The tragic tales of Hollywood’s most cursed movies

Every now and then, you hear of a movie that is ‘jinxed’ right from the start of its filming. Take the case of the 1980s cult horror film Poltergeist, which recently got a reboot.
It is touted to be the most cursed films of all times, due to the deaths of its cast members and spooky incidences during the shoot. And it’s not alone. Here are seven movies who’ve been through the eerie drill...
Poltergeist series (1982, 1986, 1988)
The real-life stories behind this horror flick are more terrifying than the movie itself! Since the first franchise was released in 1982, four members of its cast had died untimely. Rumours state that the crew incurred a curse as they used real skeletons during a scene. Child actor Heather O’Rourke, who played the youngest child Carol in all three installments, died at the age of 12, due to a cardiac arrest just months before the third movie released. Dominique Dunne, who played the eldest daughter Dana, died at 22 after being strangled by an abusive former boyfriend. Julian Beck, the 60-year-old actor who played Henry, died of cancer in 1985 and Will Sampson, 53 died in 1987 during a surgery.
The Passion of the Christ
In this 2004 biblical epic, actor Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus Christ, suffered a terrifying ordeal during the shooting. He was struck by lightning. And that’s not all. He also endured a case of near-hypothermia, dislocated his shoulder while performing the crucifixion scene, had both a lung infection and pneumonia, and contracted a painful skin infection due to the makeup routine. He also had part of his flesh ripped out accidentally during a fake whipping scene. Eerily, like Caviezel, assistant director Jan Michelini was also struck by lightning, twice, while filming!

Superman franchise
Actors who played Superman were plagued with ill-fortune. Christopher Reeve, who essayed the character in four Superman films from 1978 to 1987, was paralysed neck down in a freak horse-riding incident. George Reeves, the superhero in the television series, was found mysteriously dead with a gunshot wound to his head. Other actors, who starred in the film and also suffered tragedies, included Marlon Brando and heroine Margot Kidder.

The Omen
The shoot of this 1976 horror flick movie was riddled with worrisome events. Actor Gregory Peck and screenwriter, David Seltzer were flying on separate flights, both of which were struck by lightning. A chartered plane that the crew was originally supposed to fly in crashed, killing everyone on board. Many members of the cast survived a car crash on the first day of shoot.

The Exorcist
Apart from the widespread hysteria that the film caused when it released (people fainted, fell violently sick, some were even institutionalised), many jinxed events occurred during the shooting of this 1973 classic, the most worrisome being the death of nine people during filming. This included two actors, Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros, who died before the film was released. Actress Ellen Burstyn (who played the mother) received a permanent spinal injury during filming a scene. There was also an unexplained fire that damaged the set. The crew was so terrified that the producers had to call a real-life priest who blessed the set and sprinkled holy water on the crew.

Rosemary’s Baby
Right from the pre-production stages, the producer of this Roman Polanski film, William Castle believed the movie was cursed. Days after receiving death threats and hate mail relating to the film, he suffered from kidney failure. The composer, Krzysztof Komeda, died of a clot in the brain, very similar to how one of the characters dies in the movie. Lead actress Mia Farrow was also served her divorce papers from Frank Sinatra during the shoot. More tragedy occurred after the film released, when Polanski’s pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, was brutally murdered, along with four other people, in their home by followers of criminal Charles Manson.

Rebel Without A Cause Four actors, who acted in this 1955 drama suffered mysterious deaths and were cut down in their prime. The 23-year-old lead James Dean was killed in a car crash just a month before the film released. His co-star Natalie Wood drowned in a suspicious manner a few years later, while the third major actor Sal Mineo was brutally stabbed in an alley. Nick Adams, another actor in the film, died of a drug overdose.

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