Let’s keep the Italian horror train rolling along with this little number, straight off of Blue Heart’s turntable, Clue in the Crew’s rocking Zombie-Bird Winnebago Attack/Sweet Song, The Sound of Fear.
The Lucio Fulci/Bruno Mattei/Claudio Fragasso mega-team up Zombie 3 delivers just about everything you’d expect outta that unholy and contentious alliance: Italian weirdness, synthy goodness, nonsensical plotting , machete-wielding, decapitated-head-flying zombie madness and generous amounts flagrant intellectual theft.
I mean, let’s start with that poster art alone. It’s straight up the Force: Five fist mixed with Freddy’s eyes from Dream Warriors and the lady’s face from the Absurd poster. If Stay The Night didn’t indicate the kind of shameless theft that’s rampant in Italian cinema, or just what kind is in store from Zombie 3, then this pilfery collage passed off as “promotional material” ought to give you an idea.
What was marketed as the second sequel to Romero’s Dawn of the Dead actually plays out more like Italy’s answer to Return of the Living Dead and I honestly don’t have 1 single problem with that.
You throw in radio DJ Blue Heart, straight rockin’ the Jose Canseco shades, pushing his ecological agenda alongside the hottest Phillipino tunes 1988 had to offer, and the Shindig is in Paradiso.
Here’s Clue in the Crew’s referentially inclusive, 80’ser-than-shit hit, The Sound of Fear.
Attentive Shindiggers will not doubt recognize this album cover, as we’ve long used this image from Luigi Cozzi’s Paganini Horror as a banner here on Halloween Shindig cause c’mon, look at that thing!
However, we have never taken a moment to talk about that film or add any of the songs from its soundtrack. So this year, we’re gonna change all that.
What’s most interesting about that poster image is that it existed before the story for Paganini Horrorwas even written. It’s almost assuredly why those two actors and that awesome skeleton man never shows up in the picture.
Looking to piggyback on the imminent success of Paganini, a biopic about the legendary Violinist being helmed by actor Klaus Kinski, our producers thought “Hey! We slap the word “horror”on that shit and I think we got a winner.”
Well, they were wrong. On both accounts.
Not only was Kinski’s Paganini not a hit, but the horror iteration became a mish mash of chefs spoiling the pot. The resulting film found little success with audiences.
Horror historian Louis Paul even noted
“Nobody likes Paganini Horror, Cozzi included.”
Well, i kinda like Paganini Horror. I don’t love it, but it looks real nice, there’s a dude with a switchblade violin, Donald Pleasence gets real weird…and then there this song: there’s Stay The Night.
Now, when it comes to blatant, shameless and completely unapologetic rip-offs, I don’t know if you can pull a bigger offender than Stay The Night.
And I mean seriously. Gangster Rock may sound like China Groove, but it’s a different song. Stay The Night, the other hand, is 100% You Give Love a Bad Name.
I have to imagine that neither John Bon Jovi nor Richie Sambora have ever heard this song. That’s conceivable. Paganini Horror wasn’t busting blocks. But I have to assume that someone…anyone…who even knew them remotely, heard this song and was like “Yo, John…you gotta hear this fuckin’ thing.”
One might then assume a lawsuit of some sort would have arisen, but nothing seems to have come from it. So, I’ll just say they’ve never heard it. Or maybe they just shrugged it off like good sports, cause much like the film, I doubt this song was padding anyone’s bank account either.
The fact still remains, that unless you’ve never once heard You Give Love a Bad Name, Stay the Night is one of the most overt rip-off’s of all time.
But maybe that’s part of the joke, as their producer certainly leans into what unoriginal, rehashed bullshit the band is pumping out these days. Boy, I’ll say.
Since Switchblade Violin Man never makes good with an actual Title Track, here’s the best song Paganini Horror…a movie specifically about a band…making a video…for their new song…called Paganini Horror…which is also spray painted on the set…sigh…is cranking out.
Speaking of bizarre skin-flicks disguised as Disco Dracula films, let’s talk about Dracula Blows His Cool, a German sex comedy with a surprisingly interesting soundtrack.
When smut photographer and “Dracula” descendant Stan decides just shooting nudie pictures in his old family castle isn’t quite enough to keep it from being repossessed, he does what any self respecting Bavarian in 1979 would do. He opens a disco!
What ensues is a bevy of silly sex gags, tons of mistaken identity hi-jinx and some funny English dubbing. While certainly not even approaching good, there’s less amusing ways you could spend an hour and 20 minutes, if you like this sort of 70’s sex trash. I mean, check this out:
It’s at least worth a viewing.
Additionally, the film is filled with tons of fun (read: appropriately ludicrous if you have a horror-themed music blog) songs.
Most notable of course, and submitted for your approval this evening, is the 1979 hit Rock Me Dracula, performed by Mokka.
Mokka is an iteration from the brief musical career of Italian twins Nadia and Antonella Cocconcelli. Nadia and Antonella even appear in the film performing the tune. Or at least they appear dancing around with garden hoses and lip syncing to it poorly, anyway. But hey, we’ll take it!
Though played several times throughout the film, it is not included on the official Gerhard Heinz soundtrack for Dracula Blows His Cool, which has several potential Shindig inclusions like Graf Dracula and Disco Strip. Both of those songs are pretty great and may find their way into the playlist in their own right.
For now though, we’ll only indulge in the perfectly appropriate and extra referentialRock Me Dracula, from Mokka.
Shindig Radio personality Graham C. Schofield doesn’t much care for disco music. And as you know, we’re currently knee deep in a Monster Disco Block.
So it may shock you to hear he’s actually responsible for our next tune, another vampire related rug cutter from the 70’s monster comedy, Love At First Bite, starring George Hamilton.
See, last Halloween, Graham bestowed upon The Hole this fresh piece of vinyl soundtrack goodness, and there was much rejoicing.
And if he didn’t think one of these fuckers was gonna find its way onto the playlist this year, he’s out of his mind.
Now, perhaps he did. Perhaps he was even ok with the idea. But what he probably didn’t know was that I already had a few disco-diggers waiting in the dugout, and that this specific gift was the catalyst for me diggin’ up a couple more and making a whole block out of the affair.
So, if you need a scapegoat for any ire you’re experiencing at the hands of a solid week filled with goofball monster disco bullshit, he’s your guy. I’m sure he sympathizes.
As for Love At First Bite, give it a go. It’s a surprisingly measured and effective vampire comedy with a fine and funny Dracula performance from George Hamilton.
It is alleged to have ripped off the plot of 1971’s Guess What Happened to Count Dracula? almost to the T, but as of the time of writing, I have not seen that film and can make no assessment.
What I can say is that it was one of 5 Dracula movies released in 1979. You have, of course, John Badham’s classic starring Frank Langella, Donald Pleaseance and Sir Laurence Oliver. Not to be outdone, you got Werner Herzog’s chilling Nosferatu, starring the unearthly Klaus Kinski. And then, no doubt attempting to a capitalize on the success of Love at First Bite, is Germany’s DiscoDracula film Dracula Blows His Cool, but more on that one in a bit.
Because we can’t talk about Disco Draculas without talking about the other Dracula film from 1979.
Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula, is perhaps the Disco Dracula movie, drenched as it is, almost front to back, in so much Disco it actually gets a little hard to watch. It’s practically an hour and 20 minute Disco music video.
It even features the tune Love Is Just a Heartbeat Away (Nocturna’s Theme) from I WillSurvive Disco Superstar, Gloria Gaynor. How they managed to pull her for this weird-ass, low budget monster picture is probably a miracle. She was apparently talked into providing the track by her then manager and future husband. Apparently she’s not too proud of that song in the slightest. We’ll spare you that tune, inclusive and semi-referential though it be, as it’s a fairly standard (albeit pretty decent) Disco tune, with no fun Draculaness.
When it’s not indulging in overly long bouts of dancing to repetitive beats and string synthesizers, Nocturna’s a totally bizarre quasi-skin flick with some weird vampire lore.
See, for Dracula’s granddaughter (played by belly dancer and screenwriter Nia Bonet), the power of disco music slowly changes her into a human or some such nonsense.
It even features a scene with a governing vampire assembly and a new, designer form of blood that the vampires can snort. It was 1979, after all.
Also on tap is actual Dracula John Caradine (even wearing his costume from 1945’s House of Dracula) and Lily Munster herself, Ms. Yvonne DeCarlo. Bonus!
If you’re into bizarre shit and love the idea Disco Draculas, definitely give it a watch. It’s worth it for Nia Bonet’s positively otherworldly performance. Plus, you get to see shit like this:
Outstanding.
But enough about Nocturna, we’re here for Fly By Night from soul singer Pat Hodges, dammit!
Now, out of the box, this fucker is a 12 and a half minute song. Talk about goin’ hard. That’s indulgent, even for Disco.
So, we’ve enlisted the help of our Shindig Audio Magicians to make this one a bit more manageable, with a totally unique Shindig Special Edition version. Not gonna lie though, it hurt a little. Despite the length of Fly By Night, I’m all about how long and epic its Disco is. It pained me to snip out resonant filter sweeps or Simmons drum hits, but it had to be done.
If we’re not gonna use the full length, 12 minute version of Helloween’sHalloween, you better believe Fly By Night ain’t getting no special dispensation.
Without any further ado, though somewhat truncated, here’s Pat Hodges singing Fly By Night!
The Toxic Avenger Theme by Scott Casey is pretty damn Toxie, there’s no doubt about that. But for my money, nothing says “The Toxic Avenger” like Sandy Farnia’s leg warmin, synth-bassin, aerobicidin Body Talk.
Setting the stage for perhaps Troma’s most Tromatic and beloved film of all time – Lloyd Kaufman’s 1984 mold-breaking indie slasher, The Toxic Avenger.
While it’s certainly not out of place among the films featured on The Shindig, can The Toxic Avenger truly be considered a horror movie?
Well, being that it was Lloyd’s attempt to capitalize on the slasher craze of the early 80’s and that it started its life as The Health Club Horror, I think we definitely can. Toxie stalking his tormentors alone – one by one for his own horrific revenge – is the stuff of 80’s horror. Factor in his monstrous appearance and it’s Jaws-like slow reveal, and I think we’re looking at some genuine horror people.
All the humor and goofiness aside, Lloyd did something truly interesting and different with The Toxic Avenger. He made the slasher the hero (and a superhero at that) and simultaneously flipped both genre’s on their heads. He gave audiences a legitimate reason to root for the killer: an avenger for the common man, a slasher with a cause, a superhero that wasn’t affair to get his hands dirty.
Made a shoe-string budget and defining “reel” independence, this film gave a fledgling studio it’s mascot and craved their name into the history of cinema.
There’s just no denying the impact of The Toxic Avenger: the first superhero from New Jersey.
It had been a long time since I had sat down and watched Toxie’s back-to-back shot sequels, and I had completely forgotten about this tailor made tune sung by Scott Casey.
This one slightly jukes my (admittedly somewhat rigid) definition of a Title Track by being featured in the sequel and having the word “theme” tacked on the end, but I don’t think there’s any other word for this song.
It explicitly describes, in very detailed fashion, the events of the first film. And Scott enthusiastically chants the title over and over again, making for a textbook Title Track under any other circumstances.
So we’ll overlook the fact that it’s from Toxie’s second outing, and that it has the word theme slapped on there, and simply bask in the relentless 80’s power-synth-rock awesomeness of The Toxic Avenger Theme. Just listen to those falsettos! When Lloyd decided to give Toxie his own theme, he definitely didn’t skimp.
As I stated in an episode of Shindig Radio that you readers have yet to hear, most people seem to refer to our next song as “The Dead Are After Me.”
And once that chorus hits the first time, there’ll be no doubt in your mind why.
However, it is my assertion that this song, composed and performed by George Edward Ott, is actually a Title Track, despite its chorus.
See, the film itself only ever credits this tune as “Title Song” and George Edward does say the phrase “Raiders of the Living Dead.”
Says the title?
Claims it’s a title song?
Good enough for me, internet be damned.
Now, if George Edward Otthimself reaches out to me and says…
“No, ya moron. Listen to that chorus! Obviously the title of the song is “The Dead Are Are After Me.” What kind of idiot are you?
…then I’ll stand down. But until that day, I’m holding fast. This is a Title Track.
Either way, it’s a great little lo-fi piece of analog rock accompaniment that definitely belongs on this playlist, under any name.
As for the film, it’s a crack up. Featuring Flick from A Christmas Story as a industrious young inventor who accidentally turns his Grandfather’s laserdisc player into a death ray. Score.
There’s this Doctor on some prison island, and he’s turning dead convicts into Zombies, as ya do. That gets a little hairy and they’re running amuck. Then a reporter and a local librarian (yeah, it’s that kinda movie) get webbed up in this zombie business, but eventually they team up with Gramps and his recurve bow and Flick with his laser ray to save the day.
Top all that off with a Title Track like this, and you got yourself a kind of a winner.
If you’re a Shindig Radio fan, you’re no doubt familiar with our next tune, which we clowned around on pretty heavily during Title Tracks Part 4 last season.
It’s Teenage Exorcist, the Title Track which says the name of the film incessantly, while never really talking about the film at all. Even the title doesn’t make any sense. There’s an exorcist, but he’s hardly a teenager, played by 66 year old Count Yorga thespian, Robert Quarry.
Additionally, I’m not sure anyone appearing in the film is even in their 20’s, much less a teenager. Brinke Steven, whom the exorcism is performed on, was 37 at the time. Pizza delivery “boy” Eddie Deezen was 34. So much for that, I suppose.
Though, to clarify our “uninformed” query from that episode, this box art here to your right seems to suggest that, yes, someone (at least someone in marketing anyway) did in fact consider Deezen to be the “teenage” exorcist. Ok then.
Whomever this song is about, it’s a fun tune which, as Mikey and Graham so easily illustrated, can perfectly accommodate any 5 syllable movie title.
So try it out with your favorite 5 syllable movie title while we rock a little closer to Halloween 2021!
Since we’re talking about 80’s Monster comedies, and that subject is near and dear to my heart, let’s keep that theme running with our next track.
Way back in 2013, when the Halloween Shindig blog was in it’s infancy, we dropped Maria Vidal’sHands Off from the film Once Bitten. It’s a prominent feature in the film, which plays during the very memorable 3-way dance-off between Lauren Hutton, Kim Coppins and a young Jim Carrey.
Now, why it’s taken 8 years to get that same film’s Title Track in the rotation is anyone guess, particularly since it’s been in the bullpen since before The Shindig ever made its way to the internet. For shame.
This one comes from the relatively unknown synth-pop band out of Boston called 3 Speed. They were pretty much a local act until they’re manager randomly sent a demo tape off to MGM. So impressed, the studio immediately flew the band out to do some recording for a new film.
They enjoyed some moderate success after this tune too, opening for the likes of Pat Benatar, but they were never offered a full-on record deal. Mostly, they just appeared on film soundtracks. Their song Cry can be heard in the Linda Blair’s awesome crossbow ladened revenge actioner, Savage Streets. Packed among all the tunes in bizarro 80’s sci-fi musical Voyage of the Rock Aliens is their song Back on the Streets. And Wind Me Up is featured in 1986’s BMX freakout, Rad – a movie I love that I’ll probably have to crowbar into an Action Distractions episode at some point.
But for now, let’s keep this spooky with 3 Speedand their synth pop title tracks Once Bitten.
So, yesterday I talked about how Child’s Play and My Mom’s a Werewolf both contain the same song by D.B. Night. Now that’s a rather obscure track to be featured on either soundtrack, to be sure. But both? That’s even more bizarre.
On the surface, Child’s Play and My Mom’s a Werewolf don’t have much else in common. Although only 6 months separate their releases, they’re both produced, written and directed by completely different people.
However, if you dig a bit deeper, a common name appears, and it’s music supervisor David Chackler.
And Chackler’s no slouch, as he’s responsible for uniting Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks with Fleetwood Mac, bringing Queen to the United States and recording 2 Live Crew.
In the early 80’s David began working as a music supervisor in Hollywood. And if you take a browse through his storied filmography, a lot of Shindiggery starts making a lot more sense.
First and foremost, he was the music supervisor for Quiet Cool in 1986. Then in 1987, he provided that same duty for Dream Warriors, which draws an immediately line from the replacement of Dokken’sInto The Fire with an instrumental version of Joe Lamont’sQuiet Cool for the opening credits of Dream Warriors’ home video release. Pretty nifty.
Now flashback to 1985 and you’ll see David was the music supervisor for Tom Holland’s original horror hit, Fright Night. That film features one of the greatest title tracks of all time by the J. Geils Band. But do you know who actually wrote that song? Why it was Joe Lamont.
Sidestepping Joe Lamont for a moment, consider that David Chackler was the also supervisor on 1986’s rap classic Knights of the City. That movie, if you’re not familiar, features an awesome jail cell performance from Kurtis Blow and The Fat Boys. Well, guess what? David Chackler was also the music supervisor on A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4 and is directly responsible for TheFat Boys doing Are You Ready for Freddy. That alone makes this guy a Shindig legend, you ask me.
And speaking of The Dream Master, guess who also shows up on that soundtrack? Yep, it’s Joe Lamont, writing and performing a song called Pride and Joy.
And, since it’s what we’re here talking about, is Joe Lamont featured in My Mom’s a Werewolf? You bet he is, singing (as it happens) a version of his very own Fright Night!
I’m sorry, what?! And it’s playing a during a Halloween party? Get right outta town. I need to hunt down this version of that tune, pronto. Though I must say, my initial surface search proved fruitless. When (and if) I find it though, you’ll definitely be the first to know.
Considering all of this, it perhaps comes as less of a surprise that both Child’s Play and My Mom’s a Werewolf each feature the song I’m Hangin’ by 80’s heavy-hitters D.B. Night. David Chackler makes it happen.
And then, connecting these 2 films even further is our next Shindigger, You Bring Out the Werewolf in Me, written and performed by Simon Stokes, whom some of you may know as the guy behind The Chucky Song. Yep, same the track unceremoniously axed from…Child’s Play.
Filling the same role here, Simon’s light hearted track plays over the end credits in much the same way The Chucky Song should have. I guess the producers all felt it was more appropriate at the end of something like My Mom’s a Werewolf, and I can’t say I disagree.
Here’s Simon getting straight beastly with You Bring Out the Werewolf In Me!
