Favorite Scene Friday! Twilight Zone: The Movie: Airplane Gremlin

So here we are with our second installment of our favorite horror scenes for October. I think Nick and I were recently talking about this film, and I honestly can't remember who thought of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" so I'm giving him credit for this one as well. You'll notice that the scene couldn't be embededd and you'll have to watch it directly on YouTube. I guess I'm cheating a little bit, since this can't really be considered just a scene. But the whole thing is great, so give it a watch if you have time. And if you want my actual favorite part, click here - but be warned.

I like airplane movies in general - Air Force One, Executive Decision, Flight Plan, and Red Eye, to name a few. There's obviously something naturally tense about airplanes - maybe the fact that you're essentially stranded up in the air, maybe the fact that you're confined to such a claustrophobic space.

But this segment of 1983's Twilight Zone: The Movie, directed by George Miller, is probably my favorite airplane scene. And it has always scared the shit out of me. John Lithgow's perfect, terrified, manic performance. The tension and music. And that...thing. A gremlin, I guess, although, to my knowledge, it's never actually called that in the segment. The idea that a monster could be on the wing of your plane during a terrifying storm drives the fear center of my brain crazy.

That gremlin's face - one only a mama gremlin could love. I always wondered what happened to him after he flew off. Did he land on another plane to wreak havoc? Maybe he met up with Stripe the Mogwai and they started an airline so they could screw with all the planes and collect on the insurance money.

Happy Friday! And stay scary, my friends.