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Top 10 Music Videos Of 2012

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Have we been slamming you with enough lists over the past several days? No? GOOD! Here’s another one for ya!

Now, you should know that I’ve seen more music videos this year than I had well balanced meals. Seriously, I’m watching them constantly. It can get pretty hectic and insane trying to remember many of them but, just like with any other medium, there are ones that stand out and become something incredibly important: they become memorable. And with that in mind, I want to share with you my Top 10 Music Videos Of 2012! Head on below to check ’em out!

10. Twelve Foot Ninja – “Coming For You”

Any band that can make fun of themselves while playing some badass music will get my attention and my admiration. These guys did all of that and more. Kudos for making me laugh!

9. Cattle Decapitation – “Forced Gender Reassignment”

I don’t think anyone could’ve seen how big and controversial this video would become when we premiered it. While many say that it is gore for the sake of gore, I completely disagree. I see it as a vicious, unrelenting attack on our senses while asking a very, very simple question: If you can force your vile, hate-filled beliefs upon us, why are we not allowed to do the same unto you?

Let this video serve as a warning that you do not mess with Cattle Decapitation lest they bring out the gimp.


8. Rammstein – “Mein Herz Brennt”

Visually dark, violent, and glorious, Rammstein have never been ones to hold back when bringing visuals to their music.

7. Municipal Waste – “You’re Cut Off”

This video is nothing but pure, gory, violent fun. Every second is a joy to watch and it never fails to put a huge smile on my face. Now I just need to know where I can get some of that neon green beer…

6. Job For A Cowboy – “Tarnished Gluttony

I’m a huge sucker for Lovecraft inspired tales and “Tarnished Gluttony” brings it all in spades. Definitely not a video for the queasy, it’s a beautiful, elegant tale that is as horrific as it is fascinating.

5. Pig Destroyer – “The Diplomat”

Monkeys with machine guns. A surreal, demonic lobbyist. Slenderman as a chauffeur. Hey, did I mention there are freakin’ monkeys with machine guns?!?!?!

4. Storm Corrosion – “Drag Ropes”

This music video transcends the idea of a conventional music video and instead becomes a piece of art. Beautifully crafted and haunting, it tells an eerie tale with fantastic, engrossing visuals.

3. Nekrogoblikon – “No One Survies”

How often do you find a music video that makes you empathize with a goblin and hate a human in the space of a few minutes? This video did that and a whole hell of a lot more. It’s going to be hard to top this one but I have a feeling the Nekrogoblikon boys have a few tricks up their sleeves.

2. The Death Set – “They Come To Get Us”

If I’m in a bad mood, I pop this video on and everything is made better. On top of being a fantastically energetic song, the video has an ungodly amount of pop culture references in it that will have you pointing and the screen and yelling, “Oh!” over and over again. Super Mario? Check. The Starship Enterprise? Yup. Godzilla? Si senor. Street Fighter? Signs point to ‘Yes’.

1. Sigur Ros – “Varúð”

This is not an official video. Rather, this was one entry into a contest that was run by Sigur Ros. It landed in the top 5 out of over 830 submissions. Personally, I would’ve picked it as the winner. But since I can’t do that, I’ll put it here as my #1 music video of the year.

No music video has touched me as deeply or moved me as much as this. The performances are entirely believable, the cinematography is stunning, and the story is so subtly and beautifully told. Every time I watch this video, and I write this with no shame whatsoever, I have to hold back tears. When it came time to put this list together, there was no question in my mind as to where this would place.

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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