Rifftrax Live: Fists of Fury, the Musical

Instead of a really bad movie about zombies, vampires or some creepy guy with a mask, Rifftrax Live's Halloween show takes on the ultimate horror combination...the 80s and cheesy martial arts movies!

The crew of Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy was in top form in Nashville Thursday night when they took on Miami Connection, an indie movie made by taekwondo expert YK Kim. He's not exactly Bruce Lee, but he has this move:

He helped produce a movie about a pop band called "Dragon Sounds", who sing about friendship and being against Ninjas. They have problems with the band that they replaced, and a group of ninjas who also traffic cocaine.

Two of the band members have concerns, too. Jane, the female singer, has a brother named Jeff who doesn't like her choice in boyfriends..

He's also involved with the drug-pushing ninja, though, So his opinion isn't too valuable.

Another member, Jim, is looking for his father who deserted his family. However, he does find Dad...just in time to be stabbed by the ninjas.

So, before we talk more about the movie some more, let's get to the riffs:

The leader of the ninjas has a meeting:

"Where's money"?

Kevin:  Cuba Gooding Jr. really wants to know.

Mark (YK Kim) notes that "we are all orhpans"

Mike:  My favorive orhpan is Olivor Twast

In another fight, one of the DS guys is challenged by a dorky version of Axl Rose

Bill:  He studied under Grandmaster Elaine Benes

The movie has a section where the DS guys show of their taekwondo skills. Mike is not impressed when he describes it as "take some acid and fight the invisible gorillas". Also, during the Dragon Sounds concert, the crew leads the audience in clapping along with the song but not to the beat.

There's also riffs on Power Rangers, The Goonies, John Oates, Lilith Fair, Crystal Pepsi, Human Centipede and Maria Sharapova. Oh, and they came up with a new slogan for Golden Corral, too. 

Back to the movie, it actually got a comeback thanks to a re-release thanks to Alamo Drafthouse Films and Turner Classic Movies. This lead to a reunion:

Not only that, Kim didn't really mind that Rifftrax was mocking the movie, Here's the story from the Orlando Sentinel, and the Rifftrax crew acknowledged him watching the show from Orlando. They just asked him not to rip their throats out.

Now there was some horror, though. It was a 1970 Coronet short on measuring things. They had a kid learn about inches, pints and such from a milkman who was, in reality, Measuring Man! We couldn't find a picture of him, but imagine a really geeky Ty Burrell with glasses, wearing a Superman costume and a utility belt with measuring cups, a sparking telescope (?) and a ruler. He'd be more disturbing than Mr. B Natural.

UPDATE:  Periscope has a clip from the short. Seeing Measuring Man is a sight to behold.
UPDATE 2:  It's now available at the Rifftrax site. 

Finally, they had a preview of the next movie, Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny II. It's just like the original, only this time the story in the middle is Jack and the Beanstalk. The production values are barely above "Fun In Balloonland" but at least the girl who played Thumbelina is back full-size. That'll be coming on December 3rd.

Rifftrax Unleashes A Rock and Roll Nightmare

Remember Jon-Mikl Thor, the guy who starred in Zombie Nightmare as the zombie who was a nightmare for the rotten teens who killed him in a hit and run? It was one of MST3K's most popular episodes, especially since it included Adam West as a cop with a secret.

Well, the rocker/award-winning bodybuilder/actor made a movie before that called Rock and Roll Nightmare, which Rifftrax described as what would happen if "Motley Crue guest hosted The Muppet Show" except you'd get fake versions of both in a cheesy battle between good and evil.
The movie's original title is "The Edge of Hell", which is clearly where the script the written.

The movie starts with a demon killing a mom and dad getting ready for breakfast. A young boy is upset by this, because who's going to get his cereal?

Many years later, a band called the Tritonz, led by a Vince Neil knock-off named Jon (Mr. Thor as producer, writer and star), goes to the same house where the deaths took place. They bring along their girlfriends, although one guy just got married.

They hope to get ready for their tour and make ten minutes of new material. Safe to say the new music they do make isn't going to concern Metallica anytime soon.
For example, this is what the Rifftrax gang think about "Energy":

Kevin looking at the girlfriends "dance":  Dueling Jersey Wife Hair
Mike:  Any resemblence to "Rock Me Like A Hurricane" is purely coincidental
Bill:  Good job, guys. Even Winger wants to kick your ass now. 

The demons are still around, and they plan to knock off the band, probably because they don't like the music but mainly because they're evil. They start with the manager, Paul, when one of them impersonates Lou Anne, the girlfriend of Stig:

Paul takes the bait, and maybe he shouldn't have...

Dee Dee, the keyboardist, and her goofy boyfriend Max spot a little boy who looked like the one in the start of the movie. When he turns into what some call a "were-sharpei"..

Dee Dee and Max are kind of upset...

There's also little demons who look like either male genitalia or those Despicable Me Minions without skin..

Eventually, Jon's girlfriend, Randy, confronts him as if she's some major demon..saying the band is dead, and he can't escape.
Jon isn't worried, because in reality...he's the INTERCESSOR, an Archangel ready to kick demonic butt!

Really, Jon looks like Heather Locklear with too much HGH.
And the band was never really there, which means the sex scenes in this movie, especially the one in the shower, are more disturbing than you think.
Come to think of it, wouldn't it have been better if Jon was the kid whose parents were killed by the demon? Maybe that idea led to Zombie Nightmare.
Believe it or not, Rock and Roll Nightmare had a sequel ten years ago. According to this site, it is as horrible as it sounds. Maybe Rifftrax wants to take this on, too?

Some of the riffs:

Jon-Mikl Thor is in the credits
Kevin:  I'm more of a John-Mikl Captain America Fan

Phil kisses a demom, thinking it's Lou Anne
Bill: Pazuzu's daughter is hot

Then there's this photo of Jon:

If that ain't irony, what is?

There's also riffs on Ken Burns, Mad Men, Elaine Stritch, Judith Light, hip dicks and Poison.

By the way, Turner Classic Movies showed Miami Connection, which will be Rifftrax's featured target, er, movie in October. If nothing else, it has the classic line, "No one escapes from the Miami Ninja", which sounds like the name of an Arena Football team.

The movie is about a band called Dragon Sound, whose songs are almost good enough to be in the soundtrack of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Apparently the head of the the band that DS replaced wants to get his job back, and uses some mangy bikers to do that.
Also, the girlfriend of one of the band members has a brother who says she should get a new boyfriend. He's also connected with the ninjas running the drug trade in town. So what does he know?

Y.K. Kim, a taekwondo expert who also made the movie, looks good when he clobbers the evil ninjas and overbearing brother. The script and direction aren't so hot, but it should be interesting what the Rifftrax crew will do to this movie. Here's the trailer to the movie:



For now, people will be waiting for the next Rifftrax event, Sharknado 2, next month. Tickets are still available.

Can You Support The Crappening? Rifftrax Hopes You Can

Rifftrax has announced its 2015 series, As you can see, it includes two familiar titles, a long-lost martial arts movie, and something that doesn't surprise Sharknado fans at all.

The series will be funded by a Kickstarter campaign. Mike Nelson wants his fans to help raise $75,000 in the next month to pay for the theatrical rights plus production costs to make this happen. The goal was reached after seven hours, but he and his crew hope to raise more to produce a high-quality show. Besides, they're movies that are asking for it
It's also offering some cool rewards. For ten bucks, you can get two new shorts plus a spot on the "thank-you page". For 20, you can get the VOD copy of the Christmas show, Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, in February of next year. For 45 bucks, you get Santa plus the October showing of Miami Connection. You can also get special T-shirts, a chance to write a riff for the show, and more.

So, what will make up "The Crappening"? Here's Mike with a video preview:



First off is the notorious Tommy Wiseau movie, The Room on May 6th. It's about a banker who loses his girlfriend to another man. How that story is sort of told is why people have been attracted to this movie. It's already a popular riff at the website, and it's the first time it's being shown live with, er, appropriate commentary.

On July 9th, it's round two for Rifftrax vs. Sharknado. As those who bought the new Rifftrax live show on Sharknado know, it includes a scene from Sharknado 2:  The Second One where sharks attack people at a Mets game...in the snow. Also, the fans use baseball bats to strike back. Sharknado 2 is just like the first only it's in New York, and also has Vivica A. Fox, Mark McGrath, Kari Wuhrer from Anaconda and MTV, Judd Hirsch, snd John Cena as a fireman. There will be a third one, where the sharks apparently decide on a two-pronged attack.

The third movie, coming on October first, is Miami Connection, which could be considered Fists of Fury: Electric Boogaloo. Y.K. Kim, a taekwondo expert, produced and starred in the story of a guy who heads a rock band. His group also trains in taekwondo. They try to fight some local thugs who are selling cocaine, and help their leader reunite with his dad. Kim was hoping his movie would be a hit, when it was released in 1988, but it wasn't. One reviewer from Slant magazine thought it would be perfect for MST3K. The movie was recently re-distributed by Drafthouse Films, and got a second chance at getting noticed by movie fans. Still, here's some clips:



The final movie is a familiar holiday treat for Rifftrax fans, Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny. This will be shown December 3rd. Santa is stranded somewhere in Florida, and hopes to get his sleigh off the ground with any help available, even if it's a guy in a gorilla suit. He stops to tell the kids the story of Thumbelina, trying to show you shouldn't give up. He's later rescued by an Ice Cream Bunny with a fire engine and a creepy laugh  This version has been riffed before, but the crew found another version with Jack and the Beanstalk. There's no clips on YouTube, but here's something from IMDB. The fact that there's a second version should draw in a lot of interest. It's like finding a sequel to Manos.

Even if the events are now paid for, the Rifftrax crew will come up with stretch goals to offer more rewards. Again, if you'd like to add more bells and whistles to "Rifftrax 2015: The Crappening", visit the Kickstarter page to donate.