Horror movies deal with some of the most sinister forces of the universe: supernatural entities [1], monsters, murders, evil clowns [2], demons, and even the devil himself. With so much evil energy in the air, it almost makes sense that these kinds of films would befall unfortunate circumstances. And when a production suddenly finds itself inexplicably linked with a string of tragic deaths and accidents, one word often materializes to explain everything: curse. We're looking back at some of the most unlucky film sets in history.
The Crow (1994)
- In 1993, Brandon Lee, the son of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died due to a tragic mistake [4] while filming The Crow. In the scene in question, a character called Funboy shoots Lee's character, Eric, while he's carrying a grocery bag. The gun was meant to be loaded with blanks, and a small "squib" would detonate in the grocery bag to simulate the actual gunshot. Lee was actually shot, though, and died that night. According to reports, no one knows how a real bullet got into the gun in question.
- Perhaps the strangest part about the death is its uncanny resemblance to a scene from his father's final film, The Game of Death. In the scene, Bruce Lee is filming a movie within a movie. He's supposed to be shot, to pretend to die of gunshot wounds, but gets hit by a real bullet.
The Exorcist (1973)
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A string of notable deaths occurred directly around the time of the film's production. Most notable among them included actor Jack MacGowran, who died of a flu before the film's release [5]. On the first day of filming, Max von Sydow, another star, lost his brother.
- Ellen Burstyn, who plays young Regan's mother, suffered a permanent spinal injury [6] on set while filming a scene where Regan throws her from her bed. The take used in the final cut is reportedly the take where the injury occurred.
- At one point, the set that housed the entire MacNeil family home burned down [7]. Except, strangely enough, for the demonic bedroom. That's got to be more than eerie coincidence . . . right?
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
- Shortly after the film's release, producer William Castle began to receive hundreds of pieces of hate mail [9]. "Bastard. Believer of Witchcraft. Worshipper at the Shrine of Satanism," one letter read. "My prediction is you will slowly rot during a long and painful illness which you have brought upon yourself." Around the same time, Castle began experiencing excruciating pains in his groin. He collapsed in October of that year, four months after the release of Rosemary's Baby. He'd had a blockage in his urinary tract.
- In 1969, director Roman Polanski's wife Sharon Tate was brutally murdered by followers of Charles Manson [10]. While no motive was ever found, many sources link the crime to Rosemary's Baby.
- It's widely known that the film used the exteriors of the Dakota Apartments in NYC to shoot certain scenes. The very same building was the scene of John Lennon's murder in 1980 [11]. Lennon had actually crossed paths with Farrow in the Spring of 1968. They met at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in India.
Poltergeist (1982)
- The rumors about the curse of the Poltergeist film [12] began after the crew used real skeletons to film a one of the movie's more disturbing sequences.
- An inordinate amount of deaths connected to the Poltergeist production occurred. Dominique Dunne, the older daughter in the first film, was strangled by her boyfriend at 22; Julian Beck, who played Kane in the sequel, died of stomach cancer at age 60; and Will Sampson, who plays Taylor in the sequel, died from kidney failure at age 53.
- The most famous death is that of Heather O'Rourke, who died at age 12 of septic shock and cardiac arrest, both due in large part to a misdiagnosed intestinal issue.
- That's not all! In 1992, Richard Lawson narrowly survived a brutal plane crash, and in 2009, a small character from the original film, Lou Perryman, was brutally murdered in his home. So, are all the deaths coincidence? Or could they all be traced back to one fateful and cursed film?
The Omen (1976)
- Perhaps the most chilling set of circumstances [14] comes in the form of The Omen. Bob Munger, an advertising executive, had warned producer Harvey Bernhard that making the movie might be dangerous. "He warned us that he thought the devil didn't want us to make the picture," Bernhard said, "and that we would have problems."
- In June 1975, just before production was set to begin, star Gregory Peck's son had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head [15].
- In the first film, there's a particularly haunting zoo scene [16], where Damien unwittingly riles up a whole clan of baboons. A trainer had been brought to set to deal with the animals, but according to Bernhard, "He was killed the day after . . . He was killed by a tiger. He grabbed him by the head and killed him instantly."
- Another eerie death happened that seemed oddly connected to the film. John Richardson, a special effects guru who had helped orchestrate a scene with a grisly decapitation, got in a horrific car accident. He survived, but his assistant Liz Moore, who was his passenger, had died. She had been decapitated. A nearby sign clocked the distance to a nearby Dutch town: "Ommen, 66.6 km."
- Stuntman Alf Joint had gone to work on another project called A Bridge Too Far, where one of his stunts went totally wrong. Instead of jumping from the roof into an airbag below, he seemed to fall suddenly and awkwardly. Later, in the hospital, he claimed he felt like he'd been pushed.
What do you think? Are you a believer? Did all of these events link into to their cursed productions? Or did they simply fall victim to bad luck and terrible timing? It's hard to say, but there must be a point where we stop being skeptical and start seeing the patterns.