Why Alice Cooper’s Nightmare On Elm Street 6 Cameo Failed

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Getting Alice Cooper to appear in the Nightmare On Elm Street sequel Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare was an impressive coup for the filmmakers, but unfortunately, his cameo was an overhyped failure. The rock icon has made no secret of his love of the horror genre. Cooper had previously provided an appropriately campy theme song for Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Five years later, he appeared as Freddy Krueger’s adopted father in the sixth and final installment of the original A Nightmare On Elm Street film series.

Cooper was far from the only big name to crop up in Freddy's Dead for a cameo. The musician-turned-actor appeared alongside Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold (both big fans of the franchise) and original A Nightmare on Elm Street cast member Johnny Depp, who played himself in a parody of anti-drug commercials. However, despite this cavalcade of big names, Freddy's Dead was largely written off by critics as an un-scary dud.

Related: Friday the 13th 2009 Needed Its Original Unmasked Jason Ending

Freddy's Dead's failure to find the right tone for the slasher sequel was central to its problems, as the movie frequently wobbles between self-aware comedy and attempts at violent horror. The second installment of the franchise, A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge,already proved dark humor was not the franchise’s strong suit when divorced from serious shocks. But unfortunately, the Alice Cooper cameo featured in Freddy’s Dead repeated this misstep. The shock rocker played Mr. Underwood, Freddy Krueger’s abusive alcoholic stepdad, in what could have been a creepy cameo. However, the role was way too broad and played into Cooper’s star power, meaning the scene winds up being oddly