Five horror movies starring famous rock and roll stars
There have been some absolutely spellbinding performances from famous musicians when they have turned their talents to acting rather than playing music. It may be them coming off the stage and onto the screen when we least expect it that wows audiences. Several sonic stars have turned their attention to drama, comedy and even horror.
In recent years, several musicians have given acting a spin and many to great success. Just think of Zendaya’s performances in Spider-Man and Dune, Alana Haim in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Liquorice Pizza, and even Eminem in 8 Mile.
Yet some of the most interesting alternative roles for famous musical stars come in the genre of horror. Most notably, Foo Fighters had an entire film come out earlier this year detailing their attempt to record a new album in a haunted house.
So, from Debbie Harry to Alice Cooper, let’s take a quick look at five iconic performances by famous rock stars in horror films.
Five horror movies starring famous rock and roll stars:
Debbie Harry – Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983)
Blondie’s lead singer Debbie Harry has performed in several films and TV shows. In terms of horror, she performed the role of a housewife-come-witch in Tales from the Darkside. However, her most cherished role is her first, as Nicki Brandy in David Cronenberg’s Videodrome.
Cronenberg had, in fact, specifically sought Harry out to play a role in the body horror film. It focuses on a CEO of a TV station coming across an unbroadcast signal of snuff films, who then uncovers a deep mind-control conspiracy surrounding it.
David Bowie – The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983)
Bowie is another musical icon who has had his fair share of film roles. We know Bowie in cinema for his roles in Labyrinth and The Man Who Fell To Earth. Yet Bowie also turned his talents to horror and played a 300-year-old vampire in Tony Scott’s The Hunger.
Bowie would have felt right at home as the film is erotic in nature. The film is based on Whitley Strieber’s novel of the same name, and the plot centres on a love triangle between a sleep specialist doctor and a vampiric couple.
Kris Kristofferson – Blade (Guillermo Del Toro, 1998)
Arguably the most memorable and best-performed appearance on this list, the iconic Kris Kristofferson played Abraham Whistler in Guillermo del Toro’s film adaptation of the Marvel Comics series Blade alongside Wesley Snipes.
Blade is an absolute horror-action classic and tells the story of the titular half-human, half-vampire defending humanity from the onslaught of malevolent vampires. Whistler is Blade’s mentor, and Kristofferson perfectly plays the old sage character.
Tom Waits – Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)
Just as Tom Waits has delved into several different musical genres, including jazz, folk and rock, so too has his film career varied in style, having featured in Rumble Fish, Seven Psychopaths and The Book of Eli. Waits dipped his toes into the world of horror in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Gothic horror had a superb cast, including Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins and Keanu Reeves, so Waits was in more than good company when he played Renfield, Count Dracula’s crazy former assistant.
Alice Cooper – Prince of Darkness (John Carpenter, 1987)
Alice Cooper’s whole onstage spiel is pretty much one horror-themed theatrical show, so it’s unsurprising to find the iconic rocker here on this list. As well as featuring in Metal Dog and Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Cooper also performed in John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness.
Cooper played the “Street Schizo” in Carpenter’s 1987 film that focuses on a group of physics students who help a Catholic priest uncover the mystery of an ancient relic found in a monastery. The group soon learn that the relic contains a sentient liquid reincarnation of the Antichrist.
