I thought it be time to write a list about the genre I cherish the most, which is of course the horror genre. There are many things to appreciate about the genre such as scares, jumps and gratuitous nudity; however one of the rare treats in the genre is the random cameo that appears out of nowhere. Sometimes these surprise cameos invoke cheers and sometimes they invoke uncontrollable laughter, but either way it is most definitely appreciated in the genre. (Unless of course we’re talking about Gary Busey’s chicken-f*cking cameo in the god awful A Crack in the Floor. Good Lord!) Here is a list of my favorite cameos in horror! Hope you enjoy the list and feel free to comment on your own fave cameos as well!

20. William Sadler-BORDELLO OF BLOOD

Bill Sadler is my favorite character actor of all-time. He’s so good that when teenagers were foolishly wasting their money to see Katie Holmes and James Marsden in the horrendous box office flop, Disturbing Behaviour, I was sneaking into the theatres just to see William Sadler in his thankless role. (Normal 14 year old girls don’t do this. ) Being a fan of Sadler in Demon Knight, I thought I would never see him haunt the Tales from the Crypt universe again after he died violently in the series’ first theatrical film. Although, I was pleasantly surprised to see him again in the sequel as the Cryptkeeper’s “frenemy”…even if he was just a mummy.

19. Jay and Silent Bob-SCREAM 3

Jay and Silent Bob may have stumbled onto the fake set of Scream 4 in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but they quite literally stumbled onto the real set of Scream 3 as well. It’s probably the most random cameo in a horror film since Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold appeared in Freddy’s Dead, but it definitely got some laughs.

18. The ‘STAB’ Cast-SCREAM 2

After Scream became a sleeper hit at the box office and became even a bigger hit on video, everybody who was hip and happening wanted to be apart of the sequel.  It was so big that director Robert Rodriguez directed the film within the film, Stab. This faux film contained a slightly more disturbing re-enactment of the death of Casey Becker, (now played by Heather Graham) and casting Luke Wilson and ironically enough Tori Spelling as Billy Loomis and Sidney Prescott was just a slice of genius.

17. The FireFly Family-THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO

For anybody that was sad after seeing the demented Firefly family gunned down by the police to the tune of Free Bird will be somewhat pleased to hear that Baby, Otis and Captain Spaulding all make appearances as cartoons in Rob Zombie’s animated The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. There’s no need to question how they appear in the feature as none of the movie is supposed to make sense.

16. Scott Baio-CURSED

Cursed is known for many things. It’s known as Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s biggest flop, it’s known for a vaulted alternative version that people still have yet to see, it’s known as the reason for the delay of Jesse Eisenberg’s now rising acting career. It’s also known for the most random cameo in horror history. Yup, somehow and somewhere the producers of this werewolf flick thought casting Scott Baio in a cameo would somehow excite teenagers.  The same teenagers that when hearing about ‘Joanie Loves Chachi,’ immediately think it’s a show about a lesbian named Joanie that likes to go muff-diving.

15. John Fallon-100 FEET

It’s not everyday you get to see one of your good friends and confidantes in a film, but last year I had the pleasure of seeing my former employer John Fallon from Arrow in the Head in a scene with Famke Janssen and Bobby Carnivale in Eric Red’s 100 Feet. He may not be a household name YET, but he definitely has a cult following in the online community. It is by far one of my favorite cameos in a horror film. (Yes, the bragging rights of having my mentor in a film does have something to do with it! )

14. Bradley Cooper-MY LITTLE EYE

Bradley Cooper may be known for his breakout role in this year’s The Hangover, but that role was not the role that I first recognized him. Before The Hangover and Wedding Crashers, Bradley Cooper made a brief appearance in the Canadian cult horror film, My Little Eye. His role may have been small, but his scenes were very memorable as one of the film’s twisted killers.

13. Janet Leigh-H20

Seeing the original Scream Queen onscreen with her real-life “Scream Queen” daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween: 20 Years Later definitely was touching. However, the same car she drove in Psycho (that also appears in H20) may be considered the bigger cameo out of the two.

12. Prince-SCARY MOVIE

I don’t know how much money Dimension Films ended up paying to get Prince in a horror parody, but God bless them. It was easily one of the most unexpected cameos this horror aficionada has ever seen.

11. Wes Craven-THE TRIPPER

Now most people would think Courteney Cox’s shameless cameo in her husband’s directorial debut, The Tripper would be note-worthy for a list like this, but the real cameo in this movie is director Wes Craven himself.  Wes Craven has appeared in far more recognizable cameos in his Scream trilogy and New Nightmare, but seeing him randomly appear as a top hat-wearing hippie in The Tripper definitely caused me to laugh harder than when I first saw him as Fred the janitor in Scream.

10. Harry Knowles-THE FACULTY

In the online community, Harry is and will always be considered the “Godfather” of online film critics. He paved the way for other movie geeks to pursue careers in the blogging universe. So when seeing Harry Knowles sitting silently with the rest of “The Faculty” in Robert Rodriguez’s sci-fi horror film for no reason at all, I couldn’t help but smile. Harry’s head also makes a brief cameo appearance in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre…but most of you guys probably knew that already.

9. Eli Roth- 2001 Maniacs

2001 Maniacs saw the infamous return of Justin, (played by Eli Roth) the goatee-wearing and pot smoking hitchhiker last seen in Roth’s breakout directorial debut, Cabin Fever. I loved this dude and how his trusty dog also made a cameo.

8. The “Celebrity Cameo”-ZOMBIELAND

I will not give away the cameo in Zombieland because there are quite a lot of you that have yet to see it. However, I will say this: it’s hilarious and if I ever meet the dude, I would hope to expect the same “west coast hospitality” Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone got from him. 

7.  Edwige Fenech-HOSTEL II

Any male fans of the Italian horror genre probably will list Edwige Fenech as the number one contributor to their “spank-bank” collection.  Eli Roth convinced this beautiful actress for a small role in Hostel II and it was amazing to see how gorgeous she still looks.  (If only we could all be so lucky.)

6.  Jane Weidlin-CLUE

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the group, ‘The Go-Go’s,’ but I was most partial to the singer/guitarist, Jane Weidlin who left the group in 1984 to pursue a solo career. In 1985, the most successful thing she had to show was her very brief stint in the murder mystery movie, Clue as the singing telegram who gets shot after two seconds of screen time.  I always rewind this part at least 5 times when I’m watching it.

5. Dario Argento-INNOCENT BLOOD

In John Landis’ 1992 horror-comedy Innocent Blood, fans were able to see cameos from horror greats of all kinds. We saw Sam Raimi as the butcher, Tom Savini as the news reporter and even Clive Barker made an appearance in the film.  But it was Giallo great, Dario Argento who was able to tickle my funny bone as a random paramedic at the scene of a crime.  Seeing him try to comfort the patient with his very strained English still cracks me up to this very day.

4.  George Clooney-RETURN TO HORROR HIGH

Before George Clooney became the most sought after man in the planet, he started his career in being apart of really bad horror films.  In this 1987 nonsensical slasher, George appears in a very small role as a cop that is the first to get killed. Hey…we all have to start somewhere.

3. Bridget Fonda-ARMY OF DARKNESS

In Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2, audiences saw unknown actresses cast as Ash’s doomed girlfriend, Linda.  Although, for 1993’s Army of Darkness, Sam Raimi was able to convince rising actress, (at the time) Bridget Fonda to reprise Linda for not even a minute of screen time.  Sometimes it’s good to have friends in high places.

2.  Alice Cooper-PRINCE OF DARKNESS

Who knew that Alice Cooper’s cameo would be one of the most memorable parts in this classic John Carpenter film?  As the homeless zombie leader, Cooper kicked some serious ass in his lack of screen time and even used one of his recognizable props from his concerts to kill one of the characters. There are no words to explain how awesome this man is.

1. Freddy’s Glove-JASON GOES TO HELL

There is no better cameo than the surprise appearance of Freddy Krueger’s glove at the end of Jason Goes to Hell. It made most fanboys/girls go nuts for years only to be left disappointed by the mediocre Freddy vs Jason 10 years later. However, the moment when Freddy’s glove comes out of the ground is something a horror fan will never forget.

Questions or comments? Email them to serena@killerfilm.com