Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975)

Simply Perfect

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

After splitting with his longtime band-mates, Alice Cooper planned to make a movie focusing on a rock singer who was caught somewhere between a dream and waking life after surviving a plane crash. For months, he kept a tape recorder by his bed and chronicled his dreams for inspiration - but he wound up with really odd ideas, such as rollerskating into a courtroom accompanied by Groucho Marx. While meeting with a director to discuss the film, Cooper and producer Bob Ezrin were introduced to Vincent Price, and a lightbulb went off in Ezrin's head. Ezrin asked Price if he'd like to make his debut on a rock album, and Price was intrigued. The original plans for the movie fell by the wayside, but when the notion arose for doing a Broadway show, all of the seeds were sown for the "Welcome to My Nightmare" record. The title song was written by Cooper and Dick Wagner while vacationing in the Bahamas... fittingly, in the middle of a hurricane.The album was recorded in Toronto in 1974, utilizing a team of musicians whom Ezrin had assembled for a Lou Reed album. When Price came in to record his vocals, he caught everyone off guard with his ridiculous attire: a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and striped pants (Cooper christened him "Jolly MacAmbre, Tour Guide at the Pasadena Palace of Insects"). He hardly looked the part of the menacing horror-meister, but the voice was really all that mattered. Price made some revisions to the dialogue and became giddy with excitement as he laid down his vocals.The album was spawned from the idea for a movie, and likewise, the idea for this TV special was spawned from the album. After the band exploded in popularity, frontman Alice Cooper (born Vincent Furnier) legally changed his name in 1972, but the rest of the band was still contracted to record with him. To sidestep industry politics, they devised this TV special and marketed the album as a soundtrack (issued on his WB label's subsidiary, Atlantic Records). Essentially, this special is a string of music videos loosely tied together with appearances by Price and footage of Alice tossing and turning in bed. It's notable for being the first time that a video was shot for every song an on album (which wouldn't happen again until Blondie's 1980 record "Eat to the Beat"). A few concessions had to be made to appease network TV censors, a few alternate versions wound up in the show, and he included his earlier signature tune "The Ballad of Dwight Fry." Looking at it today, "The Nightmare" is kinda corny. Shot low-budget on video in a soundstage, it sort of has the vibe of an episode of "The Muppet Show" (which Cooper and Price each subsequently guest-starred on). But despite the visible shortcomings, they were able to pack a punch in certain scenes. Price is in top form as The Curator (who refers to himself as "the spirit of the nightmare"), and he seemed to be relishing his monologues - as well as dragging Cooper around on a leash. "Steven" includes a sequence in which a bunch of dancers clad in Cooper masks wander around, blindly reaching out, and effective editing techniques made the whole shebang pretty creepy. Similarly, "Years Ago" features Alice on a makeshift carousel, with the eerie tune, colored lights and inventive video effects making for a memorably weird audio/visual assault. The haunting tale of domestic violence, "Only Women Bleed," was shot under red lighting with the Coop surrounded by a group of mannequins and strategically placed dancers (including his soon-to-be wife, Sheryl).The special was broadcast on the final episode of ABC's "In Concert" (ironically, Cooper had also headlined the first episode in 1972), and it went on to win an Emmy for outstanding video editing. When it was finally issued on VHS in 1983, the special was also nominated for a Grammy. By the time it aired, Cooper had already set out on an elaborate concert tour which incorporated many of the same dancers and costumes featured in the special and it was documented in the concert-film "Welcome to My Nightmare." Unlike this TV special, the concert has had numerous video and DVD releases. Segments went on to be played as music videos (the title tune has had significant exposure), and a few clips surfaced in Alice's "Prime Cuts" documentary.Yeah, it's dated but for the time this was a cutting-edge special, and it's a damned shame that it hasn't been reissued since its sole American home video release in '83.

I am not sure how Vincent Price came to be involved with pop/rock music but, apart from his famed contribution to Michael Jackson's song "Thriller" from his eponymous (and top-selling) 1982 record, he appeared in this TV special inspired by Heavy Metal exponent Alice Cooper's concept album "Welcome To My Nightmare". On a personal note, I had long been interested in checking out Cooper's earliest albums, given that they had been produced by Bob Ezrin and featured guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner – all 3 of whom were also involved with Lou Reed's 1973 solo masterpiece "Berlin" and, Hunter and Wagner only, Reed's successive release, "Rock 'N' Roll Animal" – to my mind the best live album ever! The basic premise here is simple: a man finds that he cannot wake up from his own nightmare. Guiding him through the maze of vaguely surreal visions (clichéd Halloween imagery giving way to a lair of spider/human hybrids, a refrigerator graveyard, and even having a top-hatted Cooper engaged in a tap-dance routine with a trio of likewise-attired skeletons!) is an ageing Price – making intermittent campy appearances to spout unspeakable lines and laugh himself silly – as The Spirit Of The Nightmare. Cooper is shown in and out of (his recognizable face-painted) character, as the young man asleep in bed dreaming and, of course, the protagonist of the "phantasm" (as Price vividly puts it). Throughout, he is also made to reflect on his life – childhood memories evoked by a fairground ride and the recounting of his success story being literally 'torn from the headlines'.The approach to this early form of (extended) music video is typical of the era: a gaudily elaborate mise-en-scene (exemplified by distracting and pointless choreography, even if the color scheme is imaginatively-deployed) undercut by poor technical quality. On the other hand, the artist's essence emerges well enough (with the outstanding track being the eventual single release "Only Women Bleed"), and he clearly relished the opportunity since he would often return to the screen in subsequent years (albeit mostly in small roles and guest spots)! At 66 minutes, the program is tolerable and even mildly enjoyable for what it tries to do (though, regrettably, it requires Vincent Price to be embarrassed somewhat – in any case, he would re-unite with the same performer on THE STRANGE CASE OF ALICE COOPER in 1979). For what it is worth, Cooper's live staging of the album the following year would also be caught on tape and, since last year, has reportedly been busy at work on a sequel to the original album to be titled "Welcome 2 My Nightmare"!

Alice Cooper is one of the greatest rockers of all time, and is probably the penultimate theatrical shock-rocker legend. I rented this in middle school and thought it was so kickass. It's always neat when somebody takes a handful of songs and makes a trippy horror movie out of them, as is the case here. Some of the songs showcased are among the best of Alice, but some of them were (even in my opinion) some of his lesser musical moments. At the same time, one of the great things about "Alice Cooper: The Nightmare" is how what becomes musically weak at times remains visually strong throughout. Vincent Price is one of the greatest actors associated with horror, so it would make sense to have him introduce Alice Cooper's classic horror rock, and it all amounts to a fun, freaky blast that I would highly recommend to all the weirdos out there... like me!

This is by far one of the Great Alice Cooper concerts. If there ever was a showman who was able to cast murder, mayhem and some damn good rock and roll into one thing then Alice Cooper was that man. From Guillotines to stranglings, Alice knows what the crowd is wanting he gives them that ten-fold.I have had the honor of actually seeing Alice Live not once..but six times in concert. Better to see the show live but video is almost just as good.Out of 10..........10/10!