‘I Was A Teenage Werebear’: The Original Soundtrack (CD Review) at Why So Blu?

‘I Was A Teenage Werebear’: The Original Soundtrack (CD Review)

February 18th, 2012 by Brian White

Ever been caught up in a “Bad Romance”? Nah. I didn’t think so. Neither have I. [cough…cough…bullsh1t!] Just when I was feeling blue and alone on Valentine’s Day this past week, Tim Sullivan made my day so much better! How you ask? Well I’ll tell you how. He provided members of the press an opportunity to check out and access the official soundtrack from his segment, I Was A Teenage Werebear, from 2011’s hit horror anthology Chillerama (see our Blu-ray review here and our theatrical Comic-Con 2011 review here), offering me an alternative kind of romance that I couldn’t have been happier about. Hey! Werebears need love too…especially this werebear. So now it’s time to purge my urge indeed as I talk about all things Chillerama: I Was A Teenage Werebear – The Original Soundtrack.

When I first saw and heard Tim Sullivan’s musical Werebear segment at Comic-Con 2011, my mind instantly drifted to the magical song and dance numbers of Grease. Is that wrong to compare the two? I don’t think so. I laughed my a$$ off at that first screening and didn’t really get the chance to truly appreciate the masterpiece that is Chillerama until many months later while enjoying it on Blu-ray in the sanctuary of my home, for now that is 🙁 The lyrics were all the sudden more crisp and clear, and when actor Anton Troy belted out those beginning lyrics to “Love Bit Me On The Ass” I was once again in stitches for the entire night, so much so that I texted Anton that night to tell him those lyrics rock and were of course, stuck in my head. When you are writing songs for stage, screen or radio air play, what more can you ask for when you infest someone’s thoughts for an entire evening with clever, hooky lyrics? That’s a rhetorical question by the way.

Chillerama: I Was A Teenage Werebear – The Original Soundtrack features original songs by PsychoCharger, Briana Nadeau, Bobby Vinton and Robert Vinton, Tim Sullivan and score by Patrick Copeland. And you thought Tim Sullivan was just a horror movie director. Ha! That man is like a Transformer. He’s more than meets the eye. Big things are coming out of his camp this year. Stay tuned and mark my words.

There are a total of 12 musical tracks that inhabit the Chillerama: I Was A Teenage Werebear – The Original Soundtrack. The complete track listing can be found in the below press release. And at first glance, as you can clearly see, Sullivan’s name is attached to many of those aforementioned tracks. And for those of you who don’t know who Psycho Charger is, well then you’re in luck I’m here to explain things. They are the hard rock band that were bestowed a great honor and were selected to write the official song for Chillerama. What an honor that has to be. Hot damn! That’s the thing I love about Sullivan. Like Rob Zombie, he’s always giving people chances to prove themselves and make a career in this tough to crack entertainment industry. My star is on the rise, Tim. I’m ready when you are! Call me!

Do you want to know the first thing that stood out to me during my first listen to this soundtrack? Well, whether you do or not, I’m gonna tell you. It’s my review dammit. It was the sound quality. I was expecting some lo-fi collection/medley of songs from Sullivan’s segment, but I was gravely mistaken. These tracks are rich with production quality. Hot damn again! What more can you ask for?

But here’s the deal. Not everyone is going to love this soundtrack. Like beer and hard liquor, all four segments of the Chillerama anthology are all individual acquired tastes. I can’t honestly tell people hey you have to watch the greatest anthology film ever made called Chillerama, but I can definitely feel comfortable recommending it to everyone I know that has a sick and twisted mind like my own. I guess what I’m trying to say is like a terrifying roller coaster or a romantic hot air balloon ride (still terrifying in my opinion), Chillerama is an experience you are just going to have to eh…experience for yourself. And when you come to Sullivan’s Werebear segment it can go either way (no pun intended). I have heard people say it was the most thematic and fleshed out experience of Chillerama and others who say it was their least favorite segment. Honestly, all personal preferences and biases aside, I loved Werebears for taking me back to that Grease-like vibe. It kept me entertained for a half hour. Sure it’s ridiculous and preposterous, but come on, what werebear isn’t? Why don’t you at least try it? You may just like it.

So that brings me back full circle to my main point here. If you love the Werebear segment, then there’s no reason in the world why you wouldn’t love this soundtrack and not want to own it. So what are you waiting for, peeps? You cold be singing along with it today. Pick it up, yo!

The following press release was made available to us last week, but just in case you missed it, make sure to check it out and read it now! That’s an order!

(Los Angeles, CA –January XX, 2012) The perfect Valentine’s Day gift for the werebear you love, BuySoundtrax Records will release Tim Sullivan’s Chillerama: I Was A Teenage Werebear – The Original Soundtrack featuring songs and score performed by PsychoCharger,Briana Nadeau. Bobby Vinton, Robert Vinton, and cast members Sean Paul Lockhart, Gabby West and Anton Troy. The album will be available as a special limited collectors CD as well as a digital download on ITunes.

An homage to the drive-in movies of the 50’s and 60’s, Chillerama is a comedy-horror anthology comprised of four vignettes from some of contemporary horror’s biggest filmmakers, among them I Was A Teenage Werebear from writer/director Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs, Driftwood). A funny, subversive spoof of the Eisenhower/ Kennedy-era beach movies. I Was A Teenage Werebear follows a day in the life of closeted new kid Ricky O’Reilly (played by Sean Paul Lockhart, aka adult film superstar Brent Corrigan) who falls for Malibu High’s mysterious bad boy Talon (Anton Troy). When aroused, the two transform into bestial leather daddies, the titular werebears. The film features five rock ‘n roll musical numbers, along with five other songs written specifically for the soundtrack that spin the frothy boy/girl/beach format into a humorously bloody, albeit well-intentioned, call for acceptance and tolerance. And now these songs will be available for the first time exclusively fromBuySoundtrax Records.

“One of the pleasures making I Was A Teenage Werebear,” described Sullivan, “was the independence it allowed me to simply be me. And that meant coming out of the closet as an admitted fan of movie musicals as well as movie monsters. So taking a page fromRocky Horror and Hairspray, I channeled my inner American Graffitiand Grease and dashed out some ditties I hoped combined camp and cool.”

Rounding out the songs performed in the film by Lockhart, Troy and company, Sullivan tapped a variety of artists, including pop divaBriana Nadeau, whose “I’m Gonna Make Him Mine” and “Undercover Lover”, are a perfect blend of Duffy meets Dusty Springfield.

Two other songs featured in the film are courtesy of the Vintons, Bobby and son Rob. “Truth be told,’ continued Sullivan, “before I became obsessed with KISS at age 13, I was quite infatuated with Bobby Vinton, our family being Polish and my grandma playing his albums over and over. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that Mr. Lonely himself would be crooning a tune in one of my films.But with “Where Were You When I Was 17?”, Bobby Vinton has done just that. As has his son Rob, who not only contributed “Sexy Ways” to the soundtrack, but performs it on screen in the film with his band.

Also included on the soundtrack, Patrick Copeland’s guitar twanged score in suite form, as well a nice little bonus f rom shockabilly rockers Psycho Charger, who conjured up the hard rocking title track and first single “Chillerama”. A music video for “Chillerama”, starring the band and featuring clips from the film, was directed by Sullivan and will be released to coincide with the soundtrack.

Though part of the Chillerama anthology, I Was A Teenage Werebear has taken on a life of its own after a four month film festival tour of the 30 minute ‘hairy and uncut” version left fans growling for more. As a result, Sullivan and his Chillerama co-creator and fellow director Adam Rifkin will be bringing a full length musical stage version to LA in September of 2012. Stars Sean Paul Lockhart, Anton Troy and Tom Colby will be reprising their roles, with Rifkin, Lockhart and Colby producing, Sullivan writing the book and lyrics, and Werebear newcomer Sean Abley serving as director.

“I guess the moral of the story is- when you stay true, good things happen,” said Sullivan. “We all stayed true to our vision and theme, and the result is this fun little soundtrack of which we all are proud. These tunes are designed to stick in your brain forever- so proceed at your own risk. And never forget—werebears need love too…”

Track listing:

1. Chillerama–Psycho Charger

2. Don’t Look Away

Gabby West & Sean Paul Lockhart