Apparently only one, but it’s a doozy!
Christmas is officially over, and little Ricky’s face is priceless. Catch more of Ricky’s nonsense in Silent Night, Deadly 2, and more tunes from the Shindig coming soon.
But for now, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Man, fuck this door…
Santa! It’s…..gee it’s just what I always wanted,…a bloody piece of material evidence in a quadruple homicide.
Yeah, just hanging out on Christmas, gettin’ drunk, making some Silent Night, Deadly Night gifs…..what of it?
Possibly the greatest reaction in horror history.
Keep in mind, this guy later goes on to kill 10 people in a few short hours.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
It’s Christmas morning! Were you good this year? Well, it doesn’t matter, because Santa is here.
As disturbing as that may sound, here’s some consolation, in the form of another Morgan Ames Christmas tune from Silent Night, Deadly Night, The Warm Side of the Door.
This is the only other song which appears in the movie in its entirety. If anyone has this soundtrack, or knows where I might be able to procure it (if indeed it even exists) drop me a line, cause I need some of the other gems from this flick.
There’s always people who love you, to kiss you and hug you, on the warm side of the door.
Now, while I have no idea what this actually means, it’s a nice Christmas sentiment (I think) and the montage that accompanies it is one of the nicer moments in Silent Night, Deadly Night.
In a film where Christmas horrors of all kinds abound, this montage offers us a glimpse into Billy’s life away from the nightmare that is Christmas; where he merrily stacks boxes, lifts small children to reach toys, declines booze in favor of milk, and straightens ends caps directly after punching out, to the well deserved nods of his boss.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, this montage wraps up just in time for Christmas, when Billy’s pleasant disposition will soon transform into murderous punishment.
So, before that can happen, take a moment, maybe with a brother, to enjoy the warm side of the door,…before its kicked in by the shiny boot of Santa and an ax is lodged in your chest.
Merry Christmas Tumblr, or the warm side of the door, as I’m now calling it.
The first Silent Night, Deadly Night track I have to offer is Morgan Ames’ “Santa’s Watching,” just in time for your Christmas Eve.
This is an unsettling song which plays throughout, and is even referred to within, the movie. Not unlike a normal Christmas song, “Santa’s Watching” is a festive carol about how Santa is creeping, and watching, and knowing exactly whether you’ve been good or bad. However, in the context of the movie, coupled with it’s slightly off lyrics, this song becomes a holiday nightmare.
Merry Christmas Eve. I hope you’ve been good all year.
This is indeed a Halloween blog. More specifically, its a blog concerning a Halloween playlist of custom songs I’ve created over the last 10 years. However tonight is Christmas Eve, so I believe a brief yuletide interlude is in order.
For the Halloween or monster fiend, there is no shortage of holiday horror offerings to satiate their blood-lust this time of year. Be it Bob Clark’s ground-breaking Black Christmas, Britain’s sleazy Don’t Open Til Christmas, the fantastically bizarre Christmas Evil, or more ridiculous and underrated creature offerings like Evles or Jack Frost.
Easily my favorite however is 1984’s notorious Silent Night, Deadly Night, which has recently gone under the not-exactly-a-remake knife in the form of Silent Night. I’ll pass, thank you very much.
Of all the greatness that is this film – childhood trauma, Santa murder, Santa rape, regular rape, strangulation, antler murder, random-ass bow and arrow murder, grunting ax-throwing, topless Linnea Quigley, sledding decapitation, scary grandpas, excessive tiger paintings, Jabba the Hutt toys, plus 2 different Santas being gunned down in front of children by inept police officers – perhaps my favorite aspect is still its unique Christmas music, some of which the film tries to pass off as legitimate holiday fare.
These songs are not, however, traditional, or found anywhere else for that matter. So for Christmas this year, I thought I give Tumblr some of these songs. Merry Christmas internet.
TRACK #8:
Scream! by The Misfits
“Blasphemy!”
Yeah, I might just say that too, cause I know what you’re thinkin’, “Newfits? For real? You haven’t even posted any actual Misfits songs yet, and you’re coming with some Newfits bullshit?”
All I can say to that is, I like the actual Misfits more, so they’re buried deeper in the playlist, for when everyone’s good and sauced up and the stragglers have had time to settle in. And don’t worry, there’s no shortage of classic Misfits tracks on Halloween Shindig.
Say what you want about this secondary incarnation of The Misfits, they had some good tunes. Tunes that are kind of hard for a Halloween playlist to straight up ignore. Tunes like today’s track for instance, entitled Scream!
Despite its (perhaps) misleading name, the song is actually an ode to William Castle’s wonderful 1959 classic The Tingler, about a terrible creature living inside all of you, which feeds on fear, and grows up your spine and into your brain! A creature that can only be stopped by the sound of screaming!
It’s a great premise, and it makes for one hell of a bizarre and imaginative film. Castle, master of the in-theater gimmick, made it even more fun by rigging some of the seats with vibrators to give certain audience members a special jolt at the right moment. 3D? Fuck all that shit, this is Percepto!
The lead-in for this is none other than Williams Castle’s own introduction to the film. Oh, and that’s Bart screaming at the end from Treehouse of Horror IV’s “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace” segment. Enjoy!
Thanks for all the love this morning, weeners. I thank you with my custom Van Helsing “Cool Story Bro.” Use it wisely.
We’ve barely touched the tip of the tip of this iceberg, so there’s definitely more Halloween awesomeness to come. Keep it locked to Halloween Shindig for all the tracks you didn’t even know you needed.
TRACK #7:
Motel Hell by Blitzkid
At #7 comes a band with plenty of representation on the Shindig; perennial monster-rockers Blitzkid.
When every album’s track listing reads like a “Gory Horror Movies from the 80’s” category on Netflix, your band is kind of hard to ignore if making a Halloween playlist.
First cut from these guys? Motel Hell, which details the goings-ons of Farmer Vincent (the wonderful Rory Calhoun) as he minces up out-of-town lodgers at his Motel Hello (its neon sign, of course, has a blown out O.)
He stores and cultivates these lodgers in a garden out back, like some kind of nightmarish cabbage patch, then uses their bodies to make assorted meat products for the locals, whom all love Farmer Vincent’s treats.
Motel Hell is a great piece of early 80’s horror that’s funny, sometimes startling and always a blast to watch. Any movie where a dude wearing a pig’s head gets into a chainsaw fight with another dude that also has a chainsaw is some must-see shit. In fact, if you haven’t seen Motel Hell, you should,…right now.
Monster Makers: Adam Dougherty
We wanted to give Adam’s work a more dedicated plug, because it’s incredible, retro and extra Halloweeny, and that’s right up our alley. And if you’re looking at this blog, it’s probably right up yours too.
Click the pictures to check out his Flickr Photostream.
So what the hell is a Shock Monster anyway? Here’s a little back story on this fiend:
The Shock Monster was an old Topstone mask that was advertised in the rag Famous Monsters of Filmland. Essentially a generic zombie mask, it was supposedly named as such to cash in on the then popularity of Shock! Theater.
He was notorious for looking totally badass in the magazine,
and looking totally less badass when he arrived at your door.
Now, while this mask is pretty awesome and horrifying in its own right, I could imagine being pretty disappointed if I was expecting something akin to the former, particularly if I was a 10 year old and I’d been waiting for this thing for a few weeks.
Over the years many people have re-sculpted the Shock Monster to better capture the essence of its original ad, or to put their own spin on it. One of my favorite incarnation of Shock was created by a buddy of mine named Adam Dougherty. Recently, he displayed it at 2012’s Monsterpalooza convention in Burbank, CA. It’s 7 and a 1/2 feet tall, totally badass, and not at all disappointing.
Track #6:
Shockmonster Stomp by The Ghastly Ones
Since we’re already stomping, let’s stomp some more with a little help from The Ghastly Ones, a monster surf outfit from Van Nuys, California.
I love surf music, but on the whole it doesn’t lend itself terribly well to Halloween, unless you’re talking about The Ghastly Ones that is; oozing as they are with model kit and Shock! Theater imagery. Their drummer, Norman Cabrera, is even a special FX artist, and they were originally released on Rob Zombie’s Zombie-A-Go-Go label. Now that’s all pretty Halloween if you ask me.
And if that’s not enough, this track in particular amps up the Halloweeniness a couple notches with its harpsichord and theremin sounds; all the spookiness to take our Shindig in decidedly ghastly direction. Keep stompin’!
TRACK #5:
The Sinister Stomp by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers
Alright, so we got a theme, a bumper, a genuine Halloween song, and a track from a horror movie; sounds to me like it’s time for a good ole fashion monster song.
While The Monster Mash is probably the likely choice, we’ve got some time before cracking that chestnut. However, Bobby “Boris” Pickett and his Crypt Kickers are gonna get some early respect here just the same. From The Original Monster Mash album (a fun Holiday album all around. Hell, there’s even a Christmas song on that fucker for christ’s sake,) comes The Sinister Stomp.
I’m not exactly sure what the hell Yanush is suppose to be (a zombie, a ghoul?) but he’s definitely the focal point of this song, having tripped Boris one night in a graveyard causing him to invent the titular dance, which I believe just involves Boris repeatedly stomping his heal into this thing’s back. An act which somehow manages to keeps him alive, yet also makes him a more efficient employee apparently. Oh, and run.
Yeah, the logic isn’t the easiest to follow, but it’s pretty damn Halloweeny all the same, featuring the usual ghouls from Igor to Frankie, plus it’s got a catchy Runaround Sue style beat, which I enjoy a great deal.
So, c’mon, do The Sinister Stomp. It’s good for the soul.