Happy Halloween, retro maniacs!

You’ve likely not heard of Videogram before. That’s OK, we hadn’t either. But they’re making one hell of a splash in both the gaming and music scenes thanks to the video for their single “Voorhees Stomp,” which incorporates graphics from the notorious Friday the 13th NES game coded by Rare and published by LJN. You couldn’t ask for a better October story to drop right into your lap. Hit the jump and let’s listen together!Voorhees Stomp tells the story of a lonely, woods-dwelling maniac who only wants companionship to bring about some variety to his solitary existence. It’s understandable–if your only friend was the decomposing head of your own mom, you’d probably run out of things to talk about after the first month or so. Fortunately, Jason has found one thing he’s good at besides machete twirling: dancing! He’s got a mirror ball set up in one of the big cabins at Crystal Lake and everything. But what good is it to be the best dancer in an abandoned summer camp if no one’s around to see you? Jason’s big idea is to find new blood to fill his hall, and the passing cruise ship on its way to New York has plenty of potential.

Director Aaron Romero (a name guaranteed to get one noticed in horror circles) uses the hockey masked one’s escapades in Friday the 13th, Part VIII to form the backdrop to this, pardon the pun, killer electronic track. In addition to the obvious Friday sprites, Jason’s victims are edited and recolored versions of the male and female playable characters from the Nightmare on Elm Street NES game, who fit perfectly with the theme and look a darn sight better than most of the counselors from Friday’s 8-bit outing. Every kill is hilariously rendered to NES standards, with minimal if any gore, and bodies which flash and disappear, only to reappear as head-nodding beat-keepers helping Jason dance the night away in the larger cabin.

Videogram’s premier track is just a taste of things to come. They’ve got two forthcoming albums open for pre-order on iTunes if you like their sound. Their Camp Blood 10″ EP is a five-track album featuring Voorhees Stomp, an extended remix, and three other Friday the 13th-themed instrumental tracks; it’s available for $4.95. Their other offering is Pre-Cert, a full-length album of thirteen tracks, each one representing and inspired by a different horror film including Phantasm (“Silver Sphere”), John Carpenter’s The Thing (“Man is the Warmest Place to Hide”), and The Omen (“Damien”); they’re asking $9.99, which is less than a buck per track and a damn good deal.

Voorhees Stomp is just the latest offering from Videogram’s electronic catalog. Among their other offerings are three-track EP Cobretti, inspired by the Stallone film Cobra, Outpost 31 Isn’t Responding, a two-track single inspired by Carpenter’s The Thing, and their self-titled release Videogram which, like Pre-Cert, pulls from flicks including “Death Wish”, “Maniac”, and “Eaten Alive” for influence over its fifteen track length.

If you’re hosting a Halloween party this year, or have been tasked with providing the tunes for someone else’s, Videogram just might have what you’re looking for to make your next get-together a killer memory they’ll never forget.

Michael Crisman

In 1979, Michael Crisman was mauled by a radioactive Gorgar pinball machine. After the wounds healed, doctors discovered his DNA had been re-coded. No longer fully human, Michael requires regular infusions of video games in order to continue living among you. If you see him, he can see you. Make no sudden moves, but instead bribe him with old issues of computer and video game magazines or a mint-in-box copy of Dragon Warrior IV.


If he made you laugh, drop a tip in his jar at http://paypal.me/modernzorker


(If he didn't make you laugh, donate to cure his compulsion to bang keyboards by sending an absurdly huge amount of money to his tip jar instead. That'll show him!)