Dirty Horror Memory Lane: Twisted Sister’s ‘Be Chrool To Your Scuel’ (1985)

If you read the title and thought that my ‘spell check’ went haywire, you would be mistaken.  As I like to do from time to time, I take a trip down memory lane which usually results in me being depressed about how old I’m getting.  But not today, because this memory makes me happy!  How could it not when it involves Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, and Tom Savini?  Yes, I’m talking about the video for the song ‘Be Chrool To Your Scuel‘ off of Twisted Sister’s album ‘Come Out And Play‘.  And the obvious misspelling in the song’s title is an ode to the school system failing the students.

Ok.  Now that you’ve witnessed the it and let it sink in – here are my favorite moments of that glorious video:

  • Bobcat Goldthwait being Bobcat Goldthwait
  • Tom Savini turning into Alice Cooper
  • Zombie cheerleaders
  • Dee Snider’s hair
  • Flaming oven mitts
  • A zombie playing the saxophone

Apparently this video was banned from MTV because of the violence involved, and not necessarily the message that schools and teachers suck.  Gotta love that Tom Savini got to showcase his skills as a special effects artist, albeit on much more noticeable low-budget level.  It’s moments like this that I love the invention of Youtube.

Dirty Horror Memory Lane: Alligator Game (1980)

I was an impressionable 5-year-old in 1980 when the cult classic creature feature Alligator came out.  My memory is a bit foggy, but I remember being scared to death that if I ever under some random circumstance bought a baby alligator, my Dad would promptly flush it down the toilet.  Then, a giant alligator would mutate in the sewers of my small Indiana town and chew up anyone and anything in it’s path when it got loose.  Yikes!  Funny thing is though, I loved Alligator even though I was young and even though it scared the shit out of me.  So my lid was officially blown off recently when I discovered that there was a children’s game based off of the very movie!

Whaaaaaat?  Yeah, it was real alright.  Pretty menacing game if you ask me and it makes Crocodile Dentist look like it’s wearing a skirt.  And yes, your eyes weren’t deceiving you.  One of the little kids in the commercial was indeed Flick from A Christmas Story…..who later went on to do porn – fun fact!  But back to the game.  I want it.  Only problem is that it is RARE.  And you may need to recruit the help of the Toy Hunter to help you find it.

Not all hope is lost though, because thanks to Ebay, you can pay 10 times what it originally cost if you do happen to find it!  Hooray for the price gougers. But look, it’s a small price to pay in actuality considering how rare the game is and considering how much fun you and your friends can have while playing it. Nothing like grown men sitting around putting plastic game pieces into a plastic alligator.  Speaking of which, since the game is based on the Alligator movie, why is the point of the game to put things like a television and briefcase into the alligator’s jaws?  Pfffft.  So inaccurate.