Much like Halloween, Dennis Michael Tenney has been on the All-Star roster without proper representation for some time now.
And just like Halloween, we’re gonna make it official for him in 2018.
Of all Dennis’ many contributions to his brother Kevin’s Class of 1988 valedictorian Night of the Demons, Computer Date may be the most curious.
It’s featured prominently, and basically in its entirety, when the gang first arrives and starts partying down at Angela’s Hull House Halloween Hootenanny.
But why this cut? Lord knows. It’s definitely a rocking little tune suitable for the scene and pretty danceable. Evidence to it’s 80’s danceablity can be seen hereand here.
But it’s a strange sort of song. Kinda feels like something Dennis had laying around with enough of a beat to work with the scene. Not a problem necessarily, but what is this track all about?
What sounds like a pretty standard song about using a computer dating service turns into, I think, a bizarre situation where Dennis is fucking a robot.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong please, cause I’m genuinely unsure what exactly is happening in this song. She talks a little roboticly, about “stereo taping” the fucking and playing it back. And apparently they need a whole reel-to-reel, which to me indicates a fair amount of fucking.
I’m not sure if we’re told who or what she is exactly, but what we do know is that she can take some abuse without blowing a fuse. That sounds like that could be robot talk, but could just be metaphoric too.
The problem for me occurs around the line
“When I asked them what they thought made her so different
From any other girl I’d meet on the street.”
This could be a great indicator as to what’s happening, but for the life of me I can not figure out what the hell Dennis is saying.
I think it’s
” they said believe it or not,
she’ll come with drive and a slot
and that’s a combination never to beat.”
I dunno, kinda sounds like he’s fucking a robot.
Or just a chick that’s ready to go, I guess, and it’s all a double entendre.
I think his “computer” date is the computer. But I have absolutely no idea if that’s what he’s actually saying.
Maybe it’s just me. I dunno. Maybe I’m a pervert and I’m adding all this weird robot sex shit where it isn’t, but I’m not sure. Maybe I’ve just been watchin’ too much Westworld. I am pretty infatuated with both Clementine and Angela…so
Whatever the hell is happening, it’s always a pleasure to hear Dennis Michael, and at 3 tracks, that officially add him The Shindig All-Star Team,
Now batting, center fielder Dennis Michael Tenney with Computer Date.
Have you ever seen Night Train to Terror? Well, if you have, I’m sure you were plenty confused by this bizarre and hastily edited repackaging effort passed off as a horror anthology.
See, unlike your typical anthology, Night Train to Terror is actually 3 separate and preexisting films, pared down to near incoherence and slapped together with a wraparound featuring God and Mr. Satan fighting over souls aboard a train headed to Las Vegas,…or Hell, or both, or maybe that’s just the same place.
Either way, it’s kinda like Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, only there’s no Peter Cushing and it makes way less sense.
Despite how that sounds, Night Train to Terroris actually awesome. But that’s only because the movies it cuts up contain awesome things, well the parts they kept anyway. You get some legit gore, weird Satanists, nudity, a gnarly beheading, Nazis, some bitchin’ stop motion monsters, a budget Jimi Hendrix, Cameron Mitchell, and Richard Moll…twice! Which, I admit, sort of adds to the illusion that all of this was carefully crafted.
But, that’s not really Night Train to Terror’s doing, right? Well, maybe the stop motion is…I think. Hell, maybe even some of the gore is too. I dunno really, but here’s a claymation Richard Moll getting blasted by devil magic into a giant cross.Regardless of what’s actually new, it was Night Train to Terror that made the decision to use these 3 films and trim (read: hack) the fat (read: any sense the plots might have otherwise made) into whatever it is you’re presented with. Though, since I’ve never seen the individual films (Marylin Alive and Behind Bars, Death Wish Club and Cataclysm) I can’t say for sure, but what you get hints at maybe treasures to be discovered.
The only substantial thing Night Train to Terror is really bringing to the table is the same thing that brings it to The Shindig’s table – the incomprehensible and ridiculous Everybody But You aka, that really “annoying” song the film keeps cutting back to every 20 minutes.
And when I say ridiculous, I mean that in the least figurative way possible. This band looks and act so stereotypically 80’s you’ll swear you’re watching a sketch show parody of a generic 80’s group filmed in like 2010. But it’s not. It’s real. It’s the genuine article.
Leg warmers, big belts, teased hair, spandex, head bands, bold colors, low-rent breakdancing, a girl on a drum kit even though that’s probably a Linndrum you’re hearing and a guy holding a bass guitar when that bass line is 100% from a Juno-6.
Now, I put annoying in quotations above because that seems to be the general consensus regarding this track. Naturally, this is not how The Shindig feels however. Far from it.
By all accounts, its definitely a kind of annoying. It’s catchy and horrendously repetitive, but it’ll hammer its limited and frivolous lyrics deep into your brain and live there maybe even forever. It makes absolutely no sense in the context of the film (though a valiant effort is made) and seems completely out of place. Which sort of makes itself make sense, as this whole movie feels out of context, because essentially, that’s exactly what it is.
And just when you think you have heard the last of this song, it returns, between each segment, like an unwanted neighbor. But take solace! For the song will end when “Satan’s Cannonball” finally crashes into its final destination, killing everyone on board.
Oh wait, what? They’re singing again? How? Why? Oh,…God has spared their souls, huh? Well, at least the credits are rolling now. We’ll be saved by the score taking over, right?
Yeah, for about 40 seconds. And then, like the dishes in your sink, Everybody But You inexplicably returns to haunt you again.
Aside for his contribution to Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers, and this (almost) title track for the 3rd installment, I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of info floating around about 80’s rocker John Altyn.
I guess he wasn’t a fan. As you’ll hear in the song, that “Same old story” part toward the end was John taking a little jab at the script for Teenage Wasteland, which I guess he thought was pretty lame.
Can’t say I blame him really. As a franchise, Sleepaway Camp was never all that compelling, and I think there’s a little bit of a noticeable dip for the 3rd installment. And if you’re familiar with Sleepaway Camp IV’s troubles, or have ever seen the ret-conned and wildly uneven bootquel Return to Sleepaway Camp, you know things didn’t follow an upward trajectory.
But as far as late cycle slasher films go, it’s honestly not terrible. Pamela Springstein’s Angela is still very charming and is a pleasure to watch as she does her best here to have some fun with the overtly campy material.
The kills are all rather lazy and not terribly explicit. It takes place almost exclusively in broad daylight and all at a very leisurely, almost blase pace. It’s not to be taken all that seriously though, and for that we can cut it a fair amount of slack. It’s the Angela show, and for that it works well enough.
This song however, is pretty kick ass. It’s a “sweet song,” used during the end credits of the film. This is a term I just learned from John himself in the above interview, and will henceforth use constantly. In fact, I may even update The Shindig categories and add Sweet Songs. I love that this has a term, and there’s tons of them all over The Shindig.
Here’s the Sweet Song from Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, John Altyn’sSleepaway.
You’re Just What I’ve Been Looking For (Angela’s Theme) by Frank Vinci
Let’s take a little canoe ride from Camp Blackfoot across the lake to Camp Arawak for a 2 days overnighter with Angela Baker at Sleepaway Camp.
Mostly known for having the creepiest fuckin’ side-swipe ending of any generic Friday the 13thknockoff, Sleepaway Camp spawned several sequels and holds it own as a franchise that was able to climb out of Jason’s long shadow.
I’d love to post a gif, but I’d hate to spoil this for anyone that’s never seen it.
Ah, fuck it. This shit is 35 years old. If you haven’t seen this by now, I don’t know what to tell you, it’s just gonna get spoiled. Cause we can’t talk about Sleepaway Camp without talking about this ending. It’s the only thing that really differentiates Sleepaway Camp from any number of faceless Friday clones.Horrifying.
Seriously. This shit still gets under my skin all these years later.
I had the fortune of seeing Sleepaway Camp long ago enough so that is wasn’t spoiled for me, and at an age where it could do maximum damage. And it did.
With the benefit of hindsight and the ever shifting opinions of a thankfully progressive culture , Sleepaway Camp tends to be filed these days as a crass artifact of Transphobia, much the same way De Palma’s Dressed to Kill is now criticized.
And the argument is certainly tenable. If the image of a someone presenting as a female but also having a penis was not frightening to you before, Sleepaway Camp certainly goes to some lengths making sure it forever will be. But, while I think that certainly supports an argument against the film, I think you can also cite some those same lengths as reasons why it isn’t perhaps wholly Transoygnist.
Like any good horror tale, Sleepaway Camp takes a social phobia (right or wrong) and uses it as a basis to create horror for its audience. I’m not sure the film is saying anything overt about that fear though. Is it exploitive? Definitely. But I don’t think it’s an out an out condemnation. But maybe that doesn’t matter. It’s certainly not sympathetic, but films from the early 80’s rarely were toward minority concerns. I don’t think that afford’s Sleepaway Camp a full-on pass, but maybe a modicum latitude in context. We can’t expect art of the past to reflect attitudes of the present, but we needn’t aggrandize harmful and outdated representations either.
Because you could (and many do) argue that simply using transgenderism as a source of horror is wildly insensitive. You could also argue that by making a transgender character a violent and horrifying freak because of their transgenderism, and then having the other characters react as such, is just flat-out irresponsible and transphobic. Thus you could easily condemn the entire film for perpetuating a negative cultural view of transgenderism as a whole and that would be totally valid.
I think part of Sleepaway Camp’s potential defense though, could be that Angela’s transgenderism does not come from within her, but from an external source. She is forced into it by her adoptive aunt. Being abused into identifying as any gender against your will is flat out wrong and itself horrifying. Almodovar’s similarly criticized The Skin I Live In also comes to mind here.
Considering this, one might argue that Sleepaway Camp is perhaps even pro-transgender rights; a cautionary tale of the dangers (figurative or literal – mental or physical) of forcing anyone to present as a gender which with they do not identify. Maybe the biggest takeaway from Sleepaway Camp, intentional or not, is to just let people be who they are instead of forcing them to be who we believe them to be. We are not them.
Additionally (for me anyway) the least horrifying aspect of this ending is the reveal of Angela’s gender. Sure, it’s part and parcel to the whole scene and its endurance, but there are several elements at work which give this scene its haunting quality. You could say they are thus making the transgender reveal horrifying, hence the argument against it. But I would say they are the factors, and not the reveal, which actually make this scene so horrifying. That might just be splitting hairs though.
Firstly, there’s the music. The piercing brass stabs are enough to set your teeth on edge by themselves.
Then there’s the build up. It’s abrupt and clumsy, but Aunt Martha’s characterization is so over the top and cartoonishly creepy, it is enough to give you the willies in context.
This is then followed by Angela’s guttural moaning. She says nothing. There’s no pleads of innocence, no explanations, just a heaving and animalistic breathing that send shivers down my spine still.
Then, the most effective part of this sequence, that wide shot. While this of course features the gender reveal, it is Angela’s frozen gaze which I’m most disturbed by here.
This shot was made possible by life casting actress Felissa Rose’s face in the making of that same horrifying look. Then, they turned that cast into a mask which was worn by a male actor. For me, this is the most upsetting part of the whole reveal; Angela’s static expression, made doubly creepy (and doubly static) by this horrifying mask.
It’s just stays there, frozen. And then the film freeze frames on Felissa Rose’s actual face and rolls the credits.
Credits over which you will hear this Shindigger, a creepy synth pop number seemingly written specifically for the film.
So, whether or not this ending, or Sleepaway Camp as a whole, is something you find totally offensive and reprehensible, you can’t deny that it causes a deep emotional response, and that is something you don’t always get from this sort of lower-tier, copycat effort. And maybe that alone is worth the legacy.
If you’re a fan of Yes, meandering 70’s Prog Rock or early control voltage wielders, chances are you’re familiar with rock keyboardists, pioneer synthesist and cape enthusiast Rick Wakeman.
This guy crushed a Model D in the late 70’s and basically made that sucker a household name, laying down lead-lines with a sound that defined an era in rock. Check him out here being all weird and Wakemany.
If you’re a fan of 80’s slashers, then chances are you’re familiar with the intersection of these 2 forces of nature, 1981’s summer camp nightmare, TheBurning.
The producers in America, who had already begun lifting moves wholesale from the Italians, no doubt hired well-known keyboard maestro Wakeman to add a bit of that proggy sonic spaghetti sauce to the mix. And Rick delivered.
The entire score of The Burningis great, if you’re into that type of 70’s-style organ and Minimoog noodling. A lot of it just kinda sounds like the solo from Yes’ Roundabout, but I’m certainly not complaining and it suits the film just fine.
The tale is a simple one, as real Northeastern campfire-legend Cropsy gets the big screen treatment. Here, he takes the form of a cruel camp caretaker who is accidentally burned alive by some prankster kids he’s been drunkenly harassing. Naturally, this turns into fodder for the campfire tale circuit. Cause…ya know,…they never found Cropsy’s body…and he’s still out there,..waiting for his revenge.
While on the surface it might seem like just a straight up clone of Friday the 13th (particularly Part 2, which it shares and uncanny resemblance to) The Burning was supposedly written and copyrighted in 1979. This was done by none other than Mr. Bob Weinstein, co-founder of genre label Dimension Films and brother to Co-Producer and recently run-out-of-town-on-the-rails-for-things-like-probably-getting-real-handsy-with-the-young-girls-on-this-very-set Harvey Weinstein. In fact, The Burning was one of the first major productions for the newly minted Miramax Films and was instrumental in getting the company off the ground.
From the peak of the 80’s slasher boom, and cited by many as being a fine and prime example of the genre and the era, The Burningis also notable for kick-starting the careers of not only The Weinstein’s, but of a young Helen Hunt, Jason “George Can’t-Stands-Ya” Alexander, Brian “Rat” Backer, Fisher “Johnny 5” Stevens and Ned “Holy Shit, Where Do I Know That Guy From?” Eisenberg.
Top that off with a ghastly burn makeup and some fresh-off-the-Friday The 13th-set FX wizardry from Tom Savini and you’ve got a button-hook pattern that reads like it’s ripped from the “How to Make a Successful 80’s Slasher Movie” playbook.
The only thing missing is an iconic, Prophet-5-slingin’ synth theme to really tie the whole thing together.
I love finding dusty, old songs called Halloween by forgotten metal bands.
It’s always the same exhilarating rush and it’s happened a number of times over the years. Bands like Halloween, Ostrogoth and Hallows Eve have all presented themselves to me in this way. Rest assured there are others whom have yet to have their day on The Shindig.
But, just when I think there couldn’t possibly be any more, I’ll discover a completely new one, as though through my own sheer will I’ve conjured it into existence.
Such solipsistic tripe is absolute nonsense, but I can’t help but feel that wave wash over me all the same, and it’s a bizarre feeling for a paranoid sort such as myself. Did all of these songs really already exist? Am I just now finding them because the playlist needs them? Is it synchronicity or something else? Frankly, I don’t think it really matters, so long as we can hear the tunes.
This was the case when I unearthed 3 new ones a few years back. Of course, due to the nature of the playlist, it’s accompanying blog and my stupid, now mathematically erroneous “every 20th, no wait, now every 10th song” clause, these treasures must be issued out slowly over time. Glad I didn’t decide on every 31st song, as would have been more appropriate.
But today, we’ve come to the moment for Iron Cross to step into the jack-o-lantern’s spotlight.
Formed in Pensacola Florida in 1979, Iron Cross played across their home state and Georgia amassing a sizable fan base before releasing a self titled album in 1986. The ensuing years saw more extensive touring, self promotion, and other EPs including “Die Like That” and “Halloween.” Unfortunately, these seeds of hard work did not blossom into wider recognition for Iron Cross.
As with every metal band tearing shit up in the 80’s, the grunge and alt rock scene of the early 90’s took the wind right out of their black sails. Iron Cross disbanded, like their fellow Halloween brethren, only to be born anew once Nu Metal and Corporate Pop totally ruined everything in the late 90’s and early 2000s. Suddenly, as if emerging from a curious slumber, everyone realized that shit was garbage and longed for the days of thrashing flying V leads and falsetto vocals. Iron Cross could rise again!
They reformed, released new compilations of unreleased material, got the self titled album pressed to CD and hit the road once more.
Though this song has appeared in some form on just about every release they’ve had since their 1986 debut, The Shindig has chosen to use the cover from their 2000 compilation simply titled “Iron Cross” because it has a skeleton shooting lasers out of it’s eyes at an actual iron cross, and that fucking rules.
Look at that drawing. Can you think of anything you’d rather have on your album than that? I know I certainly can’t.
Coming in hard at #190, it’s Iron Cross with….of course…Halloween.
PS: For some sample accompaniment, we decided to finally tap into Halloween 5aka Halloween: A Burned and Now Insane Loomis Repeatedly Screams at a Poor, Frightened 9 Year Old Girl and Uses Her As Bait to Ensnare a Homicidal Al Pacino-Masked Murderer With Whom She Suddenly Shares a Psychic Link.
Boycott ret-conned bullshit! Say “no” to unnumbered sequels and reboots! Stand tall against the repeated and failed attempts to rewrite Michael’s history! This is the true legacy…horrible masks and goofy family sub-plots and all!
Ok, that Rosemary’s Baby stuff was a little heavy, so to lighten things up a bit, we’re gonna go in the complete opposite direction…or are we?
The Real Ghostbusters fought a fair share of spooks over their 7 season run. So, it should come as no surprise that they had a few different Halloween encounters.
Here, this Franken-headed fuck-face named Dr. Crowley wants to end Halloween forever. He even has his own cheeseball coalition of concerned buttinskis called Citizens United Against Halloween. What a dork. He then tries to enlist The Ghostbusters to provide the assist, but the GB’s ain’t down with that shit.
In fact, they’re so not down with that shit, they show up for a school assembly and bust out this rockin’ Halloween track just to show you what’s up.
Now, I know I’m a bit paranoid, and doing this blog over the years has certainly put me in a weird spot mentally over the nature of Halloween, it’s origins and all the media surrounding it. But, I gotta be honest here, I get a weird vibe from this. Like a Halloween 3 vibe. And that’s weird.
Maybe it’s all the Stonehenge and Celtic imagery, or maybe it’s the extolling of “old magic,” but it seems pretty bizarre. Because, I mean, why the fuck are some cartoon ghost police talking to kids about old magic anyway?
It’s weird, right? What are they saying, and why? And to kids? And is that weird? I dunno, but it sure makes me feel a little weird.
Doesn’t stop me from rocking out though, ’cause this is a Halloween jammer, for sure. You got the whole gang singing, with assembly attendees dancing in costume and Egon here rocking out on a modified Poly-800 while Slimer and his buddies turn into these weird Irish-green Jack-Lantern sperms. It’s all very festive…and probably totally weird.
We wrap it up in the same fashion the show does, with that Halloween prick Dr. Crowley firing up his Electronic, Positronic, Anti-Halloween Machine and…ending Halloween forever, Or opening up The Halloween Door?
Here’s another classic example of referencing a horror classic without actually talking about the movie at all, from Shindig All-Stars and referential magicians, The Misfits.
Sure, it might be called a Horror Hotel, but God knows what Danzig’s actually talking about here, because it’s not the 1963 Christopher Lee film.
What we do know is that it’s definitely about a hotel and some bad shit’s going down there, maybe even some horror. Particularly in Room 21, where all the underworld scum seem to congregate. Can’t say I know of any specific Room 21s from horror lore, but I’d be open to suggestions about what other references Glenn might be bandying about. Though I’ll wager it’s probably used simply because “Room 36” doesn’t rhyme with “scum.”
But that was sort of Glenn’s deal. Name a song after a classic movie and then whip up some lyrics that sort of jive with the mood that title conjured. Unless of course you’re talking about Return of the Fly, which basically reads like a Videohound entry of the film of the same name, right down to listing of its actors and characters.
None of that really matters though, does it? I mean, at least not where The Misfits are concerned. Personally, I rather like that these songs are less overt in their referential nature. Something like Blitzkid’sCandyman lacks any of that artistic (?) subtlety, opting to bludgeon you with lyrics so simple and childlike, it sort of takes something away.
You get none of that from Danzig and Co., and as such are gifted that wonderful space of ambiguity and interpretation.
Plus, it give us the opportunity to cram that space with plenty of samples from the song’s namesakes. Couldn’t do that if they just named the song Room 21, now could we?
No Halloween on Halloween Shindig would be complete without a Halloween Song called Halloween. This year it’s from Belgian metalers Ostrogoth.
If you’ve never heard of them, don’t feel down, I’m pretty sure unless you were a serious hesher in 1985, you probably haven’t. And if they didn’t have a song called Halloween, I probably wouldn’t either.
Wading in the dregs of 80’s euro-metal stands a band named after a sect of the East Germanic Goths, partially responsible for the fall of the Western Roman Empire! Do these guys know how to party, or what!?
Partiers or not, they know how to Halloween. And they’re Halloweening hard here with a song so spooky it even features a creepy Devil voice.
Loaded with clips from Halloween 4, cause we haven’t tapped that keg yet, and because Don LaFontaine absolutely kills on this trailer.
I’ve seen Halloween 4. I don’t much care for Halloween 4, but every time I hear Don’s voiceover, I forget how much I don’t actually care for Halloween 4 and almost throw it on.
When they wanted to provide some damage control from the consumer fallout of Halloween III…they weren’t fuckin’ around.
“Ever since that night, no one…has forgotten his name…and Halloween…has never been the same.”
Chariots of the Pumpkinsby John Carpenter and Alan Howarth
Speaking of perfect ways to start of an October 31st, lets move to this selection from the (unjustly) lesser-lauded Halloween 3, a film so damn Halloweeny, it practically out-Halloweens every other film in a series called Halloween. No small feat.
When John and Michael parted ways in 1978, the money guys weren’t content to just let that be the end of the Myers tale. John didn’t want any part of a sequel though, and declined to direct, being more creatively inspired to explore new stories, like The Fog. Allegedly, he only agreed to pen the script so he could recoup some money following the original, from which he claims he never saw much in the way of profit. Additionally, he co-produced the sequel and provided some scoring, no doubt assisting in that aim.
By the time the inevitable Halloween III rolled around, John finally got his wish, and they produced a Halloween-themed film, completely separate from Michael Myers. But it seems it was just a little too little, too late. Needless to say, the fans were not pleased.
However, Halloween III is superior to just about every other sequel in the rather disappointing and hum-drum franchise that is Halloween. And of the many things it has going for it, it’s score stands proudly among them.
A collaboration again between Carpenter and long-time musical partner Alan Howarth, this score honestly feels more Carpenter-esque (in my estimation) than the one they provided for Halloween 2. Perhaps Howarth is more instrumental to that sound we call “Carpenter’s” than he’s given due credit for.
This is an 80’s, synth-drenched sound that just reverberates “horror.” And if October 31st sounds like anything, Chariots of Pumpkins might be a perfect descriptor.
This is Stevie Wayne here, your night light, on fabulous 1340 Shindig Radio, spinning the tunes for you all October long.
Halloween is just around the corner now, and I’ve got a solid block of spooky synth songs to shake your Samhain soiree. No singin’, just the smooth buzz of oscillating vibrations to give you and your guests the shivers.
This first one goes out to the men on the Seagrass. Watch out for that fog bank you’ll say isn’t there until all of a sudden it is. It’s filled with ghost pirates, and Garfield won’t be there to bail you out.
Unil then, keep it here on Shindig Radio, and we’ll take you right into the witching hour.
The word “Samhain,” as many of you may know, is pronounced Sah-win, or Sow-Ween. A Celtic word, it was the name of a festival marking the beginning of winter, or perhaps more astutely, the end of the year.
It is said that during this time the veil between the living and the dead is at it most thin, making communion with the spirits, whether wanted or unwanted, all the more successful.
Huge bonfires would be lit to ward off evil. Disguises would be worn to trick them, and lights would burn in gourds to ferry the spirits of loved ones long gone home.
Many of the customs associated with modern day Halloween originate from this festival. Mumming or guising and going door to door in search of offerings being chief among them.
As for Samhain the band, they were formed in 1983 by Glenn Danzig as a side project to The Misfits. Once The Misfits disbanded though, Danzig focused all his attention toward Samhain. They would eventually evolve into the band known simply as Danzig, adopting both their logo and font, while taking their sound into more metal-like territory.
Heavier and darker than the comparatively cartoonish tone of The Misfits, Samhain is perhaps the least celebrated of Glenn’s outfits. But Danzig being Danzig, they offer up a song perfectly suited to our Shindig; the band anthem Samhain.
At the time of this writing, it is less than a week away from Halloween and it is currently 102 degrees in Los Angeles. There are 3 fires currently burning across various parts of the LA county.
In 1987, after struggling to work within the studio system and the unfortunate box-office performance of Big Trouble in Little China, John Carpenter decided to go rogue once again.
And rogue indeed, producing a straight-faced and strange (maybe even ahead of it’s time) film that I can’t imagine any major studio green-lighting. What emerged was an atmospheric, dread-drenched affair of Science converging with Religion to prove the existence of God.
Or perhaps more appropriately, the existence of Satan.
Sub-atomic. Moving within the atoms of things, where logic need not apply. Liquid evil. A green, putrid substance filled with all the abominations of the earth.
It was captured and sealed up long ago. A race of Humanoid Aliens, of which Jesus was a member, kept watch. But the truth was hidden. Wrapped in metaphor and buried under ritual.
Now, in light of our faithlessness, it has awoken, and it wants control.
I like Prince of Darkness. It’s a little talkie, sure, and maybe a tad slow, but I don’t mind. I could listen to Egg Shen spout off about theoretical physics all night. Donald Pleasence is solid, even if he feels like he’s just plugged in from The Devil’s Men, and A.J. Simon is only distracting if you actually used to watch Simon and Simon, which you probably didn’t. The supporting players do a fine in their respective roles, including Carpenter regulars like Victor Wong, Peter Jason and Dennis Dun.
And, once the scientists start being slowly absorbed by the evil and the hobos begin to gather, John turns on the gas a bit.
Speaking of the street people, Alice Cooper jumps in to play the pale-faced, beanie-rockin, head-hobo. He even kills a dude with a rusty, old bike. A dude who happens to be listening to this very song on his Walkman….meta.
Seems this bike was Alice’s own personal prop too, as he used to do this gag live during his stage show. Now thats pretty bitchin’.
Here’s reigning All-Star Alice Cooper rockin’ again with the patented Title Track Prince of Darkness.
A band named Halloween wouldn’t be worth their weight in candy corn if they weren’t coming correct with a song called Trick or Treat.
Thankfully, Detroit’s Heavy Metal Horror Show doesn’t disappoint. From Halloween’s 1985 debut album Don’t Metal with Evil comes Trick or Treat, just like it says on the tin.
Another British band singing about Halloween? What gives, Ed? You said the Brits don’t give a toss for All Hallo’s.
Well, I don’t get the impression that they do. I’ve never claimed to be the authority on any matter, not even Halloween Horror Music, and I’ve written far too many words concerning that subject.
Whether that impression is true or not is neither here nor there when it comes to this ‘digger, because it’s a clear case of a band disguising a song as a Halloween song.
Witchfynde’sTrick or Treat details the dealings of a two-faced sort of character that has much but always wants more. Eventually, not being able to satiate his desires, he takes to B&E, a bit of murder, and gets himself tossed in the clink. Not exactly a love song, but definitely not specifically about Halloween.
Still, it’s a pretty groovin’ tune from a weird, occulty band called Witchfynde where the lyrics “Trick or Treat” get repeated a number of times, so we’re lightin’ it up.
Throw in a little festive atmosphere from the Tales From the Darkside episode entitled Halloween Candy, and you’ve got yourself a perfect number for an Oct. 20th’s evenings.
The British don’t really give a shit about Halloween. At least not according to me and this blog on the occasions when we’ve previously stated as such.
Strange then that innovative British Post-Punkers and Goth pioneers Siouxsie and the Banshees have a song titled Halloween. Or maybe not, given their whole gothy aesthetic. To be fair though, their song isn’t a parade of Milky Ways, Don Post masks and burning orange gourds.
No, Siouxsie Sioux’s track is a more atmospheric affair that seems to deal with a loss of childhood innocence.
Doubling fitting then that we bookend it with samples from the aforementioned Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, where American creepster Martin Sheen sleazes all over British child Jodi Foster on the Eve of All Saints in a decidedly less-than-innocent fashion.
He also provides us with a pretty solid and concise description of what Halloween represents stateside:
“Oh, it’s a big day here when all the kids get dressed up in scary costumes and masks and go around to all the houses. When you answer the door the shout ‘trick or treat’ and you’re suppose to act scared, and if you don’t give them a treat, they’ll pull some dirty trick on you.”
Yep, that’s pretty much what we got going on over here.
From the original Night of the Demons comes a song not actually performed by Dennis Michael Tenney. How about that?
Effectively used in an effectively creepy scene shortly after Angela’s possession where she treats Sal (and us) with some interpretive dance to Bauhaus’ haunted hit.
The radio flips on mysteriously, the strobe flickers ominously, and Sal looks on disconcertingly while Angela writhes and gyrates to the post-punk gothic sounds.
In a movie where Linnea Quigley isn’t shy about her body in the slightest, the fact that Angela can be as equally distracting in a feat unto itself.
Apparently actress Amelia Kinkade (who looks pretty damn fantastic twirling around in her gothic get-up) was actually a dancer and choreographed all the moves herself.
She’s also in Roadhouse, which is pretty fantastic too. Additionally fantastic is her appearance in My Best Friend’s A Vampire.
Is there anything Angela can’t do?
She reprises her seductive dance routine in Night of the Demons 2, which is also worth checking out, despite being inferior to the original in pretty much every way.
What the 2 have going for them each, however, is that they are both incredibly Halloweeny and make for great late-October viewing.
“You’re a sweet lookin’ babe Suzanne, but you and you’re friend Ang are just a little too weird-o for me.”
From 1985’s made-for-TV Halloween bonanza The Midnight Hour comes this creepy curio with so much mid-80’s budget-pop pizazz it even features a Soundwave-styled vocoder performance. Radical!
Harry Belafonte’s daughter, Shari (pops wasn’t big on creativity, I guess) stars in the film and sings this tune, perhaps fashioned after the recent mega-hit Thriller.
In fact, the whole project seems to be an attempt to cash-in on Michael’s occult success; semi-spooky, family friendly, monster-mash madness with a throwback, 50’s drive-in flare. And this tune, an ensemble dance number staged at a Halloween party, appears to be the piece-de-resistance.
Though clearly made for TV and a little toothless, The Midnight Hour is still an enjoyable and festive addition to anyone’s October line-up. It’s even a fair bit more creepy than something you’d imagine was just made for TV.
You’ll get some fun guest appearances too, from the likes of Spaceball’s King Roland, Clarence Boddicker, that one guy from 21 Jumpstreet, UHF’s R.J. Fletcher, Yori from Tron and The Reading Rainbow Dude who wore that bitchin’ visor on Star Trek. Studded. (Yes, I know it’s LeVar Burton. And it’s Peter DeLuise, too. Yeesh. I’m being causal, stop ruining it!)
Plus, there’s tons of Halloween ambiance, creepy Thriller-Lite graveyard scenes, a lot of cool make-ups and FX, a bunch of fun Halloween costumes, more monsters than you can shake a stick at and this kickin’ ‘digger. What more could you want from an October evening’s Televison adventure?
A Friday the 13th, in October? Now that’s a rarity. You know we gotta represent on this one. Good thing The Shindig is prepared with a poppy piece of Crystal Lake crooning from Jason’s later catalog.
A lot of people dislike Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood. I’m not one of them, but they exist and I can’t say I blame them.
Its heavily censored kills feel like highway robbery, it has one most disappointing endings in the series, the teenage fodder on display isn’t particularly interesting and the film just feels tired. Psychic girl unwittingly resurrects Jason? C’mon…
However, 7 has a lot going for it. I think of it as Jason’s last hoorah, for it’s the last time he’s in his element doing what he does best, before he takes off to Manhattan, other peoples bodies, Hell, Space, Elm Street, and ultimately Remakewood. Say what you want about 7, it never gets this good (or as true to itself) again.
But it is stretching its limits, as the whole thing finally succumbs to the Elm Street Effect and goes full-on supernatural.
The psychic angle, while a bit much, offers some interest though. Mainly, it puts a new spin on a formula that had already well worn out its welcome, having seen probably it’s best reworking in Jason Lives. It also finally gives Jason a formidable opponent, something really unseen up to this point in the series, silly as that opponent might be.
However, New Blood’s biggest plus come in the form of Jason himself, namely the addition of literal new blood, Kane Hodder, and the make-up work of John Carl Buechler.
Jason never looked this good before, or after. This is it. This is the most badass Jason around. With his spine-exposed and masked destroyed, he’s constantly dripping water and stalking around with a menace unmatched. And lets face it, that’s what we’re all here to see.
The soundtrack is coming up pretty short here though, in my opinion. Mostly just handed over to prog-wavers FM out of what feel like laziness, the songs never play much prominence, or hit any high notes. Even the score here feels a little wrong.
However, I’ve chosen one of those FM tracks for the Shindig, mostly so I can rant a little about Part 7 and post some gifs. Besides, that opening narration is too cool not too use somewhere.
And as if the psychic girl wasn’t Elm Street enough for you, this song’s all about dreaming. Sure, it’s a more figurative kind of dreaming, but I still I think it’s safe to say that by 1987, Freddy was winning the fight.
Freddy Krueger: What can be said about the quintessential 80’s man-specter that hasn’t been said a thousands different times by a thousand different nerds? Who am I to pretend like I’ve got some groundbreaking shit to drop on you? I’m no one, and I don’t, so I won’t. I’m simply another nerd with a foolishly myopic blog, so I’ll just stick to the script.
Freddy (whether I’ve said this before or not I can’t recall) is the reigning champ of horror tunes. He owns the 80’s pop-music-via-monster-icon scene. The guy even cut his own album. He’s all over it.
Jason comes close, but the Friday people didn’t fully climb aboard this particular train until part 6, and they never really bought a ticket. Freddy was shoveling coal in it’s boiler room.
And from the jump too, as even his first outing got its own little referentially inclusive tune in the form of 213’sNightmare.
Well, who the fuck is 213? Apparently they’re no ones, as no one seems to have any information on these guys. Well, aside from the painfully obviously “they were some local LA band that provided this track” or the goofier and obviously nonsensical “they were Johnny Deep’s band” theory.
Whoever they were, they’ll go down in the Shindig’s book as they guys who churned out that thoroughly apropos end credit song from the original Nightmare On Elm Street, and baby, that’s enough.
So, up yours with a twirling lawnmower,…whatever the hell that even means.
and here.
But it’s a strange sort of song. Kinda feels like something Dennis had laying around with enough of a beat to work with the scene. Not a problem necessarily, but what is this track all about?
