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Cursed Films is a new series from Shudder that explores the most notorious cursed films in Hollywood history. It’s a five part television documentary series and, for the purposes of this review, will explore the phenomenon and myths behind two horror classics: Poltergeist and The Omen. This docseries is certainly for the horror movie lover in all of us, even if simply to learn more behind-the-scenes, but those with a skeptical eye might find themselves questioning their stance.
In the second episode, the unfortunate deaths of various cast members, Heather O’Rourke, Dominique Dunne, Will Sampson, and Julian Beck, from Poltergeist are detailed and discussed through on-camera interviews. Guest appearances range from Gary Sherman, director of Poltergeist III, and others like film critics and VP of Development from Blumhouse Productions. The rest of the time in the episode is devoted to exploring the strange and puzzling mishaps that occurred on set.
The third episode on Poltergeist goes between so many emotions; from shock to disgust to sadness and more. Gary Sherman’s revisit down memory lane on the passing of Heather O’Rourke is one of the most brutal parts of the episode because you really get to see how deeply it affected the cast and crew. These individuals seemingly feel like they wish they could have done things differently and not released the final film or at least had a way to pay better tribute but were forced to follow through. It ultimately just becomes a very sad tale of a grossly devastating loss when you learn more of the details behind O’Rourke’s death.
As we enter the next episode, the details around The Omen are analyzed. This is where it gets good because the circumstances are very unexplained. Many people believe that by opening the doors to creating a film that deals with demonic archetypes, you are inviting the devil into your life, and that being the case with The Omen. One of the most brutal aspects is a death involving decapitation that happened in the film, which also happened to a crew member’s fiance, in the same manner – and happened near a sign that said “Ommen – 66.6km”.
What I enjoyed most about Cursed Films is that even though some of the “evidence” of a film having been cursed might seem like it can be explained away, it is extraordinarily interesting to learn about what myths have been floating around for years. In some cases, the information that arises does indeed make you wonder, “hmm… that’s odd. Possibly more than a coincidence”.
The episodes unfold in a fairly natural and straight-forward fashion but for only being a half hour long, you really feel like you get something out of it. An exploration into the fascinating phenomenons behind some of the most well known horror classics, Cursed Films is worth the investment.
Cursed Films was reviewed as an official selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival
Premieres only on Shudder beginning April 2, 2020