I don’t know if this was meant to be a joke or real. I suppose there are people who got traumatized by just about anything you can imagine when young.
The S From Hell from Rodney Ascher.
THE S FROM HELL is a short documentary-cum-horror film about the scariest corporate symbol in history – The 1964 Screen Gems logo, aka ‘The S From Hell.’ Built around interviews with survivors still traumatized from their childhood exposure to the logo after shows like Bewitched or The Monkees, the film brings their stories to life with animation, found footage, and dramatic reenactments.
Not an exhaustive historical documentary, THE S FROM HELL is a subjective film whose aim is make the audience feel the same fear and confusion as the children who were first confronted by the vexing, unfolding sights and mournful, dissonant sounds that hid in the cracks between their favorite TV shows. THE S FROM HELL premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and went on to menace audiences from LA to Austin, Florida to London and beyond.
Visit the film’s website at www.thesfromhell.com
So much so that I can’t spell ‘were’.
[Ha! Fixed. –UD]
One title says it all: “Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid”.
Although I do miss I Dream of Jeannie. And the Partridge Family was pretty good. OK, Magilla Gorilla was awesome. And The Paul Lynde Show was fantastic.
Now that I think about it, everything that Screen Gems has produced has been stellar. The logo hasn’t affected me one bit. No siree Bob.
People were traumatized by a logo? Really?? I was a child of that era and don’t even remember the so-called logo from hell. Or maybe I was so incredibly affected by it that I wiped it from my memory?
Now, you wanna talk about being traumatized? I saw the original, The Blob, movie from 1958 starring Steve McQueen during my first year of sleep-away camp in the 60’s. I peed in my bed that night and haven’t been able to eat anything with jelly on it since then!!
This is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.
Traumatized by a logo? Was this a setup for “Snakes on a Plane” or something?
Sorry folks–nothing looks even remotely evil based on that logo.
Like UncDon says, this is more funny than scary.
I Dreamed of Barbara Eden’s naked belly button.
The only thing that really scared me as a kid was when that music from the beginning of tales from the darkside would come on.
I was terrified by the NBC peacock. What did it mean? What were those strange musical sounds that accompanied it’s mysterious appearance before Bonanza every Sunday night? And why did the announcer have to say “living” color? That just made me think I was dead, because I had a black and white TV. I mean, really. It was horrible.
“Screen Gems” was just a cover. The ‘S’ really stood for “Satan” and it subliminally indoctrinated an entire generation of children into devil worship, totally unbeknownst to their god fearing parents who often actually encouraged their children to watch TV.
Seriously, though, I liked the comedic concept of this film better than the execution. I was disappointed.
Love the ‘Highland Park Classics’ logo at the end
Made the video worth watching
I thought growing up during the Bush years was bad, but now that I’m older I can’t imagine growing up in a society where the majority of old people were opposed to things like civil rights for everyone… plus there was the threat of nuclear annihilation hanging overhead…
I get the feeling that the boomers have bigger psychological issues than memories of ugly corporate logos.
#4 GaryinMiami – I can vaguely remember The Monkees TV series on Saturday morning around 1969-1971. It didn’t have the “S” logo. This was the logo that I can remember:
This logo actually did scare me – from re-runs of dragnet, Mark VII Productions:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=G1c9osupk-A
Viacom’s logo scared me, too because I didn’t know if the promo for Night Gallery was on next. I’d have to run out of the room.
I don’t think the music in the logo is purely synthesized. It sounds like manipulated reeds, maybe a tenor saxaphone, followed by manipulated or synthbrass.
scariest logo on earth right now is the at&t “death star” l
at&t we use the force to make you pay!
My son used to run from the room when he heard the “Errrg, Arrrrg” after Buffy shows.
To this day he doesn’t like it and can’t tell us why. Only that it gives him the willies.
I guess it’s possible the S from Hell is real.
scared by a logo? -please.
OK.. i’ll play along..
I’d say this vid was produced to activate screen gems sleeper cells throughout the U.S. upon hearing the jingle. A gaggle of “loan wolf” types awaits your arrival at strip mall near you..
-muahhaahahhaa..
-s
(as a kid, thought that logo was a roll of toilet paper.)
*shrug*
this has nothing on the The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Unc Dave: You don’t know if this a joke??? I’m in total disbelief.
I remember my first time: after Yogi Bear. The doctors had no idea what caused my seizure. All my friends lived in fear of this logo until it got inside our heads. That’s when the mind control started. A couple of my friends, Jimmy Earl Ray and Lee Oswald went on to do the great things they were trained for.
I think the seizures interrupted my programming. But the effort goes on: Ever notice how the organ music at ballparks (especially the “CHARGE” tune) sounds exactly like the Screen Gems logo music? Think about it … and fear it!
What the F@#$K?
Gasbag 20 – When did fuck become a 5 letter word?
At first I thought “film school project” but it is too well done.
So, I Googled. Here is the site:http://thesfromhell.com
It’s a film festival short.. I suppose he wants to get he name out there to get tagged for a feature film. I can’t imagine there is any money in this sort of thing. (I really don’t know how that business works… just a guess.)
Very well-done but perhaps a bit too long for a one-joke gag.
This logo always felt to me that it had come from unimaginative minds. Anything called a “screen gem” would most likely be a turd.
The first part of the “music”, with the deeper horns, invokes an image of Jebus coming up over the horizon in a microbus to judge mankind’s sins and start his 1000 year reign. The second part invokes in my mind an image of Freddie Mercury in drag. I can’t say why. The whole thing does seem subtly disturbing.
I’m guessing these kids had something traumatic happen to them in their homes, they escaped to their favorite tv show and this logo snapped the memory back to them.
The “WB” shield that would roar up through the tunnel at the beginning of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons used to scare me when I was a kid.
The MGM Lion scares the shit out of me. Especially at 3 am.
I didn’t understand why they had the picture of the roll of toilet paper show up. Scared? No.
#17 soundwash – “The S From Hell” clip uses footage from “Halloween III: Season of the Witch”, one of my favorite “genre” films of the disposable type. What you described is the basic plot of that film. The credits state that footage was used from the public domain. I wouldn’t think that film would be in the public domain. It’s from the early ’80s.
Thankfully I don’t remember this particular Screen Gems logo, or any of its others. But I always felt the VIACOM loop was about the most soulless (or soul sucking) thing any media corporation could have come up with. And that was long before they ever started having things pulled from Youtube, that they owned. They’re like the Hearst Corporation, policing the world from having any Betty Boop imagery for free. Is that really that much of a money maker, that they’ve come to depend on to survive? That, and any of the other King Features properties they managed to buy up. No free Felix the Cat or Popeye either, I suppose. Darn!
But anyway. The VIACOM “logo” or rather the monotone announcer voice saying, “this is Viacom”, in a dictatorial like way. Anyway left me with a sense of dread, for having watched whatever it was they owned.
To this day I still remember (and prefer) Donna Douglas saying, “This has been a Filmways Presentation”, in her Elly May voice. Nowadays it seems to be all, “Bad Robot” and a shark jumping a bike over an anvil. What’s up with that?
I know, that’s got a weird ring to it too….
I know! Elly Mae saying that kinda freaked me out too. Anyone remember the old cartoon advert stills from the mid 60’s? I remember being like 3 or 4, & saw an innocent TV still of “Casper the Friendly Ghost” & because I was used to seeing Casper moving & laughing; & cause it was STILL, I thought Casper was dead, Heheehh.
Well I guess he was all along, but I just remember going around in circles crying & running from the room, hehh
Robin in SF CA
I think the Google Chrome icon, like the one you might have on your win7 taskbar, reminds me of the Screen Gems logo.
You know which Screen Gems logo freaked me out as a kid? That one with the colorful dancing straws. Does anybody remember that one? Ohh, if anybody finds it let me know 🙂
Robin in SF
holy shit, r u serisous? What the flying hairless monkey fairy fuck?
ok, my spelling is terrible that should have said “serious” wonder if I actually do have brain damage from watching that flying hairless monkey fairy fuck