We’ve all heard the various legends, rumours and myths surrounding the production of some of Hollywood’s most enduring horror movies.
- The Exorcist
- The Omen
- The Crow
- Twilight Zone: The Movie
- Poltergeist
While fictional explorations of various unseen horrors they all had on set tragedies, coincidences and dark dealings that in many ways paralleled if not rivaled what made it to the screen.
To explore the phenomenon of grisly life imitating art someone has dared to compile the sad and scary behind the scenes details of the most famous, and arguably cursed, film productions into one five-part series.
Cursed Films is a five-part documentary series which explores the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously “cursed” horror film productIons. From plane accidents and bombings during the making of The Omen, to the rumored use of real human skeletons on the set of Poltergeist, these stories are legendary amongst film fans and filmmakers alike. But where does the truth lie?
Cursed Films reveals the events that haunted these productIons through interviews with experts, witnesses and the cast, directors and producers who lived through the real-life events. Were these films really cursed, as many believe, or just the victIms of bad luck and bizarre circumstances?
The balls and the brains behind this series is documentary filmmaker and Film Junk Podcast co-host Jay Cheel, who has managed to gather some pretty big names.
Interviewees include Richard Donner (Superman, The Omen), Linda Blair (The Exorcist) and perhaps most prominently, historian of alternative spirituality, Mitch Horowitz.
Behold through the fingers clasped over your cowardly faces:
Now, personally, I don’t really go for a lot of this stuff. I do believe there are things that go bump in the dark but also feel its power is greatly outweighed by the negligence, pettiness and evil of human beings.
However, I deeply dig all of these films and am excited to learn more about the events that led, not only to them being high watermarks in the horror genre, well maybe not Twilight Zone, but also what made them become the source of such mythos.
Cursed Films will premiere at the SXSW Festival in March before its Shudder (streaming service) debut in April in the USA.
