From Shudder comes a fascinating documentary series Cursed Films featuring five movies that have been said to have been cursed during and after production.
The series takes five films and goes into great detail about why the film is thought to be cursed and what did actually happen to spread all these rumours.
First, we have Poltergeist the 1982 horror classic directed by Tobe Hooper. The film was set by two tragedies the first was the murder of actress Dominic Dunn by her psychopathic boyfriend and also the awful death of young child actress Heather O’Rourke who passed at just 11 years old while working on “Poltergeist III.” The episode also goes into detail about the skeletons in the mud pit at the end of the film and the rumour that real skeletons were used.
It also talks about actors Will Sampson and Julian Beck who would pass after the film’s sequel came out, but it’s more of a sad making of than any evidence of a so-called curse but it’s fascinating all the same.
Next, we have The Crow starring Brandon Lee. Again it goes into accidents that happened on set, the electrocution of a worker and of course the tragic shooting of Brandon Lee by a gun that was not checked properly. It’s really such a sad tale of an actor, who just like his dad, Bruce Lee, died just on the cusp of stardom.
Then we come to The Exorcist the most famous and terrifying horror of the 1970s and what happened before and after the film’s release. Other films discussed are The Omen and Twilight Zone The Movie.
While the episodes are more about tragic accidents rather than curses it tries to show how rumours and gossip can spread lies, especially in these days of the internet. The series has some great behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the films and people involved and is riveting as well as tragic.
Especially the episode about the Twilight Zone movie when Vic Morrow and 2 children were killed after a helicopter crashed into the set. It was definitely avoidable which makes it even more disturbing to watch.
All the episodes are around 30 minutes long and at times you wish they could have been longer just to explore in more detail. It’s an enjoyable series and volume 2 is already being shown on Shudder and includes films such as The Wizard of Oz.
If you are a fan of any of these movies or making of films in general this series is well worth a watch.
7.5 out of 10
