Are "Cursed films" real?

The idea of a cursed film is one that has been around for quite a while. The biggest example that is more widely known is that of The Exorcist, it was reportedly so scary that ambulances were parked out in front of theatres. Whether this was due to the local government of certain areas or if the theatres and the studios paid to buy ambulances and put them in front is still unknown and will probably stay that way. Another example of a cursed film that you may not know about (the main reasons on why it might be cursed, I will discuss later in more depth because it touches on a sensitive subject for some people) is that of Poltergeist (1982). One of the reasons that movie is often thought of as cursed is because they used actual skeletons in one scene towards the end. They got the skeletons cheaply from a medical lab due to the cost it would take to create a realistic-looking fake. The next film is cursed for a reason I will discuss later, but Twilight Zone: the Movie is considered cursed for a few accidents that occurred. The last film we will be discussing is Rosemary's Baby. A few of the crew would die in incredibly tragic ways and no one was able to tell exactly why so many people who shared the connection to Rosemary’s baby were dying. Whether you believe in cursed films or not, the idea that you could work on a scary movie and leave with a curse is a frightening idea all on its own.

In 1973 we were blessed (or cursed) with The Exorcist. Its story revolves around a demon who has entered a little girl and a priest is called in order to cast the demon out of her. This not only spooked the super religious people but the general audience. The religious people are what caused this movie to claim everything as a curse. Firstly, the entire story is based on a real kid who was apparently possessed and slashed his mattress, and then slashed the priest who was trying to exorcise him. The next thing which when I look at it, is what causes me to at least consider that something was up during this film. When they were filming, a fire broke out on set and burnt most of the set except for the little girl's (Reagans) room. It stayed completely unscathed and the room which didn’t burn up is in fact the room of the demon. This is one of the creepiest facts about this movie that is hard to fully explain. While not only was the set destroyed but there were a few accidents on set as well. During a scene, the mother of Reagan is thrown onto the floor. While they were filming, the actress who was playing the mother actually suffered injuries and still to this day has issues with her back. The take in the movie is the one where she actually hurt her back. The little girl who played Reagan was hurt by the mechanical hoist she was wearing that threw her violently against the bed. Her back was hurt so bad she was unable to work for a while afterward. She also had so many death threats against her that the studio had to hire a bodyguard for a while afterward. Another thing, although it doesn’t have any actual evidence, is that many people thought having the physical film was cursed. So many people claimed to hear demons when the projector would start playing and one woman said she got a seizure and broke her jaw because of the subliminal messaging in the movie. I don’t believe The Exorcist is cursed but when you look back at the many crazy occurrences that happened in and regarding the creation, release, and aftermath of the film it’s hard to look at it any other way.

At its core, Poltergeist is a horror movie you could watch with your kids, just to scare them a little bit. However, what happened in the real world in relation to this movie is equally terrifying. Heather O'Rourke, the little girl, during the filming of the third film in the franchise would tragically pass away on the operating table after a misdiagnosis. I absolutely hate putting the death of a little girl as a part of a “Curse” that would blame some insignificant thing like putting real skeletons in the swimming pool at the end of the original, but I'm only reporting the reasoning behind why people think this movie is cursed. I believe it was an accident and to blame the makeup director for using real skeletons for being the reason she died is just insufferable and unacceptable. It’s no one's fault. This next death is again one I think should not be talked about lightly. Dominique Young was strangled and eventually died when she was attacked by her ex-boyfriend. I think oftentimes people look at these events, not like the tragedy they are but rather try to make them something they’re not. This is just a murder. It’s not related to the movie she was in, she was just murdered. Please try your best when you read and learn about this stuff to remember that these are real people. When you discuss this they are not the characters they are playing, they are human beings who suffered. The “curses” of the Poltergeist as far as I can tell are rooted, if more than any other film, in real tragedy; they have nothing even slightly related to the film other than that they acted in it.

Twilight Zone: The Movie is an instance of a “curse” being used to cover up what in reality was negligence. In this film there is a scene where a man is carrying two children across a river; there are fireballs and explosions happening all around them, while above them there's a helicopter flying. What happened was most people knew the helicopter and the pyrotechnics were not safe together but they went ahead with it anyway. In the early morning hours, when the two child actors aren’t legally allowed to work, the pyrotechnics quickly engulfed the helicopter which brought it down directly on top of the actor and the two child actors. The director and other people involved who knew about what would happen in this very dangerous situation were charged with involuntary manslaughter and later acquitted by the supreme court. The reason I'm not even discussing a curse when it comes to this movie is that there wasn’t a “curse”. It was completely and utterly negligence and arrogance that caused those people to die. It takes almost nothing but two minutes of thought to make sure your actors are safe. As a director, covering up these deaths and thinking that you had no involvement in them is one of the worst things you can do and a disgrace to not only the profession you are in but you as a person. I understand that this article is supposed to be about curses, however in this circumstance, the “curse” is a lie, and a coverup for what could easily have been avoided.

Rosemary’s baby is an incredibly interesting movie based on its plot and the reason for its creation, however, is the curse just as interesting? There are a few deaths that are interesting in connection to Rosemary's Baby. I won’t mention the directors name because of what they did, but they are in some way related to Sharon Tate. He wanted Sharon Tate to play Rosemary but eventually, the role was given to Mia Farrow. A year after the film was released Sharon Tate was stabbed in the stomach (which held her unborn child) and murdered by the Manson family. Regarding the plotline of the movie, it’s a very weird coincidence. Another incredibly interesting coincidence is that John Lennon was assassinated directly outside the famous building where it was filmed. I’m not going to discuss some of the personal issues that happened with the producers and the writers in this post, but when researching for this post I noticed just how many people who worked on the film actually did suffer from some kind of bad luck that occurred only a few short years after working on the film. I’m going to save some of the other interesting thoughts and coincidences for another post.

Whether you believe in curses or not, the idea that curses do exist, especially in the context of the film is incredibly interesting. I personally don’t believe in curses but after researching this I definitely understand why people do. Well, that’s the end of the post I hope you all enjoyed it! If you want, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @Slashithorror and like always, remember, treat every day, like it’s Halloween.