Skippy is back!!! And this time he's brought Satan!!!
The Year of the Beast
The Good:
What comes around, goes around. I’ll tell you why
For me finally watching this thing was like hearing an old 80's metal song - nostalgic for an innocent time where you didn't realize how fucking stupid this shit was. Regardless, it's a pretty accurate snapshot of the metal subculture at the time, complete with un-ironic mullets, jean jackets and a passable metal soundtrack.
The Bad:
Lemmy's not walking through that door
Standing in for re-incarnated demon rock star villain Sammi Curr, (no really) is the long-forgotten band Fastway. This was odd to me because for such a critical choice it really doesn't ruin the movie or enhance it. It sounds like 80's metal but you wouldn't buy the soundtrack. Wouldn't it be cooler if they got say, Lemmy? Danzig? Boz Scaggs?
Don't fear the Skippy
As if it wasn't 1986 enough, our lead character Eddie, is played by none other than Marc Price, aka Skippy from Family Ties. I kept picturing him in the squirrel suit that he and Mallory had to wear for warmth when they got locked in the Keaton family's basement. Couldn’t he have conjured Satan to get to second base with Mallory?
Regardless he does pull off the disenfranchised metalhead everyone knew back in '86 and avoided on social media in ‘20. Like millions others - for Eddie, metal wasn’t just your music, it was your identity, along with your mullet, jean jacket and lingering virginity.
But one can be unpopular and still be an asshole. The idea of Eddie getting revenge on his classmates has aged as well as Fastway's greatest hits package. Come on Eddie, metal is about rocking out with your cock out, loose women and yes some occasional Satan worship, but not murder! Ronnie James Dio would be ashamed.
Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne are given top billing despite about three minutes of screen time combined. I thought Gene Simmons as the DJ was good but Ozzy's cameo was wasted. He played an anti-metal evangelist in an attempt at super not subtle irony. But how many British evangelists are there? Plus I had to watch Ozzy with the subtitles so I can understand his dialogue.
Sammi himself (he's the killer, remember?) is like a cross between Shocker and Nikki Sixx. (Presumably with prodigious satanic dong) He travels through electrical waves or sound waves or some shit and I for one just don’t find analog audio equipment that scary.
So yea, it appealed to the 13 year old fat kid stuffed into a Cinderella t-shirt who had no idea Rob Halford was gay but nothing else to distinguish itself. Okay maybe one thing;
Hot n’ Sony
Was a woman raped by a Walkman? Well I guess it was Sammi’s spirit traveling through the Walkman. Or was that a seduction? It’s hard to prove consent with an appliance. Either way, there’s something even Freddy never thought of.
Fun Fact:
1986 was also the year I saw my first concert - OZZY!
Recommendation:
Try the similarly titled Trick r' Treat instead. Watch the Metal Day at the 1983 US festival. The headliner was pretty good.
