupid enough to accept this invitation but, in the movies, if we did not have stupid characters we would not have horror films. Enjoy!

Every Friday at the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is Fear Friday. Fear Fridays are a celebration of all films spooky. Horror is a very broad genre and the Lounge loves it all. Each Friday you will find a review of a different film. These can range from Classic Horror (black and white and cheesy), Thrillers (suspense, jumps and a good mystery), outright Horror (chop chop, slash slash, die die) and anything else in between.

So pop some popcorn, kill the lights and enjoy tonight's selection. And please, share your comments on the film. Bad or good let me know what you thought of it. And now, my little ghouls and dolls, the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is proud to present this week's film.

Fear Friday ~ Would You Rather

Tagline - A Dinner To Die For.
              Tell yourself it's just a game.


Directed by David Guy Levy and released on February 8th, 2013 by IFC Films (Not Rated). Iris (Brittany Snow) is desperate to find a way to help her dying brother so she accepts an invitation to a dinner where one person will have all their worries taken care of. All she has to do is be the winner of the game they will play. Hmmm... I'm thinking our leading lady has never seen a horror film before!

Is this a great movie? No. Is it better than I expected it would be? Surprising, yes. Again, with this movie, we are in very familiar territory. A group of strangers are invited to a large mansion for dinner. I am reminded of House on Haunted Hill or Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Very quickly though this story moves to Saw at the dinner table. As the name implies, the game the guests are forced to play is a very wicked game of Would You Rather. Making the characters choose between two not so pleasant tasks they can preform.

Yes, I have pretty had my fill of these "make a choice" movies since Saw made them so popular but I found this one entertaining enough to keep watching. Maybe it was the train wreck - can not look away effect - but it ended up being an interesting watch. It is not for the faint of heart, or stomach, as there are some uncomfortable scenes. One in praticular that I could not watch. It was bad enough just knowing what was happening.

It may not be the most original movie ever made but I think it was worth the watch. I found this film on HBO's on demand movies but it looks like it is also currently available on DVD from Netflix.



Take a look at the original trailer.



Sorry, no trivia on this one.

Fear Friday ~ Do You Really Want To Know The Answer To That Question?

Happy Friday my lovelies!!! All of January the Fear Friday films are new movies (at least to me) that I have just watched. This week's flick is a "found footage" adventure that leads us into the snowy mountains of Russia in search of a mystery that is built on a real life tragedy. It's a bit of a mind warp so put your thinkin' caps on. Enjoy!!!

Every Friday at the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is Fear Friday. Fear Fridays are a celebration of all films spooky. Horror is a very broad genre and the Lounge loves it all. Each Friday you will find a review of a different film. These can range from Classic Horror (black and white and cheesy), Thrillers (suspense, jumps and a good mystery), outright Horror (chop chop, slash slash, die die) and anything else in between.

So pop some popcorn, kill the lights and enjoy tonight's selection. And please, share your comments on the film. Bad or good let me know what you thought of it. And now, my little ghouls and dolls, the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is proud to present this week's film.

Fear Friday ~ Devil's Pass

Tagline - Based on a true story.
              History always repeats itself.


Directed by Renny Harlin (Deep Blue Sea, Long Kiss Goodnight and Die Hard 2) and released on August 23, 2013 by Aldamisa Releasing (Rated R). A group of students set off to investigate the site where 9 hikers died mysteriously in 1959. As they quickly find out, you should be careful of what questions you want answered!!!

This movie is a "found footage" style movie that went pretty much straight to DVD here in the US. While it had it's faults I thought the movie was actually pretty good. There have been lots of "found footage" movies (a movie shown through video footage shot by the characters who are now dead) since The Blair Witch Project was so popular that they can be a bit overdone. But this one really did try to think outside the box.

It builds a fictional story around a real life incident. In 1959 nine hikers were found dead in the Ural Mountains in Russia of unknown and mysterious causes. This part is very true and still sparks lots of speculation about what happened. The movie plays on a fictional group of American students that travel to Russia to investigate the site of the incident. After a brief introduction to the group we are shown a Russian news broadcast that tells of a group of American hikers found dead on the mountain. The film is told through the video that is found at the campsite.

The movie is good at making you wonder what is the "Thing" out in the snowy cold that will be the death of our characters. They suspect everything from aliens to a magnetic force to a government conspiracy to a (my favorite) Yeti. Ha!!! And while part of the end "bit" did make me roll my eyes for the most part I thought it was an interesting idea. Just keep an open mind while watching as it is a bit out there. I did have to look on the internet to see exactly what happened at the end to make sure I had it right. This helped lots as there are some little things through the movie that you might not tie into the end because they are easy to miss.

So if you like a movie that is more story driven than action and is low on the gore factor give this one a try. It is currently on Netflix streaming.


Take a look at the original trailer. ***Spoiler Warning... If you want to watch this movie without knowing too much do not watch past the 1 minute mark***



No real trivia found for this movie but I loved that the Philadelphia Experiment is talked about in the movie. I love the movie (of the same name from the '80s) and am fascinated that it's an actual conspiracy theory based on real events. Wow... who knew??!!

Fear Friday ~ Stay Out Of Texas Already!!!

Time for another Fear Friday!!! Since it is a new year I thought I would review all new movies in January. Well, all new to me anyways. So I searched through the new additions on Netflix and found this little gem I had not seen yet. You know, sometimes you need to just say NO!!! Even if the film series was good once upon a time it does not mean you need to watch EVERY sequel made. Enjoy my little ghouls!

Every Friday at the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is Fear Friday. Fear Fridays are a celebration of all films spooky. Horror is a very broad genre and the Lounge loves it all. Each Friday you will find a review of a different film. These can range from Classic Horror (black and white and cheesy), Thrillers (suspense, jumps and a good mystery), outright Horror (chop chop, slash slash, die die) and anything else in between.

So pop some popcorn, kill the lights and enjoy tonight's selection. And please, share your comments on the film. Bad or good let me know what you thought of it. And now, my little ghouls and dolls, the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is proud to present this week's film.

Fear Friday ~ Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)

Tagline - Evil wears many faces.
              Buzz kill.


Directed by John Luessenhop (Takers and Lockdown) and released on January 4, 2013 by Lionsgate (Rated R). When the long lost last surviving ancestor of the Sawyer family inherits the family estate in Newt, TX. she heads down, along with some friends, to sign papers and visit the house. Hmmmm... I don't foresee this going very well!!!

While I never expect anything from these modern sequels to classic horror films, this one had promise. It starts directly after the events of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We see the town mob exercise some vigilante justice and burn down the "family's" house with them in it. Of course one baby survives which leads us to our main character who inherits the whole legacy of her long lost family.

The problem is it quickly becomes the same old same old once the teens arrive at the house. Nothing new to see here. Of course Mr. Leatherface has also survived and takes to his usual ways in no time flat. But what irritated me the most was the lazy effort in piecing together the back story. I know, it's a horror film, I should not be looking so closely. But it just did not make any sense. When our main character reads all the police files on what happened to her ancestors we only see her reading about what the townsfolk did to them. Never what they did to evoke this response from the town. So the story goes on with this "they get what they deserve for hurting my family" vibe every time Leatherface kills someone. No mention of her ancestors killing, eating and wearing people for sport. I guess there was no other way to justify her staying and carry on taking care of cousin creepy if she knew too much.

While it was not the worse movie I have ever seen, for this series, it was one of the weaker parts. Maybe seeing it in 3D would have added a bit more fun. The original film is always the strongest. Truly disturbing. The slick, shiny and uber gory modern remake is entertaining enough but leaves out the core of what makes the original so horrid and scary - the mentality of the family. Of course it is still better than part 4 (I think) which has Mathew McConaughey running around in drag as the new chainsaw killer. Ugh!!!

Texas Chainsaw 3D is currently available on Netflix streaming and DVD.  


Take a look at the original trailer.




Some trivia about the movie.
1. Originally, a plan for a new trilogy was pitched. The films would be released out of chronological order, with the second film coming out first and being set almost entirely in a hospital. The next film would be a prequel explaining the events that led up to the hospital scenario. The third film would complete the storyline. Fearing it was too ambitious and risky, the producers opted for a follow up to the original instead.
2. This film features 4 actors returning from previous installments, surpassing the record of 3 set by Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.
3. In 2007, Platinum Dunes announced they were abandoning the series following The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. In 2009, Twisted Pictures negotiated a multi-picture deal with Bob Kuhn and Kim Henkel, who own the rights to the series.
4. In the opening scene, Bill Moseley, who portrayed Chop Top in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, portrays Drayton Sawyer, the cook from the first two films.
5. Thom Barry's character, Sheriff Hooper, is named after Tobe Hooper, who wrote and directed the first two films.
6. Has the distinction of featuring a total three different actors portraying Leatherface: Gunnar Hansen as the one from the archive footage, Sam McKinzie as a young Leatherface, and Dan Yeager as the main one.
7. Marilyn Burns, who played Sally Hardesty in the original film, plays Verna in this. This film and Butcher Boys (2012) were Marilyn's first movie roles in 28 years (excluding an uncredited Cameo in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation).
8. Gunnar Hansen, who portrayed Leatherface in the 1974 film, portrays a relative, Boss Sawyer, in the beginning of the film. This marks the first time Hansen has returned to the series since the initial film. In interviews, Hansen has said that he has been approached before but was never offered a salary that would entice him to return.
9. John Dugan, who portrayed Grandpa in the 1974 film, reprises his role in the opening scene of this film.
10. Filmed primarily in July and August 2011, but unreleased until January 2013.