Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972): Shriek in Heavenly Peace

It’s Christmas Eve in a small New England town where the owner of the long-abandoned Butler Estate, Jeremy Butler (James Patterson), is looking to unload his property and the many horrific secrets it contains, which include deception, sexual abuse and murder.  

Directed by Theodore Gershuny, Silent Night, Bloody Night is a holiday themed slasher film that employs many of the traits that would come to be standard fare for the genre in the years following its release. You have a secluded location, a mysterious killer who stalks potential victims (sometimes by way of menacing phone calls) before going in for the kill, and while not overly violent by any means, there is certainly some effective bloodletting to be had by way of various types of murder weapons. Point-of-view is impressively utilized to show the world from the unknown killer’s perspective, something that would go on to become a slasher standard after the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween.  

Of course, slasher films in general were greatly inspired by the Giallo films from Italy, and regardless of being the earliest example of a proper holiday slasher film – even predating Black Christmas by a few years – Silent Night, Bloody Night certainly owes a huge debt to the Gialli that came before it. This comes specifically with the tactic of featuring an unknown assailant adorned with black leather gloves as well as the attempts to misdirect the viewer with a handful of mostly ineffective red herrings.

When it comes to the actual story, it’s fair to say that Silent Night, Bloody Night has a lot going on. My brief description from the start of this post barely scratches the surface, as the film is so plot heavy that nearly 50% of the movie requires narration, much of which is provided by the movie’s lead character, Diane (played by a lovely Mary Woronov). Using voice over for expositional purposes is, for all intents and purposes, a cheap tactic; however, Silent Night, Bloody Night has such an ambitious plot that narration is quite necessary. Furthermore, the narration is used well and actually adds to the overall atmosphere that the film gives off.

What sets Silent Night, Bloody Night apart from many holiday slasher films is the creepy tone it so perfectly exudes. Despite its incredibly low-budget, there lies a tangible layer of Gothic ambience that is quite similar to films such as Night of the Living Dead and Carnival of Souls. Silent Night, Bloody Night has a cold feeling about it, and not just in the physical sense. There’s a somberness about all aspects of the film, as it emanates a feeling of complete and utter despair, something of which comes through in everything from the locations, the set design, the music, the pace, and of course the exceptional cinematography by Adam Giffard.

Where everything seems to come together both in terms of plot and filmmaking technique is best portrayed in the film’s final act with a flashback sequence that runs nearly 13 minutes long. This sequence reveals the dark and demented history of the Butler Estate that has plagued the residents of the surrounding community for over 20 years. Blanketed beneath a hauntingly effective rendition of “Silent Night,” the surreal sepia tone photography hypnotically entrances the viewer into a world where a foreboding sense of madness is imminent. What is revealed in these moments is both fascinating and frightening, and these elements are greatly elevated in the way the segment is technically put together.

I’ve had the opportunity to see Silent Night, Bloody Night on a handful of occasions over the years – even reviewing it back in 2009 – and it’s come to be one of my favorite holiday set horror films. Film Chest recently released restored the film for DVD, and the difference between their restoration and any copy I have seen on YouTube or from a Mill Creek set is quite incredible. However, that’s not to say the film looks amazing, as this release is still filled with many imperfections, all of which can be forgiven considering Film Chest likely cannot afford to do extensive cleanup.

Silent Night, Bloody Night is a fine example of that rare perfect storm where a low-budget and artistry come together to concoct a film that is vastly more brilliant than its hokey, yet evocative title would ever allude to. If you are a fan of the movie, then the Film Chest upgrade is worth the money in my opinion. On the other hand, if you are curious about the film and aren’t quite ready to drop some cash on a DVD release, the full movie is available all over YouTube. Just be aware that the quality is going to be pretty shoddy.

Death-cember: The Fruitcake of Holiday Celebrations

While the holiday season began in September, you know, if you’ve stepped foot into any retail outlet in the last four months, nothing truly kicks the season of sadness off quite like the first day of DEATH-CEMBER! For those of you who aren’t hip to what Death-cember is selling, I shall give you the quick rundown: during the entire month of December, I place my focus on movies that are either holiday related or feature a wintry setting. Simple enough, right?

Anyway, over the past few years, Death-cember has, unfortunately, been a little neglected, which is mostly due to Chucktober fatigue. However, this season I plan to bring da pain and deliver a Death-cember worthy of at least 10 solid minutes of your time. But you don’t have to take my word for it, just take a look at what’s in store for you this holla-day season:

Now if that lineup that doesn’t unwrap your candy cane, then I don’t know what will! So without any further adoo-doo, let’s get this panty party started!

Death Hunt: Hunting For Catfish

I had surprisingly heard very little about 1981's Death Hunt, and the reason I say surprisingly is because Death Hunt contains a cast that testosterone dreams are made of. The top billed actors are Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin, two actors that are top tier cinema tough guys with enough rugged presence to chap your lips. Loosely based on a true story, Bronson plays Albert Johnson, a lone wolf trapper in the Canadian mountains that runs into a group of dirtballs at the tail end of a vicious dog fight. Johnson quickly makes enemies with the crew of jackals when he forcibly saves the losing dog moments from it's deathbed. This pisses off the dogs owner as well as his easily influential and simple minded pals, so they try to seek vengeance by attacking Johnson at his remote cabin, where things do not go their way when one of them ends up dead.

This is where Lee Marvin's character is introduced, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant named Edgar Millen. After the incident at Johnson's place, the leader of the crew and the dogs owner, Hazel (Ed Lauter), lies and says that Johnson attacked them, instead of vice versa. Knowing that Hazel and his crew are probably not being truthful, Millen still has to take Johnson in for questioning. Unfortunately, after a botched attempt at a friendly confrontation, Johnson is forced to protect his freedom, going on a defensive run from the law and taking out whomever makes the mistake of getting in his way.

Outside of Bronson and Marvin, Death Hunt has a vast role of characters that played by some great character actors of the past, many that most should recognize. I already brought up Ed Lauter as the sort of main antagonist, but there are also small roles as backup baddies played by people from Maury Chaykin to William Sanderson. Andrew Stevens also stars as the youthful and straight laced Constable Alvin Adams, who joins up with the very contrasting Millen character and his partner Sundog, who is played by Carl Weathers. Oh, did I forget to mention Carl Weathers is in this film? Yeah, can you smell the Stetson yet? Or should I say, Mandom?

With two fantastic tough guy leads, a cast of great character actors, a snowy mountain setting and you have yourself what is a perfect recipe for brooding action success. Well, maybe not perfect, but luckily, Death Hunt doesn't let down and while there is not a lot of wild action on screen, the action that is produced is exciting and worth a jump kick of joy. Death Hunt is much more of a character driven film and has the heart and soul of a western in almost everyway outside of the year in which it's set.

What really works best is how much depth the characters have and how they interact with one another. There are these little moments of honest interaction that are handled in a very subdued but telling fashion. Small things like Weather's character – while drinking heavily with Millen, Adams and an Eskimo woman of great size – reveals that his birth name is George Washington Lincoln Brown. Millen clearly has ribbed him for this presidential heavy name in the past and how it is shared with the new kid on the block is just a nice and real moment, showing that there is true history between the characters - a dynamic. These are moments that may bore some but for a film fan like myself, I find them to be fascinating.

There are many unsaid elements to Death Hunt, one of them being a strange but unsurprising bound that Millen and Johnson share with one another. They contrast each other heavily in how they live their lives, but the kind of men they are, is what makes them very similar to one another. Millen is leading the posse to find and capture Johnson, and he is the only man around with the capabilities and smarts to do it. Before these events, Millen is a grumpy, bitter and uncaring man on the surface. There are small glimpses of the real him (in front of a girlfriend of sorts, played by Angie Dickinson), but he keeps much of it bottled up (especially in front of other men), until he finds a purpose worthy of his time and skill...chasing a very dangerous wanted man through unsafe conditions.      

Millen also has a strong respect for Johnson and knows he is a man that is very dangerous, but it is his job to stop him, and he is the only man with the ability to do so. There is even a moment when he says the reason he should be the one to stop Johnson is, Johnson deserves to be stopped by him, meaning, not by some shmuck with no clue or sense of respect, much like the guys that started all of this. While Johnson and Millen only meet face to face for no more than a minute, both of these men have a bound that grows out of this understanding of one another. These are two men that believe in honor and respect and while they are in opposite positions, they show consideration for those positions. That is where the film is strongest is the ungraspable bond that these 'real' men share.

Death Hunt was directed by Peter (don't call me Death) Hunt, and the film has a wonderful aesthetic with the frigid setting. I simply love the winter gear worn by the characters, with the big ass furry snow boots and hats made from some sort of dead animal. However, I watched it on instant view and the transfer they had looked a little tight and unflattering to what might otherwise look like a gorgeous film. I would love to see a proper version of the movie, that's for sure. Either way, Death Hunt is well made and thought out character study with a top notch cast and so much testosterone that I had to shave nine times during the film's runtime.

Don't Open 'Till Christmas

Any film starting with a shake-tastic mid 80's disco dance party, complete with jerky, spastic dance moves straight out of crackville will usually capture my attention - and my heart. Toss in a harpooned through the face Santa and you're looking at straight love 4 life. 1984's Don't Open 'Till Christmas (Till, 'Til, or Til?) has both of these things within the first 5-10 minutes, but my heart I cannot completely give to this Holiday themed Slasher, still it's worth a yearly holiday booty call at least.

With an intricate and complicated plot, Don't Open 'Till Christmas is about a serial killer running amok in the streets of London. His target...Santa Claus! No, not the real Santa Claus, he lives in the North Pole not London, I'm talking about dudes rocking the red and white, complete with white beard and bottle of booze Santa. Scotland Yard is on the hunt to capture this Santa Slasher, but how many faux Santa's will be taken out before the authorities can figure out whom is behind these Claus killings?

With an insanely low IMDB score of 2.4, Don't Open 'Till Christmas is a second, maybe even third rate Slasher, but third rate is more than capable of delivering SOME goods. Some being the key word, thus the capitalization. This is one of those movies that is almost so bad that it's good, but it's not quite good enough to make it a must see, unless you are an avid Slasher fan or someone that enjoys B-Movies. I fall into both of those categories, so whatever that says...

Don't Open 'Till Christmas is technically inept at times with some terrible editing and complete lack of continuity between shots. There is no sense of direction in this film at all and often you have no idea where a scare might come from, because you have no clue where the characters are with the lack of flow from shot to shot. The lighting is weak too, but this is a low end 80's Holiday Slasher, so I won't harp on that too much - I will say that the music is so obtrusive at times, it could give Marlee Matlin a migraine.

The one thing about this film that hurts it the most is when it gets slow. That can hurt any film, but the slower parts of this movie are not just slow, they are completely boring...boring to the point that I ended up dusting my DVDs and some of my books during the downtime. Seriously. Anytime there wasn't the threat of a kill, or a naked lady, I was completely checked out. Then there's the killer, who is almost scary, wearing one of those clear masks without any expression on them. However, the way this Kringle killer "smiles with his eyes," just makes him look sort of like Jim J. Bullock in a see through mask.

Boring and clumsy or not, the film is not an entire loss. There are so many entertainingly bad things that happen in Don't Open 'Till Christmas, that I will have a soft spot for it no matter what. There is a street performed flute solo from one of the main characters. There is a chase scene between a couple of punks and a Santa on a bike, who cannot seem to generate enough peddle power to get away from the on-foot rebels. Then there is the best dialogue ever, when a chick dressed up in a Santa outfit tries to hook up with one of the main males characters, he yells "They'll think we're a couple of gays!" Is that like a couple of dollars, or a couple of cheeseburgers?

Oh, the fun doesn't end there...when trying to find the key to the door between you and freedom, the last person you should be asking is the murderer that captured you and is holding you captive. He probably isn't going to tell you...just a thought. And nothing says perfect Christmas present for a 12-year-old kid than a Swiss Army knife. You just never know when little Bobby might need a tiny pair of nose hair scissors or a wine opener. Unless he has aspiration to be a mall Santa that is, then the opener may be a great gift idea.

Now, the real good stuff comes in the form of the kills. I'm serious too. While there are a fair amount of straight stabs, there are also a ton of very satisfying Santa Slashings. The poor Santa's in this movie - they are just getting blasted, plastered, and splattered left and right with a variety of weapons. Axes to the face, knives in the gut, spiked glove to the dome piece, an eye gouging, the before mentioned harpoon through the grill, there's even a Claus cock cut. So at least there are a lot of fun kills to be had and that is a big saving grace for this movie.

You know what, besides being slayed, flayed, and uhh, made...to be dead, Santa is given one heck of a bad rap in this film. Each one of these dude could give Billy Bob a run for his money as they are portrayed as despicable, pathetic losers and all but one of them is bombed. The one that isn't wasted though, is the one that is looking to fulfill his fantasies and dreams, at a peepshow - cause he's a dirty-bird perv! Shit, there is even some child witnessed Santa sex as one of these poor excuses for magic is caught plowing more than his driveway.

So while it didn't completely steal my heart, Don't Open 'Till Christmas made it flutter a bit with its acceptable amount of nudity, entertaining death scenes, and all around awful badness. Still, there is a lot going against it with there being so many dragged out slow moments and lack of movie making skill. For a fan of the genre and anyone looking for a fun party movie, I can recommend this Santasploitation to keep you warm this season. There are worse, but there certainly are better too. Ya know, like Jack Frost, or any of the Silent Night films. Those are high-class art!

Evil Things

I'm a big fan of handheld styled lost footage films and have seen a good deal of them too. From Blair Witch to the imperfect, but effective, The Last Broadcast and all the way to the most recent Paranormal Activity, I love the genre, and something about the filming technique just works for me. Very often, there is some sort of marketing behind these films - Blair Witch clearly did this best with its use of the Internet to make many suspecting cinema goers believe the occurrence on screen were real, even setting up an entire mythos and back story just to suck people in even further. While also using the Internet, Cloverfield did something entirely different, as it was pretty obvious that the events in the one time untitled movie did not happen in real life, but they were able to create a massive amount of interest and intrigue by not showing anything and keeping the secret as to what exactly was behind all the ruckus.

Then there's a film like The St. Francisville Experiment. Hot on the heals of Blair Witch, the filmmakers of The Saint Francisville Experiment claimed in the pages of Fango that the handheld events depicted in the movie were real. I, for whatever asinine reason, believed them, and when I saw the film, it was the fakest shit I had ever seen. It was as unrealistic as you can get, and when you have shots coming from cameras that are clearly not operated by your characters, there is a major problem. I hate that movie.


All of this brings me to a package I received the other day; stamped with the word CONFIDENTIAL on it, the 8x5 manila envelope contained a letter from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (you know, the FBI!) that asked for my assistance in a missing persons case. On January of 2009, five college students left New York City to spend the weekend in the woods. 48 hours later, all five students simply vanished without a trace. The only lead in the case is a VHS tape that was found. That VHS tape was transferred to DVD and enclosed for my viewing with hopes that I can assist with the on going investigation in some way.

This was truly a nice little touch and a very smart and fun way to market a film, though, I thought it had something to do with my unpaid taxes at first, which is far scarier than anything in any handheld horror film. Now, what is this mysterious film you ask? It's called Evil Things, and it's the newest entry in the handheld horror genre using the lost footage hook. The lost footage thing is getting a bit played out, but the way this film was sent to me in such an involving packaging really brought it up a level and put me in a positive mood to see the movie.

Written and directed by Dominic Perez, Evil Things is a voyeuristic look at how five collage students end up missing while out for a fun filled, albeit, secluded weekend in upstate New York. On the way to their destination the group encounter a menacing van on the snowy and dangerous mountain roads, a menacing van that almost seems to be stalking them. They make it to their destination, which is a beautiful Country home lent to them so they can have the perfect place to celebrate one of the girls 21st birthday. While enjoying their amazing snow filled surroundings, and a whole lotta beers, they soon begin to believe they aren't alone and that someone, a hillbilly, a bear, or maybe even the person in the van from before, is stalking them.

Filmed in 7 days for a budget just around $10k, Evil Things being a vérité film uses one of the characters, who is an aspiring documentary filmmaker as the gateway to seeing this lost footage. To be honest, I really don't even need too much of an explanation for that aspect, so aspiring filmmaker works for me. I will say that the style is used quite efficiently and flows realistically from shot to shot for most of the film. That's important, even in this genre, because it could easily just look like a slop job if poorly shot and edited or, worse yet, if it were to look too forced.


Coming in at only 75 minutes, Evil Things is somewhat slow paced for a major portion of the film. There is a few slight moments of nicely executed threat when they are on their road rage road trip and a few little things happen to stir up a goosebump or two at the house they are staying at, but it's mostly slow goings for a bulk of the movie. With that said, the characters are all very well written (though a lot is improvised), honest and surprisingly realistic. I found myself not being bored because I actually enjoyed my time spent with the group, watching them act like dorky college kids out having fun together, all the while knowing something bad is eventually going to happen.

Another surprising aspect of Evil Things, is the actors themselves. They are all fairly young, late teen to early 20's, but there really is not a bad actor in the bunch. In fact, overall, the entire cast was very solid, with a standout performance specifically from Laurel Casillo who plays Cassy. Very engaging and just as cute, Casillo has a definite star quality to her and she is quite charming and a joy to watch on screen.


While the film is pretty slow to go, it is all payoff in the last 15 minutes. There is a great voyeuristic reveal that was more than effective in tingling my spine, and the whole ending is very tense and pretty well paced with the exception of a scene that is unrealistically dragged out, but has to be dragged out to serve its purpose. Still, the last moments are genuinely creepy and really sold me on the entire film, and this is also where the great secluded location really excels in its lack of protection and ease of access. I do wish there were more of an explanation as to what happens, but ambiguity may be a factor of budget.


I have a few quibbles, one of them being the use of music during the third act of the movie. It is very ambient and low key, but it's there and you really do not want to have a score in anyway in this type of film...even if the score is decent. Another thing that is less of a complaint and more of an observation is when the characters are in the snow covered woods, they more than once make reference to a noise probably just being a bear or possibly a bird. It's winter. I couldn't tell if this was meant to be played comically or not, or possibly this was showing the characters are a bit naive? I'm not sure, but I think that EVERYONE knows that bears and birds go to Bermuda for the winter months. 

So in the pantheon of lost footage horror films, Evil Things certainly deserves a place, as it is a solid little horror movie made for less than peanuts. A better term might be peanut shells or peanut shell dust, perhaps? Either way, I had a good time with this one, and I loved the fun packaging that I received it in just to top it all off. With the success of Paranormal Activity, I would really like to see this movie get a bit of a boost and maybe a small theatrical run; it is deserving of such, and I always love to see the little guy do well, so hopefully this cute little campaign helps get the word spread a little bit.


You can learn more about Evil Things the movie, it's actors and the writer director Dominic Perez over at the official website, which has some testimonial videos from the missing kids family's and friends for added mysterious fun. No definitive DVD release date as of this time, but the gears are in motion for one, along with a possible sequel. If any news comes about, of course, you will be the first to know! Thanks to John from Freddy in Space for the heads up on this one.

Trees Have Feelings Too

Sorry folks, but no Horror Hangover for this week. With the holiday season flooding the television market with Christmas movies that are the equivalent of SyFy channel films, there is so little worth mentioning on TV this Sunday. However, I should bring up that Chan-wook Park's 2006 film, I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK is playing at 3:30 on the Sundance Channel. It's not nearly as good as his other films and it's a little overly long, but I like the movie in all its quirkiness and it's certainly worth a viewing.

So to make up for the lack of horror happenings this weekend, I will post the short film, Treevenge! This Jason Eisener directed short has been around for a little while now, so some of you may have already seen it, but if not, then definitely check it out. It's not too long (about 16 minutes), it's a lot of fun, and it is a great way to learn the importance of artificial trees, while showing us that there are much worse things than having to vacuum up pine needles.



Talk about a case of something's "bark" being worse than its bite, and I wonder...if Tarantino directed this, would there be a shot from inside of a "trunk?!"

Hopefully next week will give us a better showing in terms of genre movies, if not, then I will be forced to talk about shit like The Santa Clause or A Boyfriend for Christmas...and I'll do it!

Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) All, Is Not Calm...

It's Christmas Eve in a small New England town, where a battle over the rights to an infamous psychiatric hospital with a storied and disturbing history has been going on. The hospital's owner has no interest in this long time abandoned building and is trying to strike a quick deal to get rid of it for good. Besides the mysterious horrifying history behind the asylum that is plaguing the community, there is also the threat of an escaped serial killer running around knocking off the town's bigwigs. For the record, that always makes things worse. That's the best your getting out of me as far as a plot goes, because Theodore Gershuny's Silent Night, Bloody Night has an obnoxious plot filled with a lot of depth - and a lot of holes that go just as deep. Very confusing at times and told through voice over for at least 40% of the film, this 1972-or-3-or-4 holiday Slasher film is incredibly tedious with its overly complicated story. HOWEVER, there is a story to be had and one that has some smarts to it in many ways. Dealing with intense family trauma, cover-ups and themes of incest, there is something interesting to take from this film's story, convoluted or not. Silent Night, Bloody Night was made almost two years before Black Christmas, but wasn't released until '74, the same year as Bob Clark's holiday Slasher classic (which I will be posting a review for very soon!). So it's an easy case to make that Silent Night is the first Slasher film and there is no way in hell that "someone " didn't see, or hear about, or even know someone that worked on this film and used it some capacity as inspiration for Black Christmas. Not to take anything away from Black Christmas, which is an inspirational film that paved the way for Halloween to pave the way for the Slasher genre as we know it, but this film's inspiration should certainly be noted. Silent Night, Bloody Night is filled to the rim with promise and great ideas, only to be hindered by the low budget and cheapness of it all. Doesn't help that most transfers of this film are utter shit too. This first use of a Slasher POV is competent-to-very well done and there are some odd, yet intriguing technical and stylistic choices that work and hurt the movie. Shot in a sort of low light, the film has a very nice looking, almost Gothic quality to it (and the old New England setting helps too), there are some shots that are only lit by a lantern, which had a great old look and feeling...kinda reminded me of Old Sturbridge Village! With that, kinda neat, kinda cool low light effect comes a wickedly dark film that is made even darker by a terrible transfer of an older low budget movie. There are moments where you can almost see nothing on screen. Not entirely the fault of the filmmakers, but there are some very dark scenes in Silent Night, Bloody Night, bad transfer or not. There are even a few decent kills in this holiday horror with one of them really being a surprise in a Psycho sort of way, as in, I was not expecting it to happen when it did. Or I am naive, which could be the case too. As I mentioned before, there is a lot of voice over, and while voice over is often used as a crutch for the untalented, it is much needed in such a complex story. Most of the voice over work in the opening of the film is set to old photos of the past, as the history of the mental institution and the town is gone over. Almost the entire last 20 minutes of Silent Night, Bloody Night is told through voice over, but instead of being done to photos, it is done to old sepia tone footage of the past horrors that occurred. It is surprisingly inventive and while being a bit off putting at first, it really starts to draw you into what is happening with how it's done...which is well I might add. At one long moment, the voice over to this old footage is fittingly replaced by an instrumental version of the Christmas song, Silent Night, Holy Night and it is a very creepy and nicely created scene that had me at full attention as to what was happening on screen. What unfolds in the story during this final act is another captivating aspect too and something that keeps the wild plot above water with its incestuous cover up scheme and other equally awful happenings at the mental institution resulting in the current issue of the escaped lunatic that is taking people out in present times. Silent Night, Bloody Night has cult status written all over it, with its proto-Slasher sensibilities and to top it off, there are a few nice genre surprises to be found with a mute played by John Carradine and the presence of cult starlet, Mary Woronov. While this film is a bit of a mess and extremely cheap looking, there is a lot to be seen in this little known gem and it is worth the time of any fan of Slasher films and anyone looking for a decent Christmas horror movie. Silent Night is a public domain film, so it is easy to find on many multi pack sets and it is available to watch on sites like YouTube, so you have no reason not to give this one a try!

CNAMB Presents: Holiday Monster of the Week!

Why not go a different route and make this months Monsters of the Week holiday themed? Some of the upcoming monsters might not be your typical antagonists that you would find in this segment, but they will be monsters in some capacity, therefor garnering them this prestigious honor.

Our first holiday monster is one that would certainly make it year round, but now would be the perfect time to show some love for this tiny terror. This weeks Monster of the Week is....

Stripe!

Created by Chris Columbus, Stripe made his big Hollywood debut in 1984 in Joe Dante's holiday classic, Gremlins. As the vicious leader of the rogue Mogwai, Stripe came about when dumb ass Billy accidentally spilt water all over his precious pet Mogwai, Gizmo. Voiced by Frank Welker, Stripe has appeared in numerous old school video games based off the Gremlins franchise and also was one of the baddies to some degree in Gremlins 2: The New Batch as Mohawk...a sort of off shoot of Stripe. I am a huge fan of both Gremlins films and it was only a matter of time before Stripe showed up as a Monster of the Week - what better time than during Death-cember?!

Instead of a trailer or a clip of Stripe in action, I will provide you with this fantastic fan made thingy. The Exorcist and Batman segments are so great!

Snow Angels

Brrrr...it sure is getting cold outside, but there is not yet a flake of snow to be seen in my neck of the woods, which is somewhat unfortunate. I love when it snows and being from Massachusetts, I have seen more than my fair share. I really only hate snow when it starts melting and gets all slushy and gross - otherwise, I love the look of it as it coats my surroundings in purity and solitude.

To help quench my thirst for the white stuff, I busted out a few of my favorite revenge based fight scenes that take place in the snow, with some women hot enough to melt their respective fighting surfaces.

A movie that everyone should see if you are a fan of Asian cinema and Martial Arts (or even if you're not), Lady Snowblood is amazing and has more style and originality than 90% of films made today. The film's star, Meiko Kaji is one of the most beautiful Japanese actresses to have ever graced the screen.

Lady Snowblood: Vengeance is A Dish Best Served Cold



Rarely (and surprisingly) do I use the NSFW tag, but it is necessary with this next clip for the pinky violence classic, Sex and Fury. I should warn you that you will have to watch this video a few times; it will take you at least one viewing to get over the fact that the "Snow Angel" in this clip, Reiko Ike is completely nude while she jacks these dudes up. Once you get over that, there is some awesome stuff to be seen here. The music is so great, as well as the way it's shot, in particular when you only see her legs, her shadow, and limbs hitting the ground.

Sex and Fury: Nude With A 'Tude - or - I think Your Headlights Are On



As you saw with the previous clips, Kill Bill was inspired heavily by both films and this "chilling" scene in particular by Sex and Fury's backdrop and look. I couldn't have the other two clips and leave this one out, because it truly is a goose bump inducing snow set fight scene and one of my favorites.

Kill Bill Volume 1: That Really Was A Hattori Hanzo Sword

It's Begining to Look A Lot Like Kwanzaa...

It is officially December and as you can tell from my inspired banner, it's time to start the Christmas celebration! First off, much like Chucktober, I decided to rename the month of December to fit my own personal liking. I have been going back and forth between calling it "Dismember" or "Death-cember" and in the end, I liked Death-cember a little better. So from now on, the month of December will forever be known as Death-cember (let's see how many times I fuck up the spelling...) here at CNAMB! If anyone would like to use Dismember for their own blog, then please send me a money order for $50 and a box of crayons, and it's all yours!

There are 10,926 horror blogs out there and at least 90% of them will be doing a Christmas Horror themed month, I am assuming. This causes me great grief knowing that so many others will be doing the same thing and there isn't that much to choose from to stay different (though I look forward to what others do). I'll think of something, hopefully, but I will definitely be covering a few Holiday Horror films throughout the month and along with those, I will cover a couple of films that are set in winter. Winter means snow and snow means my favorite movie aesthetic. Period. I LOVE snow in my movies and that could partially explain why I kinda love awful Hallmark Christmas films. Or it could be that I am a huge pansy, but whatever.

Another thing that kinda bums me out is something that came up in the comments section of a recent post about the eventual over saturation of holiday Horror blogging. Bee Ef Ef Emily, from The Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense, brought up that she wished there were some Hanukkah (spell check?!) Horror films out there to cover and sadly, there really aren't any at all. I celebrate Christmas, because I believe in commercialism and I easily fall victim to pretty colors and sparkly fun things, but I feel it only fair to be able to cover some of the other holidays like Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. I don't even know if I have any readers that celebrate those holidays, but in the chance that I do, why should they be excluded from the holiday fun?!

Oh well...maybe someone will see there is a couple of holidays the need to be exploited and make some great Hanukkah/Kwanzaa sleaze in the future. I can only hope so at least. I do look forward to this month of Death-cember and I will begin by leaving you with this fun and very nostalgic clip to start off the holiday hoedown!