Top 10 Cursed Horror Movie Sets
#10: “The Omen” (1976)
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The number of occurrences and accidents related to this film is staggering. Actor Gregory Peck and screenwriter David Seltzer were both on their way to the UK on separate flights when both planes were struck by lightning. Dogs hired for the film attacked their trainers, director Richard Donner’s hotel was bombed by the IRA and he was hit by a car, Gregory Peck canceled a flight that crashed with everyone on board dying, and on the first day of shooting, several crew members survived a head-on collision on their way to the set. Following the production, a special effects crew member and his assistant were in a car crash that resulted in the instant death of the assistant. The “Omen” indeed.
#9: “Maximum Overdrive” (1986)
This lesser-known Stephen King film was subject to a number of incidents. Director of photography Armando Nannuzzi lost his right eye when an out-of-control lawnmower hit a wooden support, sending shards of wood directly into his face. A failed stunt featuring an ice cream truck resulted in a near-death experience for a cameraman, who was saved at the last second by a dolly grip. Multiple vehicles broke down during production, resulting in a number of production delays. A hurricane tore through the set. Stephen King directed the film himself, and when asked in an interview why he hasn’t directed any films since “Maximum Overdrive,” he regretfully answered: “just watch ‘Maximum Overdrive’.”
#8: “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” (2005)
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This film has a disturbing true backstory: that of Anneliese Michel, a German woman who underwent over 60 attempted exorcism rites in the year prior to her death. During this time, she entirely stopped eating, and eventually perished from malnutrition and dehydration. Her parents and two priests were arrested and charged with negligent homicide. The actress who portrayed Emily Rose in the film, Jennifer Carpenter, claimed that during production she would be awakened by her radio turning itself on multiple times during the night. On top of that, it would often turn on at a specific point in Pearl Jam’s “Alive,” in which frontman Eddie Vedder shouts “I’m still alive!” Co-star Laura Linney also reported her radio turning itself on at random.
#7: “Return to Babylon” (2013)
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This film is perhaps not intentionally a horror film, but reports of what happened during filming and editing are creepy enough. The silent film depicts the lives of silent-era actors, and was entirely filmed using an old hand-crank camera and is backed by 20s era music. It is listed as a drama, however, much of the film’s production caused some unease in its actors and crew. Actress Jennifer Tilly claimed that she felt ghostly hands touch her during filming. Some of the filming locations gave everyone ominous feelings, with some actors asking to leave. However, the creepiest occurrence was when director Alex Monty Canawati was editing footage and claimed that the faces of the actors would occasionally and mysteriously morph into demon-like faces.
#6: “Twilight Zone: The Movie” (1983)
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The accident that occurred on the “Twilight Zone” film set was so gruesome and tragic that it changed regulations for productions thereafter. It is important to note that multiple child actor laws were broken in order to shoot this scene, including filming at night and being in proximity of explosions. In the cursed scene, actor Vic Morrow was to rescue two orphaned children from a helicopter attack, lifting them and rushing away from the scene. However, the scene involved multiple explosions in close proximity to a helicopter. The pyrotechnics used interfered with the helicopter pilot’s flight, causing it to spiral out of control and landing on the three actors. Vic Morrow and the two children died instantly.
#5: “The Conjuring” (2013)
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Any film based on the cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren, renowned demonologists and paranormal experts, must have some sort of ghostly presence on the set On the set of the 2013 film, one of the child actors, Joey King, found herself gradually covered in mysterious bruises over the course of a few weeks of shooting. Actress Vera Farmiga, who portrayed Lorraine, claims to have been waking up every night between 3 and 4 am, otherwise known as the witching hour. Farmiga also woke up with 3 scratch marks on her thigh one morning, as well as 3 strange digital scratch marks appearing on her laptop screen. The set piece representing the Warrens’ storeroom was subject to mysteriously shifting and moving objects.
#4: “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)
The curse of this film came post-production, as bad luck struck a number of involved parties. In the same year as the film’s release, composer Krzysztof Komeda died when he essentially fell off a cliff at a party, resulting in a four-month coma from which he never awoke. The following year, producer William Castle was struck with severe kidney stones, from which he barely recovered. His career then reportedly took a downward slope. Director Roman Polanski was perhaps hardest hit by the alleged curse. His then-girlfriend, Sharon Tate, supposedly appeared in the film as an extra. She later became his wife, and during her pregnancy was murdered by the Manson Family alongside others. The Manson story is quite the rabbit-hole, for any interested parties.
#3: “The Crow” (1994)
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The film is often associated primarily with the death of its lead actor, Brandon Lee. An improperly loaded prop gun resulted in Lee getting shot in the stomach, subsequently bleeding out at the hospital (after infusion of 60 pints of blood.) However, the set was plagued with accidents, resulting in crew members referring to it as “The Curse of the Crow.” On the first day of shooting, a crew member was severely electrocuted and burned in an accident involving a cherry-picker. On the third day, the truck containing props caught fire inexplicably. A stunt actor fell through a set piece and broke several ribs, a hurricane ripped through the set, and a crew member had a screwdriver stab through his hand.
#2: “Poltergeist” (1982)
Many conspiracy theorists have traced the curse of “Poltergeist” to the use of actual human skeletons in the film. Apparently, it’s cheaper to use real ones. The film’s sequel had an exorcism performed on set, but that’s a story for another time. The original film was subject to what many called a “death curse.” Actress Dominique Dunne, who portrayed the eldest daughter in the film, was strangled to death by her former boyfriend the year the film was released. Child actress Heather O’Rourke died at only 12 years old shortly before the release of the third film, of undiagnosed Crohn’s disease. There was also a death from stomach cancer, one from transplant complications, and one murder. Anyone involved in this film must still be nervous.
#1: “The Exorcist” (1973)
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The film was pretty much the first of its kind, as these types of horror films just weren’t around in the 1970s. Accidents, deaths, and strange ominous warnings were abounding on and off the set. Though details are scarce, there are reportedly 9 deaths associated with the film, including actors Vasiliki Maliaros and Jack MacGowran, a cameraman’s stillborn child, a member of security, and actress Linda Blair’s grandfather. Actress Ellen Burstyn suffered permanent damage to her spine in a faulty harness accident and a mysterious fire burned down the first set. During filming, actor Jason Miller, who plays Father Karras, was approached on the street by a priest who handed him a medallion and warned him of the devil’s retribution. Yikes.
