Robert Englund’s Cameo in ‘Choose or Die’ Is a Treat For Horror Fans

If you’re a fan of horror and you don’t know the name Robert Englund, well, maybe you’re not as big of a fan as you thought. That said, the ’80s were a long time ago, and not everyone is old enough to have seen Englund as Freddy Krueger on the opening night of 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Thankfully, Netflix’s new horror movie, Choose or Die decided to keep the legacy of Englund, and the ’80s, alive.

Choose or Die has no shortage of ’80s nostalgia. Directed by Toby Meakins, with a script by Simon Allen, the movie stars Iola Evans as a struggling college student named Kayla, who, along with her nerdy friend Isaac (Asa Butterfield), decides to try her hand at a forgotten ’80s survival video game called CURS>R. Obviously, the game is cursed, and Kayla and Isaac are drawn into a deadly game where they must “choose or die” between horrific options. Why do they start playing in the first place? Because Robert Englund tells them that they can win $100,000 if they beat the game.

Englund’s cameo as himself in Choose or Die happens entirely via audio. When Kayla first discovers the video game at Isaac’s apartment—because Isaac is that mythical young person obsessed with the ’80s—she calls the phone number listed on the game cover, and gets a voice recording. “Greetings,” a voice—Robert Englund’s voice—says. “This is Robert Englund, horror royalty and Hollywood nightmare. Or should that be the other way around? If you’re listening to this, then you’re either a loser who isn’t paying Mommy and Daddy’s phone bill, or you have survived Curs>r. So, congratulations, you are worthy.”

Kayla, who is not fixated on the past, has no idea who Robert Englund is. Isaac, doing his best Freddy Krueger impression, tells her, “Your pop-culture ignorance is becoming unacceptable, bitch!” He then hurries to clarify that it wasn’t him calling her a bitch. (Kayla, wisely, simply ignores him.)

It’s a short but sweet cameo for Englund, and yes, that really is him on the phone. He lends his voice to one other scene in the film, as the narrator of Level 2 of the deadly video game, which sicks feral rats after Kayla’s poor, grieving mother.

According to an interview with Choose or Die writer Simon Allen for the movie press notes, he and director Toby Meakins knew they wanted some sort of cameo for horror fans—they just didn’t know who it would be. “We always had in the script that there was a prize line [in the CURS>R game],”  Allen said. “I said to Toby, ‘If we could get a horror icon to be the voice of this…’ So we started looking at the dates, and thinking, ‘Well, if the game was made in 1984 or ’83 or ’85, who would be around? You’ve got Bruce Campbell [The Evil Dead], you’ve got…’ And then we both went: ‘Robert Englund.���”

Meakins, in that same interview, added that not only was Englund was a blast to work with, he also offered the director some advice for the film. Meakins said, “What Robert said to me was, ‘This is a great film. Just don’t make it bleak, you know? Horror can be fun. Make sure that it’s fun. There’s too much bleak horror about. Don’t do it.’ And I kind of carried that with me throughout.”

If Freddy Krueger is offering advice for your horror movie, you listen!