We often talk about art imitating life. But in some of the scariest movies ever made, life has imitated art in bizarre, synchronistic ways. Take The Exorcist.
Entertainment Weekly and Maxim voted this movie as the scariest horror film of all time. The Exorcist graphically portrays an epic struggle between human lives and demonic forces.The film debuted in 1973 as an adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel and became a occult classic, an icon of popular culture.
Peculiar events plagued the cast and crew throughout the production of the movie, including the death of two cast members. At least six people associated with The Exorcist died either during production or prior to the release of the movie. Jack McGowan died of flu complications a little over a month before the movie’s release. McGowan portrayed Burke Dennings, the life of the party, who tells a prominent senator, “There seems to be an alien pubic hair in my gin.” Dennings also dies in the movie at the hands of the possessed Regan. (Linda Blair).
Vasiliki Maliaros was 90 years old when she died of natural causes not long after she finished filming her role as Father Karras’ mother. During production of the film, a night watchman for the set and the set refrigeration technician also passed away.
Linda Blair, who played Regan, lost her grandfather during the filming. Max Von Sydow, who played Father Merrin, was in good health at the beginning of the production but suffered from a series of unexplained illnesses during the shoot. His brother died during the filming.
On several occasions, lights that had been rigged to the ceilings of sets fell without explanation and, fortunately, never hurt anyone. Delays were also caused when props were regularly shipped or delivered to incorrect locations or simply disappeared from sets.
The film took a major blow when an unexplained fire destroyed all of the interior sets of the MacNeill residence, except Regan’s bedroom. That delayed filming for six weeks of the last scenes in Iraq in which a small statue of the demon, Pazuzu, would be discovered.
Ellen Burstyn accepted the role of Regan’s mom only after producers agreed to eliminate her character’s scripted line, “I believe in the devil!” She might’ve thought that some sort of demons were at work on the set when she was injured filming the scene in which Regan throws her across the bedroom with superhuman strength. In reality, Ellen Burstyn was yanked by a harness, but she landed on her coccyx, resulting in a permanent spinal injury.
Astonishingly, snow fell on the indoor set of the demon-inhabited bedroom. Although it was explainable, it was startling. In order to provide the effect of visible breath, the set was refrigerated and cooled by four air conditioners. Temperatures often plunged below freezing and on one occasion when the air was saturated with moisture, the cast and crew arrived to find a layer of snow covering the set.
In the scene where Father Karras discovers that Regan’s demon is speaking English in reverse, a white banner is visible above a door that reads: “TASUKETE” in stark red letters. Translated from Japanese, it shouts: “HELP!” The banner was part of an unrelated project in Keating Hall on Fordham University’s Bronx campus where the scene was filmed.
I didn’t know about all of these deaths.
Poltergeist lore is very scary and very real too.
Agreed!
That movie made me physically ill. I had to leave the theatre and for years afterward would race to turn off the radio when the theme song was played. Something very wrong with that film.
i remember having heard some of those tragic stories – but didn’t realize there were so many others, as well! when i lived in dc, i used to walk by those M street steps in georgetown – and cringe –
So you saw the location!
I never knew any of this about the movie, and I remember well watching it and being really, really scared. I do wonder if there were supernatural beings surrounding the making of that movie, especially after having read all this! I don’t think I want to watch it again, I know that much!
Ditto! I don’t think I’d ever watch a remake, either.
I remember reading a book once that told of some of the subliminal tricks used in making that movie,like working squealing pigs being slaughtered in a slaughterhouse and bees being recorded on the point of attack into the soundtrack.Also the subliminal images of demons superimposed over the priest’s face for a fraction of a second,as well as demons being flashed for the same length in dark corners of the room in the house.
These are only a few shown at this site –
https://captainhowdy.com/media/subliminal-images/
The events around the movie “Poltergeist” are even more impressive when it comes to strangeness surrounding that series,and I have heard it is being remade now.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029360/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
Yikes !
There’s also an interesting backstory about how Blatty came up with the story…apparently based on real events.
We planned on doing another post on the Poltergeist movie. We’ll check out those, links, thanks.
I don’t think I would want to be on the sets of the remakes for either movie!
What an amazing string of events. It really makes you wonder………………..
You have to wonder about the energy on that set!
Hadn’t heard about all of those deaths and problems with The Exorcist – very weird. Must admit when I saw the movie in the 70s it made me squirm in my seat – very scary at the time, especially when her head spun round!
I know what you mean about squirming! It’s probably one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen.