Category Archives: Horror Nostalgia

Horror Nostalgia, Saturday Morning Cartoons

Retro Halloween Treat! Donald Duck and the Gorilla

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Nightmare Nostalgia originally started as an ode to the nightmares of our childhood and lemme tell you growing up in the 80s, I still don’t know how we were spoon-fed things like The Secret of NIMH or The Neverending Story as a family flick. AND LAWD HAVE MERCY DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON E.T. So it only seemed fitting that we revisit this little Disney nightmare I watched quite a bit growing up- Donald Duck and the Gorilla!

Originally released to theaters as part of the cartoon shorts campaign in March of 1944, Donald Duck and the Gorilla played in pretty heavy rotation when I was a kid in the 80s via Disney programming such as Good Morning Mickey! and Donald Duck Presents. Also, was pretty much the best part of Disney’s Halloween Treat (1982) beyond the Sleepy Hollow segment. It quickly became a favorite after a brief stint of this cartoon absolutely scaring the piss out of me as a toddler.

That Gorilla was scary, OK?! He was out for blood man and it gave me some fucked up nightmares.

The gorilla, actually named Ajax, has escaped from the zoo on a stormy night as reported by a radio announcement that Donald and his nephews are listening to. The kids are obviously horrified at the thought of a giant gorilla on the loose, and in true Donald fashion, Uncle Asshole, erm Donald makes a mockery of the situation pranking the ducklings and laughing the whole way. However, the kids prank Donald right back, as hey, Uncle taught them well, by dressing up in a life-like gorilla suit which turns into a scare-fest of terrifying each other- until the real thing shows up at their front door.

Ajax breaks into the house and with Donald still assuming that Ajax is merely his nephews’ fucking around, grabs the giant monkey by the face to try and pull off the “mask” only to discover this is indeed the real goddamn thing. Donald looks the ape straight into the eye, as per the radio announcer in an attempt to subdue the animal, but only sees a tombstone in the eyes of the animal that read, “Here Lies a Dead Duck.”

Chaos ensues as the chase around the house is tense and electrifying and I gotta say it left me on the edge of my seat as a kid. It helps that there’s a transition from the initial jump-scare scenes to you laughing your ass off during the maze-like house chase and ending as a real “tearjerker”.

Also released in 1983 VHS and Laserdisc style, the short was included in the Disney Scary Tales Volume 3 release and is a national treasure if you can ever get a hold of one.

Amazon: Not mine sadly

I have some pretty fond memories of this as a kid, from the nightmares as a young Patti, to the fun of watching this one, especially during Halloween time. Both are equally tangible to me. So let’s revisit this little gem together.

That is all. Brekenridge.

Horror Nostalgia

(Video) Get Hooked On This RARE VHS Promo For Hellraiser Merch!

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One size fits all… Even Pinhead!

Welcome back to another round of rare VHS promos exploited unshamlessly here on Nightmare Nostalgia. If you’re new here, VHS promos are my kryptonite and I just can’t get enough like Depeche Mode. And this one here might be one of the more rare ones I’ve ever posted as it’s only ever been seen on the first run of VHS and Beta-Max tapes released in 1987!

Behold the sights I have to show: The Hellraiser “Watch and Wear” merch promo of 1987!

The informercial-like promo cuts into the end credits and opens with a crazy cat-lady and her, umm, beloved feline Percy leading us into a gorgeous amount of merchandise that would make any day in Hell a delight. With a variety that includes tee shirts, a thermos and mug set, duffle bags, and even a slick-as-shit SATAN, erm, I mean SATIN Hellraiser jacket. I’m pretty jealous of anyone who has any of these highly collectible horror items today.

With options to buy via phone or mail, that Hellraiser shirt is a damn steal at just $8! And I’m willing to bet it’s worth a few hundred at the very least today.

Check out the promo in its entirety uploaded by Youtube user, IntermissionSociety!

Horror Nostalgia

Donald Pleasence And The Grim Reaper Sends a PSA To Kids So Horrifying That It Actually Worked

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Informational PSAs‘ were a natural part of traditional programming from the dawn of the boob tube up until the early 2000s’ where it became less common to have those in-between segments posing as commercials depressing you in the middle of your all-important Ninja Turtle program. While many may remember the 80s’ really got on the celebrity Just Say No bandwagon thanks to the likes of Nancy Regan, even with popular cartoons ending their show with a PSA of their own like He-Man and Jem which were informational, but light by nature most of the time, some were dark as hell. And in 1973, the most terrifying PSA debuted to British audiences everywhere that did its job; almost too well to the point, it made kids scared of water entirely.

That PSA was entitled ‘Lonely Water‘ or better known as ‘The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water‘, and veteran actor, Halloween‘s Donald Pleasence secured the ominous voice of the Grim Reaper in the film short.

How appropriate!

Villians/Wiki

Born out of the Central Office of Information, ‘Lonely Water’ features a pre-Doctor Loomis voicing the character of Death, preying on the foolish youngsters who play near potentially dangerous areas of water. As noted in the Youtube description: “Creepy hints of ‘The Seventh Seal’ and ‘Final Destination’ make this a terrifyingly persuasive public information film, with Death’s final, ominous “I’ll be back” pre-dating Arnold Schwarzenegger by over a decade.”

Death by drowning is terrifying enough and this PSA went balls to the wall killing kids left and right in this thing. The Grim Reaper gleefully rejoices in a subtle, malevolent way as each “fool born every minute” succumbs to one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful, yet deadly entities. Kind of like Nancy taking Freddy’s powers away with logic, the kids that bear some common sense weaken Death’s grip, reducing him to only his death shroud, and obviously, he isn’t a fan of those children.

In a poll carried out by the BBC on the 60th anniversary of the COI in 2006, Lonely Water was chosen as the UK’s fourth-favorite PIF of all time and the highest ranked one-off production. Dozens of comments attested to the film’s power and lasting impact on 1970s children. I mean, if THIS didn’t grab your attention as a kid to be weary of large bodies of water and to act responsibly, I don’t know whatever will.

Shout to my buddy Lando for directing me to this tweet made by Horror4Kids as this was before my time and I’ve never seen this diddy being from the States.

Now Lonnie, get yo’ ass away from that lake!