The devil must have been really busy in the early '90s; there were a lot of trends and careers who's successes could only be attributed to fiery soul relinquishment. Angel Martin in Shock 'Em Dead, tonight's Tuesday Night Trash movie at Texas Theatre, is no exception. Played by Stephen Quadros (MMA wrestling corresponder, drummer for SNOW) Angel wants fame through shredding and the love of a beautiful, if less-than-pure, heavy metal manager (Traci Lords).
To live the fantasy while in the flesh, Angel does The Deed: signing his spirit over to hell's host, which coincidentally is pretty damn rock 'n' roll. (There aren't enough contracts signed in blood these days.)
Soon the decision for damnation comes to a head as bodies pile up around the arena. And band manager Linsday Roberts (Lords) will have to parade around in a bunch of spandex while she gets to the sinister root of the dilemma, so really, everyone wins. There's a lot of great stuff in this throw-back VHS flick, like the double-neck guitar-shredding stunt double played by Michael Angelo Batio (Former member of Holland and Nitro) and young Lords trying to prove her mettle in clean-ish cinema. Add on that the whole thing is free, and your Tuesday night plans are set. Sweeten your satanic sticky fingers tonight and pick up Tuesday Night Trash's first heavy metal compilation, Flash of the Blade. It all starts around 9ish and won't cost you your soul.
