Editorials
A Very Scary Christmas: 5 Horrific Holiday Specials!
This Christmas Netflix has announced it will be adding Black Mirror‘s dreary Christmas special “White Christmas”, in anticipation for all new episodes. If you’re unfamiliar with the BBC show I recommend you check it out immediately. It’s pitch black satire is probably one of the most relevant things on TV today, but I digress. We’re here to talk about the very special Christmas episodes of our favorite spooky shows. After all, telling scary stories is an age-old Christmas tradition that seems to be forgotten.
“A Very Supernatural Christmas”: Supernatural
While I’ve grown weary of Supernatural over the years, I do still enjoy a re-run from time to time. “A Very Supernatural Christmas” aired as the 8th episode of the third season. The Winchester brothers are off on a monster-of-the-week hunt when they run into two pagan gods who commit blood sacrifices for the holiday.
This was one of the more serious brotherly episodes, being that Dean was meant to be dead in a year. But the message of Christmas shines brightly in this episode and adds a nod to the original Pagan lore. The episodes deliver one of it’s more gruesome scenes and quite a bit of the goofy humor I’ve grown to miss in these later seasons.
“Christmas With the Addams Family”: The Addams Family
I’ve been a fan of every incarnation of The Addams Family that has ever been on screen, big or small. While doing some research on episodes for this list I came across “Christmas With the Addams Family” and realized I had missed out on it as a kid. In this particular tale, Wednesday and Pugsley are sad to find out there might be no Santa Clause thanks to some shitty neighbor. To try and get the children’s mind off of it, each member disguises themselves as Santa.
You can guess what family-friendly antics occurs from there, I’d highly recommend this one for spooky Christmas of the family kind. However, this show still holds up even as an adult. It’s still funny, Gomez and Morticia are still the sexiest and best TV couple around, and the DVD set I have looks great!
“Unholy Night”: American Horror Story: Asylum
American Horror Story has become known for its Halloween-themed episodes, but I’ve often wondered why they don’t cash in on Christmas more? Asylum (which Trace liked way more than I did) is the only season to really go all out for the Christmas season. There’s really no wonder why this is probably my favorite episode of the season, it was written by James Wong.
“Unholy Night” is a somewhat one-off episode that actually ends up setting the entire story in a different direction. Leigh Emerson is a psychotic killer who shot a man dressed as Santa one evening and stole the costume. From there he went on a murder spree declaring he had lost his Christmas spirit, these days he’d probably just turn into a Krampus. I love this episode for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a downright nasty and gritty episode given the juxtaposition of Christmas flare and grisly murder. Second, this episode is what really breaks down Sister Jude and when she comes crashing down it’s a glorious tragedy.
“Seasons of Belief”: Tales From the Darkside
As a kid I LOVED Tales From the Darkside, I watched reruns on TV all the time but the only thing that ever stuck with my was the title sequence. As an adult, I’ve rewatched the series and realized that the title sequence is really the only memorable thing about the show. I still enjoy it for a nostalgia and cheese factor, but overall it’s pretty bland. And then there’s “Seasons of Belief”.
Starring E.G. Marshall post-Creepshow and absolutely no one else you’ve ever heard of, this tale is set on Christmas Eve. Marshall and his wife must keep their aggravating children in line when they start questioning the actuality of Santa Claus. Thus, the story of The Grither is born, which is basically a Krampus punk wannabe. So the myth goes, if you say its name it will hear you and grow bigger and bigger with each utterance of its name. The worst of it is if you don’t finish the story The Grither will find and kill you. Obviously, Marshall never finishes the story, in fact, he brushes it off as fiction once the kiddies get scared, and that is his downfall.
Most episodes are forgettable, but this one stands out among them. For one, it’s much more animated than any others, The Grither’s arms bursting through the windows is a fun scene and scaring kids for Christmas is just good fun.
“And All Through The House”: Tales From the Crypt
On the polar opposite side of Tales From the Darkside, we have Tales From the Crypt HBO’s blood-drenched, pun-spewing contribution to anthology TV. This specific episode was one of very few that were adapted from the Tales From the Crypt Amicus anthology. This particular segment originally starred Joan Collins and was directed by Freddie Francis (Evil of Frankenstein) but for the show they brought in Fred Dekker to write and Robert Zemeckis to direct, Mary Ellen Trainor replaces Joan Collins.
“And All Through the House” is one of the first episodes of the first season and it’s loved by most horror fans, I know it’s a tradition in my house every year. On Christmas Eve, a fed up wife clobbers her husband to death with a fire poker, only to learn that an insane man dressed as Santa is roaming her neighborhood. Out of all the episodes listed here, this is by far lacking the most in the spirit of Christmas. Oh sure, Christmas is splayed all through the episode visually but whereas the others sort of end on a happier note, we can pretty much assume Mary Ellen Trainor and her daughter are reindeer food. And maybe that’s why I like it so much.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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