Halloween Party (1989)

I wanna start this one off with quick anecdotal story. The year was 1987, and 14-year-old me and my best friend Jim were fully engrossed in the 80s slasher horror craze. We would have sleepovers all the time and have our parents take us to the local video rental store where we would go straight to the horror section. Our parents (and the video store employees) were obviously not paying attention, as we routinely walked out with some really crazy titles.

As we continued to watch video after video, the next logical step in our progression was of course to write and film our own slasher flick! My family had just gotten our first VHS video camera and we were ready to go. We sat down and brainstormed ideas, eventually settling on Butcher Town as a title.

I sat down and began writing a script to what I thought was sure to be the next big slasher horror hit. And that's about as far as we got. 3 or 4 pages of a story. We eventually jumped to the next big idea (which I think was our first walk-through haunted house!) and Butcher Town was permanently shelved...

And that is why I love this video so much.

Halloween Party is an amateur horror film project that was created by Connecticut teenager Dave Skowronski and his friends in 1989. It was a straight forward slasher, following a killer in a mask (who, it looks like, rose from a grave in a cemetery?) who stalks a group of teenagers having a party on Halloween night.

Now I will come right out and say that this video is pretty bad. It's shot directly to VHS tape, every scene is too dark, and most scenes are of the girls talking over each other and you can't really hear what they're saying. 

But damn if that isn't what makes this so good. Couple all that with the hilariously bad killing scenes, a solid killer character, an opening in a cemetery with actual scary music, and the early digital title type, and you have an absolute nostalgic gem. A perfect snapshot into the free-for-all that was 80s horror and the DIY projects that it inspired.

Huge credit to Skowronski and his friends for actually producing this. You can tell that they are true fans of horror and had an absolute blast making it. And, it even made a Halloween night broadcast on their local cable access channel (which is what this video was taken from).

Be sure to catch the local horror host after the film's end as well as a full blooper reel. It really is an enjoyable watch that really encapsulates Halloween and horror fun from those crazy 80s.

It almost makes me want to go back and revisit Butcher Town. If I could only find that original script again... Enjoy!

  

Cinema Corona #04: Rocktober Blood

I'M BACK (wink, wink) for another installment of Cinema Corona, where I post up a little nugget of Halloween fun to help us all pass the time during our Coronavirus quarantine.

I'm keeping it in that glorious wheelhouse of 80s heavy metal cheese horror with tonight's selection. Another so-bad-it's-good gem!!

Rocktober Blood (1984)

Billy's back from the dead

with a message from hell!

So if you haven't seen this one yet, be warned. It's a pretty low budget film all around. With atrocious dialogue spoken by amateur-at-best actors. And a plot that dances along the line of pure absurdity. But that's part of what makes this one SO DAMN GOOD!!

Rocktober Blood is the story of heavy metal megaband, Rocktober Blood, and their iconic singer Billy "Eye" Harper. The film starts as the band is in the recording studio, laying down some new music. 

And right off the bat, you MUST pay attention, because Billy belts out the most hilariously ridiculous, over-the-top, incredible vocal howl while recording the film's title track, "I'm Back." I literally have no idea where that came from. (On a sidenote, all of the film's awesome soundtrack was performed by Sorcery, an actual 70s/80s metal band from Los Angeles - and is the real draw of this film. I'm Back, Killer On The Loose, and Rainbow Eyes make this one worth the watch...err, listen!)

Billy then decides to split the studio for a 4 am hook up, only to return a short time later, going on a random, marijuana-fueled killing spree at the studio. The only survivor is the band's backup singer, Lynn.

We then cut to two years later to find out that Billy was convicted and executed for somehow killing an impressive 25 people that night. And now Lynn has returned to music, fronting Headmistress (what a great cheese metal band name!), a new band featuring the ex-members of Rocktober Blood.

But things don't go so smoothly for Lynn, as for the bulk of the film, is continually haunted by Billy, who has seemingly returned from the dead.

SPOILER!! SPOILER!! SPOILER!!
It is revealed that this "new" Billy is actually John, Billy's demented, evil twin brother that apparently nobody knew about before. He reveals to Lynn that he actually committed the murders and then framed Billy for stealing and performing his music. Which seems like a bit of a headscratcher, until we get to the film's finale!!

The crowning moment of the entire film is the last scene, in which even after Lynn is continually terrorized and characters are continuing to be murdered by Billy/John, promoters agree that the Headmistress concert must go on. 

And this is where things get REALLY crazy. The band takes the stage, not realizing that Billy/John is actually with them - he secretly replaced Frankie, the band's mascot, to sing the opening track of Killer On The Loose. 

And at this point you would probably ask, how would they not know it was him? Easy. Billy/John was in costume, complete with an iconic Zagone Studios' "Fang Face" Halloween mask.

But it gets even better...

Because as he roams the stage singing, he literally starts stabbing the stage girls who are chained up on either side of the stage. He pulls their guts out and then throws them into the crowd, everyone evidently thinking it was all a gag. The final hilarious act happens when he actually cuts the head off of one of the girls and then throws it into the crowd. Simply incredible.

The final scene happens when Lynn, who emerged after being sedated in a stage coffin, rips through Rainbow Eyes, to the delight of the crowd. Then, Billy/John removes his mask to reveal himself to the crowd, handcuffs himself to Lynn, and the band then for some reason plays I'm Back.

In a moment of cinematic genius, Billy/John is finally stopped when while singing his most famous song, gets hit over the head with an electric guitar and then SOMEHOW gets electrocuted by it, ALL. WHILE. SINGING. HIS. INFAMOUS. HOWL.

Yes, the same howl that he belted out in the studio at the very beginning of the film. And so it goes full circle. The end. GENIUS.

Enjoy!!

Cinema Corona #03: Trick Or Treat

NO, NOT THE ONE WITH SAM!!

It's time for another installment of Cinema Corona, where I post up a little nugget of Halloween fun to help us all pass the time during our Coronavirus quarantine.

This time, I have found another ABSOLUTE Halloween gem, straight from those glorious heavy metal horror 80s!!

Trick Or Treat (1986)

Sammi Curr is a rock n' roll nightmare.

His fans won't let him die.

He won't let them live.

I LOVE this film, and I cannot believe I found this entire gem on YouTube! And while yes, when most people hear "Trick or Treat," they automatically assume it's the classic Trick r' Treat from 2007, featuring everyone's favorite little jammied Halloween creepy, Sam.

But they would be oh so wrong!

Rewind the clock back to 1986, and you get this underrated slice of heavy metal horror greatness.

Now when this movie was originally released, it was marketed as a movie starring Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne (who together have about 3 minutes of total screentime). It was an easy marketing trick to get people to watch it, but they really missed out on the great things about this movie.

First and foremost, it stars Marc Price. If you are old like me, you may remember him better as "Skippy" from the classic 80s sitcom, Family Ties. Starring that one other guy as Alex P. Keaton (or Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton, depending on why you watched). But Price really shines as teen headbanger kid Eddie in this. 

Second, this movie slams all of the 80s heavy metal hot button issues of the day. It nails the "Satanic Panic" hysteria, as recently deceased rocker Curr communicates with Eddie through a special record - played backwards. So metal!

It also has an amazing soundtrack performed by Fastway (the title track being the absolute standout). If you haven't heard of 80s hard rock band Fastway, you may know singer Dave King. He now heads up Irish punk band, Flogging Molly. True story.

And the story itself is pure 80s horror gold. A misfit kid, mourning the shock loss of his heavy metal hero, is continually bullied by the school jocks, gets a very special record from his DJ friend (Simmons), finds out that his rock hero speaks to him from beyond the grave through the record played backwards, receives help from said dead rocker to get revenge on all who bullied him, realizes that it all goes too far only to then have dead rocker materialize from electricity of his stereo, dead rocker then decides that he will continue his plan of revenge on everyone in the school, materializes at the school's Halloween dance, takes over as the singer for the band, performs one of the absolute best concert stage shows I have EVER seen, only to take it one step further by actually shooting students with electric blasts from his guitar, ending in an epic metal guitar solo where he then explodes on stage, setting up the final showdown between Eddie and Curr. And did I mention the scene where a girl is seduced in the back of a car by a fiery demon?

It really is everything you could want in an 80s horror film.

THIS MOVIE IS EPIC. ALL HAIL SAMMI CURR. METAL WILL NEVER DIE.

(And rest in peace to one time Solid Gold dancer Tony Fields, the actor who so brilliantly played Sammi Curr...)

I hope you all enjoy this one as much as I do...

Cinema Corona #02: Night Of The Demons

It's time for another gem from Cinema Corona, our little online place to gather, hang out, and enjoy some Halloween- and horror-related goodies from across the internet. A place to pass the time as we quarantine and socially distance ourselves in order to stay safe in these crazy times.

Tonight, we're headed back to the demon-possessed late 80s with another smash cult classic!

Night Of The Demons (1988)

Again, reviews for this 80s demon classic are all over, so there's no need for a full review here. It's the classic "bored teenagers break into an abandoned funeral home to party on Halloween night, accidentally awaken demon spirits who then possess the partygoers, and all hell then proceeds to break loose" horror film. But it's soooooo good! And the visual effects are pretty damn awesome, too. 

Look for everybody's favorite scene - Linnea Quigley's game of "hide the lipstick" - and let's not forget my favorite scene, where Angela does her fireplace strippy-demon-possession-under-a-strobe-light dance to the tune of Bauhaus' Stigmata Martyr. And of course, every single scene with ol' Stooge is pure 80s gold.

Equal parts scary and fun, this one is a great time. Enjoy!!

Cinema Corona #01: Black Roses

So here I am in Ohio, three hours before our mandatory stay-at-home order goes into effect. I'm happy to FINALLY be working from home, but I won't lie... I am getting a bit nervous about the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luckily, people across the globe are doing things to connect and entertain others in any way they can, creating support networks to help us all get through these crazy times.

These acts are pretty amazing, and I have been inspired to do what I can to add to it. Especially for our little creepy community of haunters, horror fanatics, and Halloween freaks.

So I have decided to open up Cinema Corona, a new feature where I post up the craziest stuff I can find across the internet. A place where you can come enjoy something Halloween- or horror-related, that will take your mind off of things for a while. Some mindless fun in order to turn off your brain for just a bit...

If there's something you'd like to see, hit me up in the comments! Now let's have some fun!

I hope you guys enjoy this!! (And as always, please be smart and stay safe...)

Black Roses (1988)

My god, where to begin with this one? It has been reviewed many, many times over, so I'm not going to go deep with a review of my own. Basically, an unbelievably cheesy 80s heavy metal band (complete with their own Lamborghinis!) decides to play a series of shows in a quiet, nowhere midwestern town to the dislike of the town elders. (Footloose, anyone?) Mayhem ensues as the town's teenagers are slowly possessed, literally, because as it turns out, the band is actually a group of demons trying to recruit their minions. Literal demons. And the only one who can stop this evil, evil plan is the town's Magnum, P.I. look-alike, the high school English teacher!

Enjoy this one with its way-too-catchy 80s metal tracks (the title track, Me Against The World, is a legitimately awesome metal track and is featured at the beginning of the film), incredible 80s hair, an unbelievable scene where a stereo speaker demon eats future Sopranos actor, Vincent Pastore, and the laughably, laughably bad "demon" practical effect sculpts. They are so cartoonish, they look like they were made as a joke.

But even with all of that, this gem earns its cult status because it really is a great, late-80s heavy metal horror flick. Give this one a watch quickly, as I have seen it posted before only to be taken down quickly. Just don't watch it with the little ones, as it has some naughty words and some nakey scenes.

Bauhaus - "Stigmata Martyr"

Matt-suzaka over at Chuck Norris Ate My Baby had a hilarious post last week, revisiting the dance scene from the 80s horror classic, Night of the Demons. And while most people simply remember Linnea Quigley's un-be-lievable "hide the lipstick" scene, possessed Angela's sexy dance should also be remembered. (Alas, poor Stooge...)

A boombox, covered in awesome Fear and T.S.O.L. stickers, turns itself on and provides the soundtrack to her fireside dance. What I didn't remember from this scene was the actual track that was playing: Stigmata Martyr by Bauhaus. After watching the dance scene at CNAMB, I went back and revisited the track itself. A great, early goth classic that went back to the top of the Halloween playlist.

Be sure to go check out Possessed Angela's dance of seduction over at Chuck Norris Ate My Baby!! I can't wait to see what comes up next in his SlashDance series (how about Crispin Glover's spazz-dance scene from Friday the 13th Part III???).