Go, Go, Power Rangers! For over two decades multicolored heroes in semi-robot uniforms have protected planet Earth from intergalactic space invaders. With team work, positive energy and space crafts they inherently know how to pilot, they’ve faced a number of perilous obstacles and battled some of the darkest foes from across the universe. Honestly, where would be now without them? Rita Repulsa would have enslaved us all a number of years ago if Tommy and his gang of teenagers with attitude hadn’t stepped up and saved the day.
Despite getting a little bruised and battered now and then, or having your parents hypnotized by purple slime and almost committing suicide by jumping off a cliff, one would think that being a Power Ranger is a sweet gig. You get to miss school and work. You get to travel to destinations you’d never even have dreamed of. You get to kick ass and take names with your best friends. And, again, you get a space craft that you know how to pilot without any training. It’s got to be a panty dropper or divine status no matter what way you look at it.
So how come every few years there’s a new batch of Power Rangers? Does the current crop of heroes wake up one day and say, “Nope!” and turn in their gear? If they’re still able bodied and their heart is still in the fight, how come being one fifth of a nearly unbeatable squad with blaster guns and selective other weapons is only a two or three year endeavor…. This is because, more often than not, a Power Ranger entered into a horror film and was brutally murdered. Yes, the reason they “retire” or “relinquish” their power is because, in reality, something hacked them to bits.
Not in a canonical sense, mind you. Unfortunately, hokey polyfoam aliens, bug creators and rapidly spawning, dimwitted droids are the closest thing you’ll get to horror when watching an episode of “The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers,” no matter what season you’re tuning in for. It’s been the trend since the beginning, but the actors who play Rangers from all ends of the rainbow don’t have the longest careers in Hollywood after the show is over. While they become somewhat of an icon of the franchise and may even appear in future installments, the guys and girls who play the Power Rangers out of uniform often struggle to find work outside of the franchise and usually fade away to oblivion.
When this doesn’t happen, though, a great deal of them can be found in our favorite genre of film – the horror genre, of course. Background players, small parts and even supporting roles – here’s a list of the most noteworthy Power Rangers and the films they’ve appeared in. This way, if you’re as big a nerd as I am, you can track down these movies and see the two worlds collide!
Walter Jones – The Black Ranger
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers (1993-1994)
Horror Films: Speed Demons, House of the Dead 2, Suckers, Talisman
Cerina Vincent – The Yellow Ranger
Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy (1999)
Horror Films: Cabin Fever, Intermedio, It Waits, Sasquatch Mountain, Return to House on Haunted Hill
Sasha Craig – The Yellow Ranger
Power Rangers: Light Speed Rescue (2000)
Horror Films: Dark Wolf, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Erin Cahill – The Pink Ranger
Power Rangers: Time Force (2001)
Horror Films: Creature Unknown, Boogeyman 3, Skinwalker Ranger
Jason Faunt – The Red Ranger
Power Rangers: Time Force (2001)
Horror Films: Witchouse, Totem
Michael Copon – The Blue Ranger
Power Rangers: Time Force (2001)
Horror Films: Dark House, Night of the Demons, 247*F, Killer Holiday
Ricardo Medina Jr. – The Red Ranger
Power Rangers: Wild Force (2002)
Horror Films: Bad Blood, Parasomnia
Emma Lahana – The Yellow Ranger
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder (2004)
Horror Films: Alien Agent, Polar Storm, Dear Mr. Gacy
Chris Violette – The Blue Ranger
Power Rangers: S.P.D. (2005)
Horror Films: Diary of the Dead, Return to Sleepaway Camp
Brandon Jay McLaren – The Red Ranger
Power Rangers: S.P.D. (2005)
Horror Films: Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon, The Sea Beast, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Dead Before Dawn
Anna Hutchinson – The Yellow Ranger
Power Rangers: Jungle Fury (2008)
Horror Films: Cabin in the Woods, Panic at Rock Island
Christina Masterson – The Pink Ranger
Power Rangers: MegaForce (2013-2014)
Horror Films: Sharkproof, Dead Girl
Ciara Hanna – The Yellow Ranger
Power Rangers: MegaForce (2013-2014)
Horror Films: Blood Lake – Attack of the Killer Lampreys, Pernicious
Honorable Mentions: Jorge Vargas (Navy, “Ninja Storm”) was in Chupacabra vs. the Alamo; Pua Magasiva (Red, “Ninja Storm”) was in 30 Days of Night; Alycia Purrot (Pink, “S.P.D.”) was in Black Christmas; and Matt Sadowski-Austin (Green, “S.P.D.”) was in Dawn of the Dead.
