Despite its inflammatory title, Cursed Films is not sensationalized. Rather than rehash the same myths covered in countless documentaries, featurettes, and articles, the Shudder original documentary series reframes the stories with a fresh approach. Avoiding temptation to lean into the supernatural, it offers a rational perspective to the legends, using them as a jumping off point for fruitful discussion. The first season covers five of the most well-known allegedly cursed horror productions: Poltergeist, The Omen, The Exorcist, The Crow, and Twilight Zone: The Movie.
Interview subjects range from original cast and crew members to experts and specialists to genre professionals and journalists. Friday the 13th franchise actor Kane Hodder offers his perspective on stunt work, while Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufma (dressed in drag) provides levity and his humble viewpoint on low-budget film set safety. Blumhouse Pictures VP of Development Ryan Turek, Fangoria Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr., Black Christmas (2019) writer April Wolfe, and Horror's Hallowed Grounds host Sean Clark are also among the talking heads.
While The Exorcist was the first episode released on Shudder, the Blu-ray release swaps it with Poltergeist. It's a much better introduction to the series, thanks in no small part to Poltergeist III director Gary Sherman. His empathetic interview is the centerpiece, including a heart-wrenching discussion about finishing the film after the death of franchise star Heather O'Rourke. Poltergeist special makeup effects artist Craig Reardon also addresses the fallacy that his choice to use real skeletons unleashed the supposed curse.
Unlike most other "cursed" films, The Omen leaned into the supernatural aspect. As director Richard Donner and executive producer Mace Neufeld discuss, even the publicity campaign utilized the curious coincidences to promote the film. This episode also features input from religious studies experts, a witch, and a self-proclaimed "black magician," who places a curse on a new film production.
The Exorcist episode is worthwhile for new interviews with actresses Linda Blair - who admits that the film's publicists sensationalized the curse to create media buzz - and Eileen Dietz. Where it falters is the introduction of Vincent Bauhaus, a modern exorcist. It's actually quite interesting to see the eccentric huckster perform exorcisms on people who truly believe they are possessed, but it's incongruous with the rest of the show.
The Crow episode lays out, clearly and concisely, how the tragic on-set death of star Brandon Lee occurred. It also explores its connection to a curse supposedly placed on his father, Bruce Lee, and the eerie coincidences therein. It offers an emotional interview with special makeup effects artist Lance Anderson, plus input from producer Jeff Most and the warm and articulate cult actor Michael Berryman (who played Skull Cowboy in scenes deleted after Lee's death).
It was smart to save the Twilight Zone: The Movie episode for last, as viewers may have otherwise not continued watching after such a gut-punch. Controversially, it shows footage of the helicopter crash that cost the lives of actor Vic Morrow and two illegally hired children. With the context laid out in production designer Richard Sawyer's somber recount of the incident, it's hard to believe that director John Landis was acquitted of manslaughter charges.
Cursed Films could have worked as a straight-forward, 90-minute feature, but doing it as a series allows for exploration. Each episode runs just shy of 30 minutes, and since the well-worn "curse" stories only take about 15 minutes for the interview subjects to summarize, writer-director Jay Cheel (Beauty Day) utilizes the remaining chunk of time to dive into related territory. In some cases, these side stories are fruitful; in others (particularly The Exorcist), the tangents lessen the impact of the subject matter.
The series is streaming exclusively on Shudder, but the Blu-ray is worth picking up for Cheel's audio commentaries on all five episodes. Having no trouble filling the time, the filmmaker shares insight into the interviews - such as Reardon threatening to sue him when he first reached out - as well as his thought process behind some of the show's notable choices - including his take on Vincent Bauhaus and his justification for showing the Twilight Zone crash footage. He also hints that we may see a Rosemary's Baby episode in the forthcoming second season.
Cursed Films is available now on Blu-ray and DVD via RLJE Films.
We take a look back at Topps' infamous 1988 Fright Flicks card line, which celebrated some of the creepiest horror films ever made.
In 1988, the Topps Company – creators of trading cards dedicated to everything from Major League Baseball to Garbage Pail Kids – released one of the most ambitious lines ever to hit the non-sport market: Fright Flicks. Each pack included nine cards that featured images from horror movies like Alien, Aliens, A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-3, An American Werewolf in London, Fright Night, Pumpkinhead, Ghostbusters, Poltergeist and Poltergeist II, The Fly, Predator, and Day of the Dead. Also featured in each pack was one sticker and a piece of the company’s infamous bubble gum.
To be clear, Topps had a storied history of creating cards that catered to monster kids, having already released Alien and Jaws 2 lines (and that’s not even scratching the surface, garishly illustrated cards were a hallmark of their Wacky Packages, and the company had utilized their artistic MVPs like Norm Saunders and John Pound for their legendary Ugly Stickers in 1965). In 1973, their Creature Feature line showcased black and white images from classic horror films paired with comedic captions to enhance the modern fun. A second line followed in 1980, but it would be nearly a decade until the concept reached its full potential with Fright Flicks...
I was wondering does anybody on here have any paranormal experiences that you'd like to share? Would really be interested in hearing them. Anything from poltergeists, shadow figures, or maybe a sign from a relative. Send me an ask with your experiences 😁👻
So with the Child's Play Remake dropping a few weeks ago I thought it would be fun to Remake one of my Child's Play inspired pieces. The original (that you can see by swiping right) was drawn in 2009 and colored in 2010. Let me know which one you prefer and what did you think of the movie Remake? 💀 💀 💀 #childsplay #chucky #charlesleeray #freddykrueger #jasonvoorhees #toystory #demonictoys #puppetmaster #teddybears #toystore #eviltoys #killertoys #annabelle #saw #poltergiest #smallsoldiers #remake #buddi #maximumoverdrive #theshining #art #horrorfilms #horrorart #goodguy #horrorcollector #killerdoll #horrorfanatic #80shorror #willandpsycho #williamanderson #psychoslaughterman www.PsychoSlaughterman.com https://www.instagram.com/p/BzjLSbDlcHD/?igshid=1pxpskynooyz3
