Let’s face it folks, we all love a good Rock n’ Roll horror flick, especially during the halloween season! There are a lot of good ones out there and many of them feature small cameos from rock stars BUT there’s actually not that many that actually feature them in lead or substantial roles in these “terrifying” movies. I here at Universal Dork tho, have decided to give you the top 10 rock and roll horror movies that actually star real rock stars!! So let’s not waste anytime messin’ around and get to it! Less talk more ROCK!! Here are some odd movies that famous rockers decided to risk their careers on!!!

10. Nick Knight / AKA Midnight Cop (1989)

Hey you remember ‘Jesse’s Girl’ right? Yep, easily one o’ the best pop songs of the 80’s in my opinion! Well 80’s icon Rick Springfield also had an acting career as well and when he wasn’t appearing on General Hospital he made some cheezy ass movies, one being this horror flick called ‘Nick Knight’ aka ‘Midnight Cop’! Yep Springfield stars as the hunky vampire detective on the dangerous case of his undead life, this movie was later remade into the first couple episodes of  the tv series ‘Forever Knight’! Dig this stunning vampiric Rick-o-riffic movie montage!

 

9. Halloween Resurrection (2002)

Here’s one of the worst movies of the ‘Halloween’ franchise, it took the finale of H20 and made it into some stupid sort of ridiculous “Scooby Doo” style plot twist. However this one makes the list because we get some “rockstar action” with Busta Rhymes, one of the main characters in it who goes toe to toe with Michael Myers in the finale and fuckin’ wins! I dig that at least!

 

8. Monster Dog (1984)

Here’s an totally odd little Italian flick called ‘Monster Dog’ from 1984 that stars superstar rocker Alice Cooper in the lead role!! The movie honestly ain’t that good but it’s a must watch for anyone looking to see Alice in more than a freaky cameo. Monster Dog is a subpar 80’s werewolf film, it starts off pretty cool but quickly begins to feel a lot longer than it’s short 84 minute run time. It’s got a couple decent werewolf scenes, cool poster art and a totally sweet ass Cooper track called ‘Identity Crisis’ that makes this one at least worth a view! Fuck yeah!

 

7. Slaughterhouse Rock (1988)

Another odd 80’s movie with totally classic box art and co stars pop star Toni Basil who dominated the charts in 1982 with her mega hit song ‘Hey Mickey’. This one’s worth a watch for that alone and has a cool soundtrack “featuring” Devo. This follows some teenagers trying to remove a curse, travel to Alcatraz and get some help from a cute 80’s ghost played by Basil. The trailer below actually makes the movie look pretty rad, but it’s one of those “best of” moments trailers, so if you check it out you’ll likely be a bit disappointed with how bland the movie quickly becomes. Still worth a watch for the pure cheez factor it all and a cool dance scene by Basil!

6. Pledge Night (1990)

This 1990 slasher movie’s pretty run of the mill overall and mostly plays out as a raunchy frat boy comedy. However this one features iconic metal band Anthrax’s lead singer Joey Belladona as the film’s supernatural slasher maniac “Acid Sid”. That alone makes this one worth tracking down in my honest opinion. It’s also got some decent gory inventive kills and sweet special fx sprinkled about here and there. Though there is a reason “Acid Sid” never joined the ranks of Freddy, Jason or Chucky and it’s clearly evident why this one’s still for the most part a forgotten slasher movie, it’s filled with some super shitty acting and some pacing problems- but what the hell, it’s still worth watch cuz Anthrax is bad ass!   

 

5. Runaway (1984)

I love Runaway, it’s super fun and features Tom Selleck as the hero dude AND Gene Simmons from KISS as the movie’s villain. There’s a ton o’ fun stuff in it as we get a nice, kinda Terminator vibe here with runaway robots who like to kill people of course! Simmons gets a ton of screen time as the mad scientist crazy terrorist who uses the robots to do his twisted bidding. This one was written and directed by Michael Crichton and is a top notch Rockstar sci fi / horror movie!

 

4. Mosquito (1994) / Frostbiter (1988)

The late Ron Asheton was the iconic guitarist of Iggy Pop’s legendary punk rock outfit The Stooges, but the dude also starred in some cool ass little low budget horror flick’s as well! Mosquito from 1994 is full on lost gem of a movie and features Ron as a bad ass park ranger who takes on giant killer mosquitos along with horror legend Gunnar Hanson (the original Leatherface!). This one is a shit ton of fun and features some excellent inventive special fx despite it’s low budget!

He also starred in the 1988 film Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo which was shelved for years and later released by Troma. This one’s heavily influenced by Evil Dead franchise and also features some cool cheezy ass fx, my favorite being the grand finale with the giant stop-motion animated wendigo creature! Both are a ton of fun, R.I.P. Mr. Asheton…

 

3. Strangeland (1988)

We’re Not Gonna Take It!!! Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider was the mastermind behind this late 90’s twisted (no pun intended) classic horror movie. Snider plays ‘Captain Howdy’, a psychopath obsessed with extreme body modification and lifting his moniker straight from the song ‘Captain Howdy’ which appears on Twisted Sister’s 1984 hit record ‘Stay Hungry’. This one’s definitely worth a watch as his character is actually pretty freaky and the movie has got that ‘Silence of the Lambs’ type vibe to it as well. Dee recently mentioned ‘Strangeland 2’ will be going into production soon bringing back the wrath of Captain Howdy once again! Yeeehaw!

 

2. Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)

Here’s a totally under rated sequel that features punk icon Henry Rollins in one of his now many horror movie appearances, this one though really showcases ol’ Hank as the badass he is as he stars as a reality tv show host/former marine colonel who’s filming out in the boonies. Of course like in the first movie, which I also dig, they come under attack from mutant hillbillies and of course shit gets ultra bloody and crazy. Henry has a boatload of great action scenes and has a great final battle with the crazed rednecks! Henry also had some cool roles in movies like ‘Feast’ and ‘He Never Died’ but if you’re looking for the ultimate Hankage ‘Dead End 2’ certainly delivers the gory goods!

 

1. Rock n’ Roll Nightmare (1987)

Here’s one of the most fun rock and roll horror movies of all time, and by fun I really mean nonstop cheezy goodness. Under the radar full on icon rockstar Jon Mikl Thor stars in this classic 80’s horror rock n’ roll romp and delivers a finale that’s just got to be seen to be believed. There’s a ton of rad hair metal fashion, terrible acting, ridiculous puppet monsters and lots of Thor’s ripped bod to make the ladies and gentlemen gawk in awe! A true bad movie classic that’s perfect to get any party rowdy as hell and drunk as fuck. If you’re looking for something to play at your halloween movie party this one’s a crowd pleaser!

Honorable mentions:

Leprechaun in the Hood (2000): Ice-T and The Leprechaun go head to head for some serious bling!

Blood Harvest (1987): Weird ass 80’s horror flick with some ‘Tiny Tim’ weirdo clown shit going on, I would have put this one the list if Tiny Tim was the killer, sadly they must not have had a clue that that would be scary as FUCK! Oh well…

The Bride (1985): I never was too into this one, I like Sting in the Police but his solo stuff kinda sucks, but still this one deserves to be mentioned…

The Hunger (1983) I dig this movie too featuring David Bowie in the sexy vampire type o thing of course!