One of Hollywood’s Biggest Flops Has a Hilarious Connection to a Horror Favorite

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Hollywood often reveals surprising links between movies and the people who make them. It’s not just about networking; it’s about the fascinating ways seemingly unrelated projects connect. Sometimes it’s as simple as actors showing up in different films, creating fun hidden details, or it can be something much bigger, building a rich backstory. Occasionally, these connections are completely unexpected and funny, highlighting how interconnected the world of filmmaking truly is. There’s a great example of this involving one of Hollywood’s biggest failures and a famous horror star.

Forty-one years ago, the sequel to the unexpected breakdancing hit Breakin’, titled Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, was released. While it didn’t achieve the same success as the original, and featured a somewhat strange storyline about dancers versus a greedy corporation, it did give us the now-famous “Electric Boogaloo” meme used to jokingly describe silly sequels. Interestingly, this well-known flop shares a surprising connection with another 1984 film: A Nightmare on Elm Street.

A Rotating Room Does Double Duty As a Far-Out Dance Studio

A memorable scene from the movie Breakin’ 2 (even movies that aren’t huge hits can have great moments!) features an incredibly energetic dance performance. The dancer appears to defy gravity, moving on the ceiling and even moonwalking up the wall. This effect was created using a clever set design: the entire room was built to rotate, while all the props were firmly secured. While the scene is a bit over-the-top, seeing someone dance on the ceiling is undeniably impressive.

The dance studio featured in Breakin’ 2 is a lively setting, but it has a surprisingly dark history. As detailed in the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, the same rotating room used for the dancers was also the site of a gruesome death in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Johnny Depp’s character, Glen Lantz, is pulled into his bed and killed in a particularly bloody scene. Creating this effect required a massive 500 gallons of fake blood—made from Karo syrup—which proved heavier than anticipated. This weight caused the set to become unstable, shifting unexpectedly and spilling not only the fake blood but also electrical cables, creating further complications during filming.

The Rotating Set Created an Unexpected Electrical Hazard

The filming had some dangerous moments – blood used in a horror scene accidentally splashed onto electrical equipment, causing injuries to crew members. However, the effect was visually striking and became one of the film’s most memorable scenes. Interestingly, the same location was quickly repurposed for a very different project: Breakin’ 2. What began as a gruesome murder scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street was soon transformed into a vibrant dance studio.

The famous bedroom scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street, where Tina (Amanda Wyss) is killed, wasn’t just a set piece – it actually rotated! Inspired by a gravity-defying dance sequence in the 1951 film Royal Wedding, the room was built on a rotating base by special effects designer Jim Doyle. This allowed the set to spin 360 degrees, creating the illusion of Tina being dragged across the ceiling. Doyle later rented out this clever creation for use in the films Breakin’ 2 and the 1985 horror movie, The Stuff.

It’s an odd link, but it’s fascinating that a classic, famously gruesome horror film shares a direct connection with a box office disaster that drastically altered the landscape of movie sequels. It highlights how small the Hollywood industry can be, and how surprisingly interconnected everything is – often in unexpected ways.

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2026-01-03 22:14