Cursed on the set...
To combat the underwhelming response to this Halloween season, I have posted this blog about Horror movie curses. Enjoy.
• The Poltergeist
The most infamous possession movie is also afflicted with Hollywood's most infamous curse: four deaths are associated with the trilogy, which was premised around destructive spirits who inhabited a house. The film's young star, Heather O'Rourke, died at only 12 of septic shock, and her on-screen sister, Dominique Dunne, was strangled to death by her distraught boyfriend. Julian Beck, who played an evil spirit, died of cancer, while Will Sampson, who played a good spirit, died after a heart-lung transplant. All the deaths occurred within a six-year period.
• Rosemary's Baby
Roman Polanski's controversial 1968 film - about a woman who gives birth to the devil after her husband promises it to a sect of Satanists in return of fame and fortune - is also surrounded by mysteriously coincidental, horrifying incidents. A year after Rosemary's Baby's release, Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family while she was eight months pregnant with the couple's first child. Also in 1969, producer William Castle was rushed to the hospital with kidney failure and, legend has it, he yelled out, "Rosemary, for God's sake, drop the knife!" while being admitted. Krzysztof Komeda, who scored the movie, happened to be a resident of the same hospital Castle was taken to; he later died of a blood clot, mimicking the death of Rosemary's friend Hutch from the film.
•The Omen
While filming the devil-becomes-a-man tale, star Pete Postlethwaite, who plays Father Brennan, was struck by tragedy when his brother reportedly died after drawing three sixes in a card game.
That was only the latest in a long line of incidents that some say are signs of the beast: the original movie was likewise plagued with unexplainable tragedies, including scriptwriter David Seltzer, who was struck by lightning, and star Gregory Peck, who narrowly escaped a plane crash, but wasn't so lucky when it came to his son, who killed himself by way of a single bullet to the head. Other incidents include:
•Twilight Zone: The Movie
Vic Morrow, My-Ca Dinh Le, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen were shooting a scene for the Vietnam sequence of Twilight Zone: The Movie. They were running from a pursuing helicopter. The helicopter was flying at a low level when pyrotechnic explosions caused the helicopter to lose control and crash on top of the three. Morrow and Le were both decapitated by the blades; Chen was fatally crushed underneath the helicopter's landing skid. The helicopter crew received minor injuries.
•The Exorcist
Due to the accidental deaths and fires on set, and even supposed mental breakdowns from the young Linda Blair (Regan), some would say that an actual demon was trying to stop the filming of this movie. Some rumors state that nine people died during the fifteen month filming period. Jack McGowen had just wrapped up filming his small part for the film when he died of a heart attack. Another report states that the man who Regan said would die up there was accidentally killed while filming. There were other deaths too. One was that of Max Von Sydow's brother and Linda Blair's grandfather. A night watchman for the set, a crew member that refrigerated the bedroom for the exorcism scenes, and a cameraman's newborn baby were also part of the unexplained deaths.
• The Poltergeist
The most infamous possession movie is also afflicted with Hollywood's most infamous curse: four deaths are associated with the trilogy, which was premised around destructive spirits who inhabited a house. The film's young star, Heather O'Rourke, died at only 12 of septic shock, and her on-screen sister, Dominique Dunne, was strangled to death by her distraught boyfriend. Julian Beck, who played an evil spirit, died of cancer, while Will Sampson, who played a good spirit, died after a heart-lung transplant. All the deaths occurred within a six-year period.
• Rosemary's Baby
Roman Polanski's controversial 1968 film - about a woman who gives birth to the devil after her husband promises it to a sect of Satanists in return of fame and fortune - is also surrounded by mysteriously coincidental, horrifying incidents. A year after Rosemary's Baby's release, Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family while she was eight months pregnant with the couple's first child. Also in 1969, producer William Castle was rushed to the hospital with kidney failure and, legend has it, he yelled out, "Rosemary, for God's sake, drop the knife!" while being admitted. Krzysztof Komeda, who scored the movie, happened to be a resident of the same hospital Castle was taken to; he later died of a blood clot, mimicking the death of Rosemary's friend Hutch from the film.
•The Omen
While filming the devil-becomes-a-man tale, star Pete Postlethwaite, who plays Father Brennan, was struck by tragedy when his brother reportedly died after drawing three sixes in a card game.
That was only the latest in a long line of incidents that some say are signs of the beast: the original movie was likewise plagued with unexplainable tragedies, including scriptwriter David Seltzer, who was struck by lightning, and star Gregory Peck, who narrowly escaped a plane crash, but wasn't so lucky when it came to his son, who killed himself by way of a single bullet to the head. Other incidents include:
- Richard Donner's hotel was bombed by the provisional IRA
- Gregory Peck canceled his reservation on a flight. The plane he had originally chartered crashed, killing all on board (a group of Japanese businessmen).
- A warden at the safari park used in the "crazy baboon" scene was attacked and killed by a lion the day after the crew left.
- Rottweilers hired for the film attacked their trainers.
- On the first day of shooting, the principal members of the crew got in a head-on car crash
•Twilight Zone: The Movie
Vic Morrow, My-Ca Dinh Le, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen were shooting a scene for the Vietnam sequence of Twilight Zone: The Movie. They were running from a pursuing helicopter. The helicopter was flying at a low level when pyrotechnic explosions caused the helicopter to lose control and crash on top of the three. Morrow and Le were both decapitated by the blades; Chen was fatally crushed underneath the helicopter's landing skid. The helicopter crew received minor injuries.
•The Exorcist
Due to the accidental deaths and fires on set, and even supposed mental breakdowns from the young Linda Blair (Regan), some would say that an actual demon was trying to stop the filming of this movie. Some rumors state that nine people died during the fifteen month filming period. Jack McGowen had just wrapped up filming his small part for the film when he died of a heart attack. Another report states that the man who Regan said would die up there was accidentally killed while filming. There were other deaths too. One was that of Max Von Sydow's brother and Linda Blair's grandfather. A night watchman for the set, a crew member that refrigerated the bedroom for the exorcism scenes, and a cameraman's newborn baby were also part of the unexplained deaths.