Top 10 Cursed Movies

Ok, let's first address the elephant in the room: "The Wizard of Oz" is NOT considered cursed because an actor's suicide was supposedly caught on screen. That's just a famous urban legend. What IS true, however, is that there were enough on-set accidents to lend "The Wizard of Oz" its own cursed reputation. For starters, actors Buddy Ebsen and Jack Haley both suffered severe reactions to the make-up for the Tin Man, while Margaret Hamilton, a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the West, endured life-threatening burns during her big disappearing act early on in the film. Not even poor little Toto was safe, as an on-set trainer reported that one of the Witch's foot soldiers accidentally stepped on the dog during a take.

Getting struck by lightning is never a good sign, but what if you also happen to be portraying Jesus Christ in one of the most controversial movies of the year? This indeed happened to Jim Caviezel on set of "The Passion of the Christ," as well as the assistant director on the film, who got zapped twice. Then, there were the reported accidents associated with the scourging and crucifixion of Christ, which saw Caviezel get accidentally whipped for real by a co-star, endure a dislocated shoulder from carrying the cross, a lung infection from the weather AND massive migraine headaches from the bloody eye make-up. We're not saying that Caviezel and crew were cursed, but we might reconsider doing any more shoots out in the rain for the upcoming sequel.

The Lee Family Curse was nothing new when "The Crow" star Brandon Lee tragically died during filming, as a result of an improperly loaded gun. Rumors had already surrounded the death of Lee's father Bruce years before, with some claiming that his demise at the young age of 32 was the result of a beef with Chinese organized crime families. Sadly, Brandon's on-set accident wasn't the only mishap to happen on “The Crow" set, as a crew member was horribly electrocuted and rushed to the hospital after coming into contact with power lines. Although we'll never know what Brandon Lee could've achieved after his career defining appearance in "The Crow," his silver screen legacy is at least cemented alongside his father's for all time.

It's not difficult to imagine the sort of heebie-jeebies that filmmakers probably experienced shooting "The Omen" back in the mid-70s. After all, it was Satan's big moment in the sun, after the success of "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist" made everyone terrified of what was lurking in the dark. Some very real incidents surrounded production on "The Omen," however, from the pre-production suicide of Gregory Peck's son to some serious airline issues, like lightning strikes to the fatal crash of a small plane carrying film crew. Finally, special effects lead John Richardson, who was responsible for the film's infamous beheading scene, was involved in a tragic car accident after shooting "The Omen," where his passenger, assistant and girlfriend Liz Moore, suffered the same, grisly fate.

The next movie on our list is a case of time being the great equalizer. That's because nearly everyone making "Apocalypse Now" seemed almost certain that their time in the jungle was cursed, so troubled and dangerous was this film's production. Although Francis Ford Coppola's war epic is now considered one of the greatest cinematic achievements ever, the director allegedly contemplated suicide over thoughts of his personal financial ruin. Natural disasters destroyed pricey sets, Marlon Brando showed up unprepared and overweight for his role, while Martin Sheen even suffered a freakin' HEART ATTACK during his time on set. Sure, it's all gravy now, but we're guessing that being in the thick of "Apocalypse Now" was anything but fun.

On-set accidents are never easy to discuss, but they're made even more tragic when they have to do with young children. Unfortunately, one infamous stunt gone wrong would go on to define this otherwise highly anticipated 1983 blockbuster, "Twilight Zone: The Movie." The incident occurred during director John Landis' segment, where actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed when a helicopter sequence went horribly wrong. Both of the children were paid under the table and hired without the required permits for shooting at night with minors, but the tragedy did have a silver lining. It prevented the curse of gross negligence from afflicting more films in its wake, as more shoots were required to have risk management on set to prevent these accidents in the future.

Speaking of negligence, 1956's "The Conqueror" might be the most cursed movie of all time...at least when it comes to absolute stupidity. Ignoring for the moment that John Wayne was cast to play, of all people, Genghis Khan, "The Conqueror" was also inexplicably shot on land that was formerly the site of U.S. nuclear bomb tests, meaning that there were extremely high levels of fallout present. What's worse, producer (and noted eccentric) Howard Hughes had tons of the contaminated dirt shipped Stateside for reshoots. The results weren't immediate, but they were widespread and deadly, with nearly half of the film's cast and crew ultimately contracting cancer. There are even reports of relatives and children contracting the disease some decades after visiting the location with their parents.

We've already mentioned The Devil earlier in this list, but did Old Nick himself actually curse the production of "Rosemary's Baby?" There's definitely some evidence to that, starting with the film's composer Krzysztof Komeda, who suffered a bad fall and died before seeing the film's release. Producer William Castle suffered from kidney stones not long after "Rosemary's Baby" hit screens, but it's writer/director Roman Polanski whose personal reckoning was most infamous. The Hollywood pariah's wife Sharon Tate would become the most high profile victim of The Manson Family during their killing spree in August of 1969, serving as the unfortunate face of madness and murder during the Summer of Love.

We'll probably never again see the sort of hysterical reactions "The Exorcist" enjoyed when it first hit theaters back in 1973. The movie continues to be cited as a gold standard for the horror genre, however, bringing with it rumors of a supposed curse that swirled around production, cast and crew. Looking for specifics? Take your pick. From a fire that destroyed nearly every set EXCEPT for Regan McNeil's bedroom, on-set injuries suffered by stars Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn and a real life murder charge in 1979 for actor Paul Bateson, who played a radiological technologist in the film, "The Exorcist" is full of creepy coincidences. Then again, when you're dealing with the Devil, you take your chances playing with fire.

Before we name our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
"Return to Babylon" (2013)
For Potentially Capturing Paranormal Phenomena on Film

"Incubus" (1966)
True Crimes Galore… & Esperanto

"The Innkeepers" (2011)
Is the Yankee Pedlar Inn Really Haunted?

"The Possession" (2012)
For On-Set Accidents & Possible Arson

Did the use of real human skeletons during the filming of 1982's "Poltergeist" result in a curse that would follow the franchise and those involved to the bitter end? We're not sure, but what's certain is that all three films from the original trilogy featured their fair share of tragedy. Dominique Dunne was murdered by her boyfriend after appearing in the first film, while young Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne, died from complications following an undiagnosed bowel obstruction some years later. Julian Beck's horrific preacher Rev. Kane also died from stomach cancer after filming and before the release of the 1986 sequel "Poltergeist II: The Other Side," adding further fuel to the conspiracy fire that continues to follow the "Poltergeist" franchise to this day.