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...

Glowing Trick Or Treat Reaper Shirt From Lunar Crypt

I don't always promote things here at the Cemetery, but for this one I'm going to make an exception.

I preordered Lunar Crypt's new Glowing Trick Or Treat Reaper shirt last week and it just showed up to my door, with plenty of time to spare for the big night. And I must say, this shirt is AWESOME!

The print is high quality, bold and totally solid. And of course the first thing I did was expose it to light, then take it into a darkened room. It glows like crazy. I absolutely love the old school reaper graphic and I'm sure as hell going to be sporting this at tonight's trick-or-treat party that I'm going to. Plus, with a preorder I also got a really cool orange-and-black pin (the color that I was hoping for!) with the same graphic thrown in as an added bonus, all for twenty bucks!

I'm going to say that if you're like me, you're definitely going to need to add this one to your haunt shirt collection!!

  

'Twas The Night Before Halloween...

The excitement is building! Tomorrow is the big day!! The props are all done (for the most part), I'm sitting on the couch watching my Indians try to win their first World Series since '48, I'm drinking an ice cold one, and I'm about to put in my annual Halloween Eve viewing tradition...

I even had a minute to engage in some pumpkin carving - something I haven't done in about 7 or 8 years, as I have always left that to the expertise of my mother. Well that and the fact that I have always been knee deep in setting everything else up in years past...

And while things seem to be going smoothly so far, the final weather forecast for tomorrow only helps things along! This will be the first Halloween without rain in 4 or 5 years!!

 

I'll still wake up nice and early for tomorrow's big set up. It all goes up tomorrow morning, finishing just in time for the neighborhood trick-or-treat, a quick video and photo session to document this year's display, and then it all gets taken down. So if you're in the area, come out early or miss it for another year!

Good luck to all my fellow haunters who are getting ready to do their thing tomorrow. Keep your traditions going, scare those kids good and most of all, don't forget to have fun! It's the reason for the season.

  

Happy Halloween!!

This is it!! We've finally made it!! The high holiday of Samhain is upon us, so go forth haunters and give the best performance that you can. 365 days of planning and building all come down to this...

But most important of all, don't forget to have fun!!! This is what we live for, so enjoy every single second of it.

Alright, my 5 minute window is up. The props are all up, the audio is cued up, the foggers are full and the lights are all on. It's show time. Time to give the neighborhood the best damn show they have ever seen!!

Everyone one have the absolutely most amazing and incredible Halloween that you can.

But also enjoy this crazy heavy metal video from days gone by...

Fastway - Trick or Treat

Welcome to the first installment of Throwback Thursday! Each week, I'm going to take a look back at some incredible music from some classic and not-so-classic 80s horror. 

In fact, the whole Throwback Thursday concept came about because I REALLY, REALLY wanted to post this first song. Mix equal parts Satan, hair spray, heavy metal and a guitar that shoots laser beams being played by a rock god who is back from the dead and you get 1986's Trick or Treat. 

I won't even bother mentioning that both Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osborne appear in the film, because it is all overshadowed by Fastway's amazing title track, "Trick or Treat," and its even-more amazing video:

 

Highbury Cemetery, 2013

Sunday, Oct. 27 - Partly Cloudy - 50 degrees - 0 precipitation
Monday, Oct. 28 - Partly Cloudy - 57 degrees - 0 precipitation
Tuesday, Oct. 29 - Partly Sunny - 56 degrees - 0 precipitation
Wednesday, Oct. - Partly Sunny - 64 degrees - 0 precipitation
Thursday, Oct. 31 - Rain and High Winds - 67 degrees - 1" of precipitation
Friday, Nov. 1 - Windy - 63 degrees - 0 precipitation


I think by the data above, you can tell what kind of Halloween we had. Mother Nature let us know what she thought of Halloween this year and she gave us her worst. Had we an extra 12 hours, it would have been a different story.

By 2:00, the skies opened up and did not stop for the rest of the night. To make a long, painful story short, we ended up putting up about half of our yard haunt. I think I managed about 3 lights through the entire cemetery, as I didn't want to chance having someone getting electrocuted. As we speak, some props are STILL drying out in the garage. I think to say that 2013 was one of the worst home haunt years on record for us would be a bit of an understatement. And yes, even worse than last year, when we had to reschedule Trick-or-Treat due to the effects of a hurricane. IN OHIO...

We watched the ever-changing weather forecast and rolled the dice. Unfortunately we came up a bit short in our effort to continue Trick-or-Treat. The only question that was burning deep in my brain was whether or not any kids would even show up in such miserable conditions...

While we set up in a steady downpour, I grabbed my camera for a few progress shots. By the end of the night, everything, especially the yard haunt actors, were thoroughly soaked. At 8:00, we threw in the towel and tore everything down as fast as we could. I didn't even bother with any night shots this year, as there were hardly any lights.

So I present the only shots from this year's haunt. Grab the life vests!! 



2013 was to be the debut of my new cemetery entrance. The new gate and sign were this year's big project and took roughly 3 months to finish. Luckily, everything survived the weather and will be ready for next year's haunt.

We ended up keeping the black garbage bag over the talking skull cemetery greeter for the entire night. No sense in getting everything wet. Although in the dark, it DID look somewhat like a bodybag...

And although the tombstones got soaked, everything made it through the night and will be ready to go for next year, too...

None of the jackos washed away, either!

All in all, we managed to salvage the evening and have a little fun, even if we didn't get to put on the grand show in light of this year's exposure. A lot of friends braved the elements and still came over to work the yard. A very, very heartfelt thank you goes out to this year's crew: Sharon, Karen, Laurie, Andrew, Neighbor Joe, Stacey, Vince, Sabrena and her boyfriend, Eric and Jennifer, and even Daniel, the young guy from up the street who knocked on our door 2 hours before trick-or-treat asking if he could help work our haunt with a bladeless chainsaw that he had.

And as to that burning question that was eating at my brain before trick-or-treat? Amazingly, the neighborhood kids and their parents showed up in full force. While we couldn't give you all the show that we wanted to, we really appreciate every last one of you braving the elements and coming out anyway. It really made the night all worthwhile.

And how many kids came out, you ask?
 

Not too bad for one of the worst-weathered Halloweens on record. But don't worry. This year's miss will definitely turn into next year's hit. I'm already planning for a few big projects for next year and it's only going to get bigger and better.

As long as Mother Nature cuts us a break...

 

The Neighborhood Trick-Or-Treat Sign, 2013

Less than two weeks to go until the big night, so it's my civic duty to inform the residents of my neighborhood of the date and time for trick-or-treat! 

As a neighborhood, we have always done our own thing and celebrated trick-or-treat on October 31, regardless of what the city plans (they have been very good lately at making different areas have different dates and times and causing mass confusion).

Three years ago, I "inherited" the position of Official Trick-Or-Treat Sign Creator and Overseer after the previous position-holder's sign had been vandalized and removed, leaving some doubt as to whom should pick up the duty for the following year. A temporary sign was made, but failed to elicit the enthusiasm necessary for a holiday of this magnitude...

So I decided to step in. A new sign was made and installed with great response. 2013 marks the third year of its usage, and while Mother Nature has done her best annually to pummel it, the sign continues to hold up nicely (aside from a few chips that will need some touch-up paint).

This morning I made my way up to the top of the neighborhood and installed the sign in it's annual place of prominence...

...right beside the all-important "Drive 25" safety sign.

And of course 30 minutes after the sign went up, the rains came down. Do your best, Mother Nature, but dammit, give me the 31st. That's all I ask!

 

Highbury Cemetery, 2012

Five straight days of rain, huge time commitments at work, a last-minute weather-related rescheduling and taking care of our newborn son. Even through all of that, we still managed to pull it off. Somehow we all got together and managed to get through another incredible Halloween season. Saturday's rescheduled neighborhood trick-or-treat left many questions as we set up a scaled-down version of our haunt through some light morning rains. Would the weather ever break? Would anybody show up? Would anybody think a scaled back version of Highbury Cemetery would still be cool??

In reflecting on last night's mayhem, I can happily answer "yes" to all of the above! The skies cleared up and allowed us to run all of our lighting. We still had over 100 trick-or-treaters, neighbors and curious onlookers stop by. And we had many compliments and photo requests throughout the night.

After all of the stress of trying to get everything set up and organized, 2012 goes down in the books as another successful year for the Highbury family.

So without further ado, I present Highbury Cemetery, 2012:

A big, big thank you goes out, as always, to everyone who helped set up, scare, and then tear down this year. You all earned your shirts this year! The Golden Zombie awards go out to Sharon, Karen, Scrapes, Andrew and Neighbor Joe for helping making this year so much fun. We couldn't do it without you! 

And of course a big thanks to everyone who cooperated with the trick-or-treat reschedule and made it out to visit us. We enjoyed serving you. And especially the kids that I got to chase all the way down the street. You guys really make trick-or-treat fun!

But a special Platinum Zombie award goes out to Mrs. Highbury, who couldn't help out this year, as she had her hands full with one very special little skeleton:

I can't wait until he's old enough to become one of the members of Highbury Cemetery. I'd say he's already got the look down! 

Halloween 1984

I have just enough time to share one more set of photos of Halloween costumes of the 80s. Tonight, it's 1984.

The year Highbury discovered heavy metal and glam. No more silly costumes for me. I'm going full on heavy metal. Shredded clothing and makeup. I'm throwing the horns and blasting some Crue.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite know the difference between a pentagram and the Star of David. Oops. Mazeltov Crue!!!!!

And young Scrapes brought back the classic Dracula outfit. Complete with widow's peak, camouflage pants and garbage bag cape.

And dig those olive curtains!

Trick or Treat Has Been Rescheduled

So I hope that I haven't overstepped my bounds, but I decided to reschedule Trick or Treat for my development. I figured that because I was in charge of putting the trick or treat sign out, it was ultimately my call.

And checking the forecast made the decision easier. After getting through a night of 50 mph-plus winds and another full day of rain, the Halloween forecast wasn't getting much better. ANOTHER full day of rain on tap...

But in looking at Saturday's forecast and seeing how many other cities have already rescheduled their trick or treat, my decision became easier and today I quickly put up a new sign with the updated info. While, of course, in the rain.

I just hope that the people in the neighborhood have enough time to see the new sign and can adjust accordingly. And I really hope they don't get mad! So far, those we have spoken to are in complete agreement with us, so maybe this Halloween season will still go off with a bang. And hey, I just got to extend Halloween by 3 more days!!

Feeling The Wrath

So here we sit, two days before Halloween. We've had 48 straight hours of non-stop rain and now we are experiencing 40-50 mph sustained winds. We're in for two more days of straight rain with continued winds through Tuesday. Things are not looking good for the big night.

Highbury Cemetery is located in Akron, Ohio, 438 miles from New York City and the center of Superstorm Sandy. The northeast is being ravaged by this monster storm and all the way over in Akron, we are feeling her harsh effects.

I'm lucky in that we haven't put any of our haunt display up yet, and if we did, I'm sure most of it wouldn't survive the night. Many cities in our area have already postponed Trick or Treat and have rescheduled for Saturday night. I was feeling very anxious about finally losing out to Mother Nature's wrath (she had tested us with morning rains for the past 2 years). 

As the keeper of our neighborhood Trick or Treat sign, I wrangled with the thought of taking over and making the decision for the entire neighborhood to postpone Trick or Treat until Saturday. The city of Akron's official Trick or Treat was this past Saturday night, so we operate as our own section when it comes to Trick or Treating. Unfortunately in a case like this, we're pretty much left on our own to figure it out.

So I had a long conversation with Mrs. Highbury and some neighbors and we've decided that I am in fact going to take over the decision to reschedule Trick or Treat until Saturday. I would hate for any children to try to venture out on a stormy Wednesday when they can do it in much better conditions three days later.

I now have to try and fashion a new sign cover stating the rescheduled day and time and have to somehow attach it to an already weatherbeaten sign all while in tomorrow's continued windy downpour. I just hope there is enough time to get the word out and we're able to salvage Trick or Treat this year.

And we'd be remiss if we didn't also send out thoughts to everyone dealing with this massive storm across the northeast tonight. I hope everyone out there stays safe and makes it out unharmed.