MONDAY MORNING MOVIE MADNESS 19: IN CELEBRATION OF HALLOWEEN

Okay, so maybe Trick or Treat isn't the most obscure Halloween-themed horror flick ever made, but I felt like this movie was way overdue for its closeup here on I.C. And Halloween is this weekend.
So let's do this.


I wrote briefly about Trick or Treat on one other occasion, way back in 2008 ('Metal In The Movies', Dec. 31st). And this is what I said (I know, I'm lazy):

"Another total gem from 1986, this one stars Marc Price ("Skippy" from 'Family Ties' - shown above) as a troubled metalhead who receives assistance from a deceased rocker to get revenge on the school bullies. The rocker in question, one "Sammi Curr" contacts Skippy via possessed record passed down from a local DJ named Nuke. Chaos, violence, and gore are the outcome as he wages war on his former tormentors, using his newfound powers to maim, kill, and score chicks. Of course, this movie has to end with a cozy "message" about always using your powers for good, when it would have been way cooler as a straight-up Hessian revenge fantasy. Oh well.
Soundtrack by Fast Eddie Clark's post-Motorhead band, Fastway.

Highlights: Establishing shots of sweet '86 metal merch in dude's bedroom at beginning of film, Walkman demon ravaging chick in back seat of car, Ozzy Osbourne cameo as televangelist.

Lowlights: Toolbag Gene Simmons' cameo as radio DJ."

Pretty much sums it up, I guess...

That being said, let's watch the trailer:



(Bonus Bay Area connection: Anyone else notice that Skippy was rocking an Alternative Tentacles T-shirt for a minute there?)



So yeah, philosophical issues and lame cameos (above) aside, ToT remains a classic in my book, a metal-centric joyride that warrants many repeat viewings, ESPECIALLY on Halloween. The 30 seconds featuring Mr. Osbourne (left) are in fact pretty clever, and Sammi Curr (Tony Fields) is definitely one of the greatest horror/metal movie villians ever created (I have no idea why I failed to include him in my 'Satanic Cinema' post back in February). This movie is basically un-fuckwithable. Cheezy metal jams, drill presses going through heads, corny latex demons that live in Walkmans (Walkmen?), lazers shooting out of guitars, blood, gore, and the nerdy kid from Family Ties extracting brutal revenge via haunted vinyl on a bunch of preppy kids. What's not to love?
Nothing, that's what.


Above and below: Sammi Curr fucking shit up, 80's-metal style.



And let us not forget the soundtrack (left). Manslaughter's got this one on vinyl, and we were actually bumping it REALLY LOUD after a recent Dalton band practice. You know what? It doesn't suck.
Sure, there's a heavy gloss of 80's glam-cheez all over it and the drums are all reverbed out and clicky and it falls into pretty much every bad-metal stereotype imaginable, but SHIT, man. If you're chugging suds with a group of Bros, this record has an unsurpassable sing-along factor. It's fucking PARTY METAL embodied. And believe me, I know my Party Metal. I'll get around to posting the Trick or Treat soundtrack soon enough. Until then, let's go to the clips...

Fastway's "After Midnight", from the film's soundtrack. That's the actor who played Sammi Curr rocking out with Fast Eddie, not the actual singer from the band:



Fastway's "Stand Up", from the beginning credits of the film. Like I said before, this is pretty much the best part of the movie:



Wait, I changed my mind. This is the best part of the movie. Fastway, "Trick or Treat":



It seems pretty lucicrous that this film is basically advertised as a Gene Simmons/Ozzy Osbourne star vehicle these days (right), since their combined screen time adds up to about 2 minutes. ToT is SO much more than that, and you poor malnourished ninnies out there who haven't actually seen it yet need to rectify that situation immediately. Netflix it (enjoyed most by members who also enjoyed the Troll/Troll 2 Double Feature!!!), buy it, live it, love it. Halloween only comes once a year. But movies like Trick or Treat only come along once in a lifetime.