It’s October and if you’re listening to the Halloween Shindig playlist and you hear a song that sounds like it doesn’t belong, that’s probably because…
IT’S IN THE MOVIE!
Special guest and YouTube creator Josh Spiegel – writer, director and star of the new film The Last Amityville Movie – joins Graham C. Schofield and Mikey Rotella as they wade through some out-of-place inclusive tracks from the likes of Trick or Treats (1982), Night Train to Terror (1985),Berserker (1987), Paganini Horror (1989) and more!
It might not sound like it belongs on a Halloween playlist, but it does, cause it’s not only in the movie, but it’s definitely in the movie on…
When it comes to moments that embody the 3 principle of The Shindig – Halloween, Horror and Music – nothing quite combines them all like Angela’s dance from the original Night of the Demons. Set as it is on Halloween and to Bauhaus’ Stigmata Martyr, you can read me drool over his classic moment here.
So when Brain Trenchard-Smith and company we’re asked to take a trip back to Hull House and to, hey, why don’t you
bring Amelia Kinkade along with you while you’re at it – fans assuredly wondered if Angela would dance again.
The answer was “yes.” And an empathic “yes” at that, as they upped the ante in a few way, as a sequel is wont to do.
First and foremost, they gave Angela a larger crowd. Secondly, they put her up on a table in front of a banner that says “Happy Halloween.” Thirdly, they gave her a dance partner in the form of beautiful, genre staple, Zoe Trilling. And lastly, they slapped a Morbid Angelsong on that motherfucker.
This dance however, is a microcosm of the film itself, at least in relation to the original Night of the Demons. Bigger doesn’t always mean better.
As a result, this dance (this scene…this movie) is less elegant, less important, less interesting, less sexy, less creepy and above all, less memorable.
But that won’t stop Morbid Angel from making the playlist. No way. Cause when you’re the backing track to any Angela dance sequence, you’re in.
Well, I shouldn’t say that, cause that song from Part 3 is absolutely atrocious and will never grace this playlist. I’m not even sure what the producers where thinking with that one. Was that the only song they could actually get the rights to play? Was it on some generic, royalty free CD they had lying around the editing bay? Had they never seen the other 2 Night of the Demons films? It’s almost laughable how at odds it is with the other 2 Angela tracks.
Then, there’s still the matter of the dance from the remake to consider, which despite my hesitance, has a couple compelling things going for it:
It still happens on Halloween.
Though played by Shannon Elizabeth, it’s still technically Angela and
It’s set to a Type O Negative song. A song which is already under yearly consideration for being a Halloween song in its own right.
However, despite all of that, and the fact that I’ve already included 45 Grave’s Title Track Night of the Demons from the very same film, I still don’t think Type O is making the cut. At least not this year. Sorry gang.
Special guest Kyle Sullivan joins the gang for an unexpected and impromptu journey deeper into Title Track territory.
Could be these songs weren’t good enough. Or perhaps they weren’t quite bad enough. Or maybe they just weren’t genuine enough for Parts 1 and 2.
Whatever the case may be, songs from Prom Night, Transylvania 6-5000, Hellraiser 3, Happy Birthday to Me and many more will get the chance to plead their case when Shindig Radio reaches back into the bag…
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.
One of my favorite Halloween movies of all time is easily Kevin Tenney’s Night of the Demons. However, as with most sequels, my love for Night of the Demons 2 is decidedly less than.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Brian Trenchard-Smith’s follow-up. It has a some great Halloween atmosphere and a feeling somewhat similar to its predecessor, but in comparison it falls dramatically short.
Kids from a catholic boarding school want to rebel on Halloween. So they hook up with some local burnouts to go party down at notorious Hull House, where apparently Angela still resides.
Since Hull House is never a good idea on Halloween, things go berserk. This time however, the terror stretches out from the funeral home and toward the Catholic school.
There’s a lot of callbacks. There’s a tit gag (which is a great effect) a lipstick gag, Angela dancing, and lots of possession. So this is pretty worn ground for the most part, but this isn’t a horrible sequel. There’s some fun, new characters, an ambitious snake transformation and a Halloween dance party.
If you have to watch 1 Night of the Demons movie this Halloween, The Shindig recommends the original Night of the Demons. But if you have to watch 2 Night of the Demons movies, you might as well watch just Night of the Demons 2 too.
So it’s 1987 and you’re Kevin Tenney and you just made a crazy Halloween movie about kids getting possessed in an old abandoned funeral home.
It’s all edited; its fun, it’s funny, the gore looks great, Linnea looks great, Amelia looks great, the pacing is down, everything us shaping up to be a fine horror romp.
But something’s missing. Where’s the music?
What you need is an end credit tune that says everything you want to say in a decidedly late 80’s hard rock fashion. What are you to do?
You hire your fucking brother Dennis Michael Tenney, that’s what you do. Then you tell him “knock it outta the park bro,” because “everything’s riding on you.”
And then he gives you The Beast Inside...
…and it clears the fucking bases.
Composer of the main theme and the rest of the music from Night of the Demons that isn’t Bauhaus’Stigmata Martyr, Dennis Michael Tenney knows his way around a hard rocking 80’s power ballad, and The Beast Inside is no exception.
It’s got the slow melodic verse followed by the chugging chorus. It’s got a weird demon voice saying “The Beast!” just before the solo tears in from nowhere. And it’s got the strangely vague yet vaguely epic lyrics.
What the hell is Dennis talking about here?
It plays more toward the figurative side of it’s double entendre that’s for sure, making a metaphor out of it’s title for the beast inside of all mankind. Then it throws in a bunch of vague cold-war anxiety just to let you know it’s being written in the mid-80’s. But if we don’t analyze it too much (which honestly, we shouldn’t even be doing) it makes for a pretty rocking coda to a movie about demon possession.
And it’s all lead in by a Halloween prick getting his comeuppance via a slice of ironic justice served up by his dear, doting wife. That’ll teach ya to shove razor blades in apples, ya old blowhole.
At #133 here’s Shindig All-Star Dennis Michael Tenney with….The Beast Inside!
Great Pumpkins are few and far between, so to stick two so close together is indicative of the kind of block where in here toward the center of our hallowed playlist.
At last count there were four total; two tried and true Halloween Pumpkins, one Monster Song Pumpkin and another by way of Devilish Track. That’s the bases covered, doubly so in that The Monster Squad is also a Monster Rap.
This one though, this one is the gold standard. This is the one which inspired the category. This is the one by which all the others are measured, and even they fall short of the Shindiggery on display here. If the playlist had its own theme, it would probably be this song.
It’s not necessarily may favorite song on the Shindig (though it would definitely be up there), nor do I mean to suggest it is the best, but it’s so exemplary of what this playlist is all about that it beggars belief. Horror Movies, the music from them, the referential Rock ‘N Roll about them and of course Halloween, all succinctly served in a 4 minute sonic stew.
Is it any surprise that such a song should come from 45 Grave? Not to this guy it doesn’t, and when I first heard it back in 2010 my jaw dropped and I immediately shouted “Holy shit does this song need to be on the playlist.”
But because nothing could be that perfect, naturally, there’s a catch. In this case (and it’s perhaps a bit of my own prejudice rising to the surface) it is the caveat that the song is that comes from the the Night of the Demonsremake. Which is a solid soundtrack, to be sure, but a terrible remake. Moreover, it was a terrible movie in its own right. However, as a remake to one of my favorite Halloween movies of all time, it’s even worse.
So, to balance out that factor, I’ve book-ended it with samples from the original, because, how could I not? This song could have been on the original soundtrack. It should have been on the original soundtrack . So let’s just pretend it was.
And with that, 45 Grave and I invite you to drink, get stoned and party all night, for the demons come alive on Halloween.
There are few Halloween movies I love as much as Night of Demons. It satisfies all the criteria for a Halloween horror hit. If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing it, click here for some reasons why it should be playing right now on your television set. Or better yet, just click this to watch the fucker immediately on whatever screen you happen to be reading this. To hell with the rest of my post. You’ll hear the song right off the bat and see the real animations where these GIFSs originated.
Seriously. I won’t be hurt. You’ll be watching Night Of The Demons and my goal will have been actualized instantaneously.
Still here? Alright, fair enough. Maybe you’ve already seen it. Or maybe you’ll just wait. Or maybe you don’t care at all about watching Night Of The Demons. If so, you’re probably not reading this either, so who cares about you? Why am I continuing to address you? Back to people who care!
One of the things I love most about Night the Demons is this great theme from director Kevin Tenney’s brother Dennis and the awesome opening credit sequence which it accompanies.
What better way to kick off a Halloween gore fest than with some seasonal synth and some simple, spooky animations? A solitary glowing Jack-O-Lantern and some scarier synth? Yeah, maybe you’re right. But there ain’t no gore in Carpenter’s original, so my statement still stands.
So, if you’ve already had your fill of Michael Myers, pull up a chair and spend All Hallo’s with Angela, Stoogie, Sal, Suzanne and the rest of the demons gang. You may not live to regret it.
One of my absolute favorites, this one has slipped in and out of my Halloween night top spot over the years, and for a multi-feature Hallows Eve marathon, it’s a sure-fire selection.
This awesome late 80’s gore-fest has everything you want for a Halloween Movie:
A sexy and possessed goth chick dancing to Bauhaus
A naked Linnea Quigley shoving lipstick in her nipple
Fun gore and Special FX
A great soundtrack
Obnoxious and memorable horror victims
Choice one-liners
A crotchety old prick who hates Halloween
And enough Halloween ambiance to satiate all of the 31st’s requirements.
Weirdo goth girl Angela is throwing a Halloween party at the infamous and abandoned Hull House. Sounds like a deal, so even the squares decide it might be a lark.
Unfortunately for them, Angela’s party agenda happens to include a seance. Probably not the best idea in Hull House on Halloween, the night where all the creepy things are suppose to stalk the earth.
Though seemingly a dud, the seance works, and soon a torrent of Halloween hell rains down on everyone involved.
Classic 80’s horror on display here. If you’ve never seen Night of the Demons, this is the year. Wait for the 31st, imbibe the poison of your choice, sit back and let the Halloweeniness possess you.
Triple feature all 3 Night of the Demons for an extra Halloweeny evening.
