Rocking Out with 'Ren & Stimpy's Crock O' Christmas'

Ever since I caught wind that original episodes of The Ren & Stimpy Show would be returning to Nickelodeon (albeit on its sister network, Nicktoons) this coming January I've been in an extra special nostalgia mood. So much that I started digging through my assortment of Ren & Stimpy related paraphernalia for the first time in years. Low and behold what did I find, but a copy of the dysfunctional animated duos Christmas-themed album, Ren & Stimpy's Crock O' Christmas.

With such classic holiday hymnals as 'Decorate Yourself' and 'It's a Wizzleteats Kind of Christmas,' Crock O' Christmas proved to me just why I so fondly remember the adolescent goofballs. Sure, some of the humor is crude, but let's be honest: when was the last time you've heard a fart joke delivered so masterfully as when Stimpy and his son Stinky (the Fart) reminisce in 'What Is Christmas?' I dare you to find a more endearing ode to feline projectile vomit than 'Cat Hairballs' or any album anywhere that has such a love for Yaks.

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Simon Pegg and Nick Frost helmed 'Paul' Trailer

They've taken on the horror genre with Shaun of the Dead and buddy/action flicks with Hot Fuzz. Now, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have sets their sights on the sci-fi genre with Paul, featuring the [erratic] comical wit of Seth Rogen as the titular alien and Jason Bateman as a "man in black" among others (Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, Kristen Wiig).

Reuniting once more, Pegg and Frost play two sci-fi/comic nerds on their way to Area 51 where they hope their adventure will turn up some evidence of alien life. Unfortunately for them, it does and it's name is Paul. Like a hyperactive E.T., Paul is a crude, smart-mouth lifeform whose escaped from custody and hitched a ride with the duo in an attempt to get back home. As the trailer boasts, it's the most fun you'll have seeing an alien scratch his balls (okay, so maybe I'm paraphrasing).

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2 Friends. Hordes of the Undead. 80s Style Comedy.

Harold and Kumar. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The Blues Brothers. The world of film is full of buddy comedies that feature living, breathing best buds. But what about zombies? I mean, they can't ALL be mindless brain munchers... right? Introducing Deadheads, the first feature length film by brothers Brett and Drew Pierce. Having cut their teeth on the indie anthology, Secrets of Fenville, the brothers have set their sites on the zombie sub-genre.

Despite a rise in popularity for the "bullet sponges" in the past few years, it's hard for anything new to standout, but if this teaser trailer for Deadheads is any indication of the caliber of work that the Pierces can produce then horror and comedy fans have something to look forward to in 2011.

Deadheads a return to the great comedy/adventure films of the 80's like "Back to the Future" and the "Goonies". The story follows two zombie slackers, Mike and Brent, who find themselves surprisingly reborn from the dead amid a disastrous zombie outbreak. After discovering an engagement ring in his coat pocket, Mike enlists his new found zombie pal, Brent, to embark on a quest in search of his lost love.

What ensues is a hilarious cross country road trip as these two reformed flesh-eating pals hitchhike cross country as they are pursued by a team of zombie killin' bounty hunters!

The film is currently listed as being post-production which is promising for a 2011 debut. You can bet that this is one I'm keeping my eager eyes on.

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Trailer Terrors: Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)

"He kind of plays it fast and loose." 

Call it a guilty pleasure, but there's something about this time of year that puts me in the mood to watch a boatload of Chevy Chase films. Of course there's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but more than that I'm talking about Chase's classic fare like Caddyshack, Fletch, Nothing But Trouble, and (yep, you guessed it) Memoirs of an Invisible Man!

As one of the less fondly remembered Universal Monster, the Invisible Man has always had it kind of rough in terms making a lasting impression upon the horror world. Despite being the butt of many a joke, the Invisible Man does manage to work his way back into the Hollywood every so often (Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Hollow Man, several TV series) and in 1992 it just so happened that he fell in the lap of Chevy Chase by way of of John Carpenter. Yes, my friends, that same "master of horror" who brought us Halloween and They Live directed a comedy starring Chevy Chase as an Invisible Man. Can't get better than that, right?

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James Gunn Reveals 'Super' Release Date and New Images

If the name, James Gunn, sounds familiar that's probably because you run with the cool kids. As a Troma alum (he wrote and directed 1996's Tromeo and Juliet among others), Gunn also has SLiTHER, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Scooby-Doo and the phenomenally funny Humanzee! TV pilot to his credit.

So when I heard what the writer/director would be taking on next (a superhero-comedy), I instantly grew excited to see what form his madness would take. Surely, his time with Troma has endowed Gunn with a quirky storytelling sensibility that I can only imagine will result in an assortment of characters that will feel just as home in Tromaville as New York City proper. Not to even mention that it stars "Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Linda Cardellini, and Andre Royo." I mean, come on!

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Trailer Terrors: Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987)

He was just Ducky in "Pretty in Pink". Now he's crazy rich... and it's all his parents' fault.

Opening with your typically upbeat 80s comedy score, the first image in Morgan Stewarts Coming Home (1987) is a glorious shot of Fulci's iconic Zombie. The camera then pans down to reveal a monster mask, a poster of Peter Lorre, a zombified portrait of Mona Lisa, and oodles more horror paraphenelia. Yes, my friends, Morgan Stewart is a fellow horror fanatic.

Played by Jon Cryer (Pretty in Pink, Two and a Half Men), Morgan Stewart is the son of a senator father and socialite mother who have decided to forgo their Thanksgiving festivities which leaves young Morgan stuck in boarding school. Strangely enough, however, young Morgan finds himself called back home only weeks later at the bequest of his parents. Thus begins an "epic" quest to rediscover his estranged homestead.

As he packs for his timely departure, Morgan introduces us to his prize possession: a Tobe Hooper-autographed chainsaw. It's little touches like this, scattered all throughout the sets and wardrobe, that made this film such a pleasure to watch. Soon thereafter, Morgan's mother (who is hereby to be reffered to as "The Bitch") arrives via helicopter to pick him up. She seems surprisingly appalled to see the her son's horror bounty adorning the dorm walls, yet inexplicably unflinches at the thought of storming shower stalls full of young men in the buff. Go figure, the girl's got her priorities.

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Trailer Terrors: Eat and Run (1986)

A comedy with taste.

If you've ever wondered what really happened to Al Capone, chances are he was eaten alive by a 400 lb. alien named Murray. What... too soon?

Well that's (more or less) the premise of Eat & Run, a 1986 comedy/sci-fi parody about a bulbous alien from another planet who crashlands on Earth and finds he has a particular taste for Italian... the people, not the food. Played by pudgy character actor Pat Ryan Jr. (The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'Em High) I can't help being reminded of George "The Animal" Steele tearing up a turnbuckle with his teeth every time I see Murray devour a street vendor whole.

Similarly to The Thing with Two Heads, Eat & Run takes a potentially horrific concept and plays it primarily for laughs. While I didn't find it to be quite as funny as the aforementioned Thing with Two Heads, the film still offers a few chuckles, but ultimately becomes an indigestible mess over drawn-out gags. In fact, I was rather surprised to see Ron Silver (Timecop), who is IMO a pretty solid actor, unable to escape the ruthless barrage of barroom jokes and puns. The end result is just another lazy Sunday Matinee popcorn flick that really doesn't offer anything that you couldn't find done better in Disorderlies (1987).

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Trailer Terrors: Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)

Boldly going where no parents have gone before.

Only in the 90s could such a far-out premise such as this exist. Falling somewhere between the science fiction based special effects of Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) and the offbeat, campy humor of Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987), Mom and Dad Save the World is fueled by the same nostalgic comedy culture Suburban Commando (1991) or Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).

For what it is, the actors play their roles rather well even despite a nonsensical plot. Speaking of whom, the film stars a triple threat of comedic talent in the form of Teri Garr (Young Frankenstein, Nightscream), Jeffrey Jones (Howard the Duck, Beetlejuice) and the ever awkwardly amusing Jon Lovitz (Coneheads, The Critic) as Emperor Spengo.

The story (there is one, it just doesn't make a lot of sense) is a soft-headed parody of sci-fi tropes such as "Super Death Ray Lasers" and intergalactic conquest that acts as some sort of marital rehab weekend for Marge and Dick Nelson (played by Teri Garr and Jeffrey Jones respectively). There's probes, action, adventure, stupid shenanigans and yes, even a little romance along the way.

I should also note the great job done by Thomas Zell, Brian Penikas, Bill Sturgeon, Eddie Paul and the rest of the special effects team for their part in making the alien world come alive. I remember being scared stupid by one scene in the film where Dick Nelson is attacked by a pack of hopping, killer mushrooms (known as Lub-Lubs) in a sewer... to this day I still blame that scene for my aversion towards any ground-based fungi.

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Trailer Terrors: Surf Ninjas (1993)

Surf's up! Time to save the world.

Let's face it, in the 90s being a ninja was cool. There was ninja turtles, ninja kids and (unfortunately) a ninja Chris Farley. And though their mainstream popularity has dwindled since then, they remain part of a universal culture fascinated by men in pajama pants.

While ninja films aren't a personal favorite of mine, I have known to indulge every once in awhile with one of my personal favorites being New Line's Surf Ninjas (1993). Right on the cusp of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), Surf Ninjas benefited from an extraordinarily fluke of casting a range of mutually talented and diverse actors. Among the cast is Leslie Neilsen (hit or miss), Rob Schneider, Tone Loc and Ernie Reyes, Jr.

The depth of the plot is about as thin as Van Damme's Double Impact (1991), orphans sent away by their parents in hopes of keeping them safe from some unspeakable villain, but the clever balance of laughs and action are enough to keep you watching until the end. The part of the film that I remember most fondly, however, was in fact a shrewd attempt at product placement by Sega. Throughout the film the younger brother, Adam, had a device that I later discovered to be a Sega Game Gear with which he could control certain events such as objects in the scenery or characters in the movie. All I remember really was that it was bad-ass and I wanted one which, in hindsight, explains why Sega offered to partially finance the film.

The sleek, full color wide screen made my green-screened Gameboy look pretty lame by comparison so I pleaded with my parents to get me one for Christmas that year... didn't happen. I ended up having to settle for playing my friend's Game Gear and as it turns out, the device was so bulky and the game so expensive that it really wasn't all that fun anyway. You may have produced a great film, Sega, but your gaming device blew chunks.

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Terror Trailers: Repossessed (1990)

The Devil is back.

With films like Airplane!, Naked Gun and Dracula: Dead and Loving It under his belt, I've admittingly never really been a big fan of Leslie Nielsen's absurd style of comedy (the one exception being his appearance in Creepshow entitled Something to Tide You Over). Unfortunately, Repossessed proved to be no exception to the rule as this paranormal parody has left behind nothing in its wake except the rotten stench of decomposition.

Despite the clever re-casting of Linda Blair as the unfortunate vessel of Satan, allowing the film to pay homage to its source material while simultaneously taking a few sharp jabs at its haughty, religious overtones, this amounts to little more than puns and senseless antics which tend to overwhelm with their absurdity. I mean, how many times can you deliver the same Mother May I (Nielson's character is named Father Mayii) joke and hope that it gets funnier?

Largely forgotten, and roasted by critics upon its theatrical release, Repossessed did receive a reputable DVD transfer about a year back thanks to Lions Gate's Lost Collection (which also includes My Best Friend is a Vampire and Slaughter High). Much like later incarnations of the Scary Movie franchise, Repossessed is one of those films that might offer a chuckle or two in its first 30 minutes, but soon becomes a test of will to finish.

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Trailer Terrors: Scrooged

Bill Murray is a comedy legend. I say this with the utmost confidence (I choose to grant a reprieve for the abominable Garfield flick in favor of his Zombieland cameo), knowing that there a very few "traditions" I maintain over the course of my life. And yet watching Scrooged (1988) on, around, or before Christmas has been an immutable past time since I can remember.

I must have been around 9 or 10 when I was first being introduced to Scrooged on cable television (thanks USA network). It was a film that came across terrifyingly frightening and charming all in one and the fact that it was funny made me love it even more. Unfortunately, there are many movies nowadays that carry the same magical mixture of humor, horror and holiday spirit as Scrooged does with most the newer fare catering to younger viewers. Granted, there is nothing wrong with that at all, but its nice to know that there's an acceptable buffer between Black Christmas and Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure.

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Trailer Terrors: Transylvania Twist

Before Scary Movie made the movie spoof into a Hollywood phenomenon, there existed parodies of marginal horror humor such as Transylvania Twist (1989). Reminding us that fear often precedes laughter, Transylvania Twist takes a shot at nearly every modern bloodsucker, sicko and slaughter happy slasher of the last decade.

Starring steamy sexpot Teri Copley as Marissa alongside her sidekick Dexter Ward (Rick Altman), the razor thin plot follows the duo in search of some mystic book that will either save the day or call forth all the darkness of "The Evil One." In the end the monster is summoned and soundly defeated but just like the angry villagers, whose subplot ends with them giving up and going home, all you can do once its over is muster a chuckle and call it night.

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Trailer Terrors: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988)

Though she wasn't the first actress to don the black fingernails and pallid complexion in the name of horror, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) was the first to achieve national syndication and pop culture stature with her busty bevy of fright flicks and horror host appearances. Having enticed young adolescent boys the world over, it would seem that Elvira still hasn't lost her bite with a reality tv show in 2007 and a music video in 2009 for hillbilly horror band Ghoultown (directed by Gris Grimly).

This Trailer Terror takes us back to Elvira's first feature film and perhaps her springboard for super-scaredom, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. A campy, kooky parody that poked fun at the high ideals of puritanism and Hollywood horror, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark follows the horror hostess as she loses her job to a sleazy tv producer and subsequently finds herself the inheritor of her Great-Aunt Morgana. Horror-inspired hi jinks ensue as Elvira must defend her Great-Aunt's book of magic from her evil Great-Uncle Vincent (William Morgan Sheppard). In the end, it definitely carries that "80s vibe" with more emphasis on witty puns than solid storytelling.

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