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Zombie-A-Go-Go: The Rob Zombie Halloween Special That Changed My Life
For some of us, every day is Halloween, but for many more, the entire month of October is a time to celebrate our favorite holiday. That’s why we’re going to continue to flood iHorror.com with all kinds of Halloween fun throughout the month.
I wanted to use the opportunity to celebrate one of my own favorite Halloween memories, a week-long special from Sci-Fi Channel in 1995 called Zombie-A-Go-Go.
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Yes, once upon a time SyFy was called Sci-Fi Channel (that changed in ’09). Zombie-A-Go-Go (a name which would also become that of Rob Zombie’s record label), came out during the height of White Zombie’s commercial success. The world had been exposed to the great Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head album, and the song More Human Than Human was in steady rotation on alt rock radio stations, MTV (back when MTV music videos were still a thing), and in metal kids’ CD players everywhere. Rob Zombie the filmmaker had yet to unleash his debut film on the world. That would come something like eight years later.
Playing during the week of Halloween, Zombie-A-Go-Go featured Rob Zombie hosting one movie each week night. It holds a special place in my heart because not only was I a huge White Zombie fan at the time, but it also introduced me to what would become a few of my favorite movies.
The line-up included: White Zombie (the movie), Carnival of Souls, Night of the Living Dead, The Evil Dead, and Night of the Creeps. At the time (I was in 7th grade), I had only seen Night of the Living Dead, which was already a favorite. I missed the first night, which was White Zombie, but I watched every other night, and it was the first time I had seen the other three films, all of which I love to this day.
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Stuck throughout the films, wrapped around the commercial breaks, were segments of Rob Zombie talking about the movies as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the shooting of White Zombie’s yet-to-be-released video for Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy).
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I’d love to embed more videos from the show, but I really can’t find any other than what’s here, which doesn’t include any of the show itself. In fact, I can’t really find a whole lot on the Internet even referencing its existence beyond this bit from an old White Zombie/Rob Zombie fan site, which says:
Rob zombie did a show on the sci-fi channel but it was kinda lame. they recorded about 10 things that rob muttered, and then just replayed them after each commercial. you could tell he was just doing it for pocket change.
It was pretty cool listening to Rob rip on “Night of the Creeps”. He’s like “Man, this is just the worst piece of garbage you could ever watch. I dunno why ANY of you are still watching this!!” Then later on, he’s like “I’m sorry there’s been a mistake. The management has just informed me this is actually a really GOOD movie, I really love it…” and he’s making these awful faces and stuff. Pretty funny shit.
Though I love Night of the Creeps with every fiber of my being, that part does sound familiar, and I still loved everything about the show. As a matter of fact, a recording of that airing of the movie, with Zombie’s segments, was the only copy of the movie I had for years after that. Luckily that changed as I got older.
I know I had a lot more fun with Zombie-A-Go-Go as a whole than that person appears to have had. There was nothing lame about it to me.
Again, this was the first time I saw The Evil Dead after all. Sit and think about the first time you saw that movie. It probably made an impression on you, no? I was familiar with the movie’s existence (and its sequels) at video stores by that point, but had yet to rent it. Obviously once I saw it it became an instant favorite.
And Carnival of Souls. I had never even heard of that at that point. It was so weird and creepy, and I fell in love with it instantly. Now that I’m in my thirties, and have consumed hundreds if not thousands of horror movies since then, Carnival of Souls is still among the creepiest I have encountered. It’s just a surreal and nightmarish, yet beautiful piece of work. I believe it was the second DVD I bought when I made the jump to that format several years after Zombie-A-Go-Go.
It kind of saddens me to see the show all but forgotten nearly 20 years later. To me, it was a big event. I remember going to school the next day after watching the movies, and discussing them with my friends. I remember waiting all day to watch the next night’s film. I even remember getting excited at the prospect of seeing the Electric Head Pt. 2 video (which didn’t get nearly the MTV play that More Human Than Human did, I might add). A new White Zombie video?!? Fuck yeah!
Zombie-A-Go-Go to me is not only about fond memories of one year’s Halloween or even the introduction to some of these fine movies, though these are big parts of it. It’s about nostalgia for a time gone, when something like this meant something to a fan. I know I sound like an old man, but these days, we have pretty much everything we want at our fingertips whenever we want it. At the click of a mouse or the tap of a touchscreen, I can bring up the White Zombie video on YouTube. Over and over again if I choose. I have easy access to all of the movies whenever I want to watch them. In 1995 that was very different, and though we may live in a more gratifying age in these terms, there is something missing – that anticipation and joy that something you love is finally on TV thanks to that glorious time of year – Halloween.
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Movies
‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt
Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.
In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.
This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.
Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.
“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.
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Movies
‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time
It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?
It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.
Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.
Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.
The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.
The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.
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News
Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.
The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.
This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.
This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.
This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.
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