POLTERGEIST- Cursed Production?
Poltergeist has been hailed as the most cursed production in movie history. We are here to examine the evidence.
Poltergeist a horror classic from 1982 was directed by Tobe Hooper, written by Stephen Speilberg, Michael Grais and Mark Victor.
It follows the story of the Freeling family experiencing paranormal activity in their home - initially to their amusement - but - things take a darker turn when the uninvited devilish spirits attach to the youngest daughter Carol-Anne.
She gets pulled into the world of white noise and vanishes - where the only communication is via the TV set.
What happened on set? Well, it seems this movie was blighted from the outset and something that lasted through the trilogy of the original movies to the remake in (2015).
Here we explore these events as they unfolded.
POLTERGEIST I
Real Skeletons were used on set.
[ ] You may remember a scene where Diane Freeling, portrayed by JoBeth Williams, was dragged into a pool of skeletons. You may not know something about those skeletons; they are real, not plastic.
[ ] It was cheaper to use real skeletons rather than plastic ones but did this cheap choice and disrespect of the dead curse this movie?
[ ] Actress Dominique Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, during an argument on the driveway of her West Hollywood home. She fell into a coma and died five days later on November 4, 1982.
Clown strangulation
Remember that creepy clown in Robbie’s room? This clown malfunctioned and began choking child actor Oliver Robins. Believing he was improvising initially, Spielberg realised how dangerous the situation was when Robin’s face changed colour and he prised off the mechanical doll. Saving his life.
POLTERGEIST II
[ ] Actor Will Samson was asked to perform an onset cleansing ritual before the production commenced. He died a year later of complications with a heart and lung transplant.
[ ] Actor Julian Beck's gaunt appearance is the result of the stomach cancer that would later claim his life.
POLTERGEIST III
[ ] There were reports on earthquakes during the filming of the third movie.
[ ] A car that was shown exploding in the film was seen burning an entire building and the fire endangered the life of one of the crew members.
[ ] While the film was in production Heather O’Rourke passed away of congenital stenosis of the intestine complicated by septic shock.
[ ] During filming on Poltergeist III, actress Zelda Rubinstein received a call that her mother died suddenly.
POLTERGEIST (2015)
Reddit’s Ask Me Anything session - the direct Gil Kenan of the remake in 2015 had this to say when asked if the curse had continued to his film.
“This is a 2 part answer,” Kenan replied. “The first part is that the location for the house, during shooting, I chose because it had a strange and unnecessary field that the houses of this particular community were built around. And we found – throughout production – that we had persistent and repeatable equipment [failure] only on that strange plot of land. For instance, lights that could turn on anywhere else in the neighborhood would blow out the second you’d try to light them on this plot.”
“The second part of that answer is that the house that I rented during filming was straight-up legit haunted by a female spirit dressed in black. And I became aware of her within the first few days of staying in the house. And only after I left did I receive a call from the previous owner, who had moved back in, who was terrified by the goings-on in the house, and wanted to see if I had experienced any of it. So it was an incredible real-life inspiration for filming that followed me home. Well, I mean, she definitely was there. It didn’t follow me back to Los Angeles, but it followed me from set back to where I was sleeping during filming.”
Moral of the story there, is never re-make a horror classic.
What do you think - is Poltergeist cursed?
#poltergeist #cursed #horrorstory