Remember the Zombie Video That Got Twisted Sister Banned From MTV?

Photo of TWISTED SISTER
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While MTV isn’t exactly known for censorship, some bands got their videos pulled from the airwaves after complaints — or, in the case of Twisted Sister’s 1985 video for the song “Be Chrool to Your Scuel,” before they even aired.

The video, from Twisted Sister’s fourth album, was the first released since they had become superstars. It was also the first released since they drew the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), a group dedicated to censoring musical lyrics and themes they deemed offensive.

Twisted Sister had previously caught some flak for the music videos for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock,” which featured some cartoonish violence. PMRC pressure had already led MTV to quarantine heavy-metal video airings to later hours, primarily on a show called Heavy Metal Mania, hosted by Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider.

For “Be Chrool to Your Scuel,” the band worked with director Marty Callner to create a gory, zombie apocalypse-themed music video set in a high school. The band recruited legendary horror makeup and FX wizard Tom Savini to make it as scary as possible, which he did by crafting gruesome zombie makeup for the video’s cast. The song itself featured some big guest stars including Billy Joel on piano, Stray Cat and solo artist Brian Setzer on guitar, Bruce Springsteen’s sax player Clarence Clemons, and Alice Cooper. Cooper popped up in the video, alongside a pre-fame Luke Perry.

When MTV executives saw the final product, they banned it outright. That was likely primarily because of the disgusting zombie makeup and violence. But remember the PMRC? Well, they had demanded Senate hearings over the “offensive” lyrics and videos they targeted. The video opened with quotes about music videos from both Snider and a combative senator, taken directly from the hearings. So that may have played a role in the ban, as well.

Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider performs at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino September 2, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada

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Unfortunately for Twisted Sister, the ban didn’t help album sales and they eventually disbanded after the release of their next album in 1987.

Interestingly enough, horror-themed music videos are pretty commonplace, especially during the Halloween season. Tell us what you think about the video — or your other favorite horror-themed music videos!

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March 2023

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