Top 10 Horror Movies with DISTURBING Backstories

WatchMojo

Scares on AND behind the scenes! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the horror films that possess a real-life dark side.

Transcript

00:00So you had a big scare up there, huh?

00:03Oh yeah.

00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the horror films that possess

00:10a real-life dark side, either due to their conceptual content or something associated

00:16with behind-the-scenes production.

00:18It's like another side of nature, you know?

00:20A side that you and I are not qualified to understand.

00:24Number 10. The Amityville Horror.

00:30The creep factor runs deep with regards to both the original Amityville Horror from 1979

00:36as well as this 2005 remake.

00:39The former is due to its real-life true-crime roots, and the latter, thanks to stories that

00:44haunted its production.

00:45These stories included real human remains that were uncovered on the shore of a lake

00:50that was located near some shooting locations.

00:54Help me!

00:57What have I got?

00:58Chelsea!

00:59Chelsea, don't move! Just sit down!

01:00Moreover, actor Ryan Reynolds claimed that some cast and crew members often awakened

01:05at 3.15 in the morning.

01:07What makes this coincidence so unsettling is that Ronald DeFeo Jr. stated that it was

01:12around this time when he committed the murders at the root of the Amityville legend.

01:24Number 9. The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

01:31Sometimes it isn't so much about disturbing incidents on a movie set,

01:35but rather the inspiration behind the movie's story.

01:38The Exorcism of Emily Rose was based on the real-life exorcism of young German woman

01:43Anneliese Michel.

01:44Actually, the exorcism isn't correct.

01:47Michel was subjected to an astonishing 67 exorcism attempts prior to her death back in 1976.

02:01Michel had been experiencing epilepsy and depression and reported hearing voices.

02:06Her parents and the priest involved were convicted of negligent homicide in her death,

02:11after it was revealed that they contributed to Michel's dehydration and malnourishment.

02:16Why did the demons not leave me tonight?

02:21She said, I am sorry, Emily.

02:24The demons are going to stay where they are.

02:27Number 8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

02:36There will probably never be another film set quite like 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

02:43The film was inspired by the real-life crimes of Ed Gein, a notorious serial killer from the late 1950s.

02:49Gein was also the inspiration for Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

02:54As for TCM's production, Tobey Hooper's independent spirit was put to the test

02:59with unforgiving heat and conditions that seemed to challenge the cast and crew at every corner.

03:04Neither actors Gunnar Hansen nor Marilyn Burns would escape TCM unscathed.

03:13The former suffered a nasty burn during his infamous chainsaw dance at the film's finale,

03:19while Burns' hand was actually sliced by Hansen near the film's climax.

03:33Number 7. The Birds.

03:36Hey! No touching allowed!

03:38The dark side of Hollywood is full of stories that allege a very quid pro quo sort of atmosphere.

03:44The casting couch myth is sadly very real,

03:47and this legacy didn't stop at the feet of legendary directors like Alfred Hitchcock.

03:52In fact, it's since been alleged that Hitchcock held an obsession with The Birds actress Tippi Hedren

03:58and made direct sexual overtures in her direction.

04:02I know I've put you through some hard times.

04:07Look at you now.

04:08Hedren, for her part, claims that Hitchcock attempted to blackball her in the industry

04:13after she rebuffed these advances.

04:15The actress also said that the director utilized real birds during an attack sequence,

04:21which led to Hedren developing a real phobia of the creatures.

04:31Number 6. Twilight Zone The Movie.

04:34Can you help me, lady?

04:35What?

04:36I've been shot at.

04:38It's one of the darkest and most depressing examples of an on-set accident.

04:42Director John Landis was riding high in 1983

04:46after helming such hits as Animal House, The Blues Brothers, and An American Werewolf in London.

04:51Landis was used to getting what he wanted as a result,

04:54such as when he was able to illegally hire child actors without the proper night work permits

04:59for 1983's Twilight Zone The Movie.

05:12This probably wouldn't have made headlines had the unthinkable not happened.

05:16The children lost their lives in an accident involving a helicopter.

05:20Veteran actor Vic Morrow also perished in the stunt gone horribly wrong.

05:24This led to extensive legal action that resulted in an increase in on-set risk management.

05:30I don't know what's the matter with this country, but it's getting tougher and tougher to earn a living.

05:33Number 5. The Omen.

05:35No! No! No!

05:38No! No!

05:44The disturbing aura surrounding 1976's The Omen doesn't only have to do with the film's satanic origins.

05:51This was an era where the devil meant business in Hollywood,

05:54thanks to the successes of films like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby,

05:58leading to rumors of the Omen set being cursed.

06:02Murderers.

06:05Murderers.

06:09Some very real incidents surrounded production on The Omen,

06:13including the tragic pre-production death of Gregory Peck's son.

06:17A small plane carrying film crew also crashed during production,

06:21while special effects crew members Liz Moore and John Richardson,

06:25who were responsible for the film's infamous beheading scene,

06:28were involved in a fatal car accident.

06:39Number 4. Cannibal Holocaust.

06:47The Italian jungle horror movie possesses roots in the 1970s,

06:52but it was 1980's Cannibal Holocaust that would forever reign within the genre's hall of infamy.

06:57This is due in part to the film's pioneering of the found-footage shooting style,

07:02but also thanks to some disturbing on-set stories.

07:05Once again I ask myself, what unspeakable crime could have called for such atrocious retribution?

07:10I know our lives are hanging by a thread.

07:12Cannibal Holocaust became notorious for its unsimulated animal deaths,

07:17as well as a court case that saw its director, Ruggero Diodato, accused of actual human murder.

07:23This all came down to the realism of Cannibal Holocaust,

07:26combined with a contractual clause for the actors that required them to briefly disappear after production wrapped,

07:33to promote the illusion of their deaths.

07:40Number 3. The Exorcist.

07:50The disturbing backstories that took place during the filming of The Exorcist

07:54weren't just limited to instances on screen.

07:56A real-life murder charge was later slapped on Paul Bateson,

08:00a radiologist who had parlayed this experience into a brief walk-on role.

08:05Bateson was convicted in 1979 for murdering journalist Addison Verrill,

08:10but that wasn't the only bit of infamy behind The Exorcist.

08:24A fire rampaged through the set, hamstringing production.

08:28Additionally, both actresses Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair

08:31suffered traumatic back injuries while filming sequences for the film.

08:35The latter even reported enduring lifelong scoliosis as a result of her deal with the devil.

08:41And the lacing came loose while I was being thrown,

08:45and so as I went forward, the piece was coming back.

08:49So it was a constant.

08:51And I, the dialogue was, please make it stop, make it stop, it hurts, it burns, whatever.

08:55Number 2. The Shining.

08:58What are you doing down here?

09:05I just wanted to talk to you.

09:10Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining is infamous today,

09:15not only for how much King disliked the final product,

09:18but also for how Kubrick treated actress Shelley Duvall.

09:22The director was a noted perfectionist to the point of obsession,

09:25and made Duvall shoot her confrontation with co-star Jack Nicholson a staggering 127 times.

09:34Here's Johnny!

09:37Kubrick also berated Duvall during production

09:40in order to instill fear, anxiety and exhaustion for the actress' character.

09:45The end results, however, were that Duvall was nearly driven to madness,

09:49to the point where she was hoarse, dehydrated and at her breaking point.

09:55From May until October, I was really in and out of ill health,

10:01because the stress of the role was so great.

10:05Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel

10:08and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.

10:11You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.

10:15If you're on your phone, make sure you go into settings and switch on your notifications.

10:21Number 1. Poltergeist Franchise

10:26The Poltergeist film franchise's reputation for being cursed will probably never go away.

10:31This is sad given the tragic human loss associated with these productions.

10:35At only 12 years old, Heather O'Rourke passed away from congenital stenosis and septic shock

10:41as a result of an undiagnosed bowel obstruction.

10:44Dominique Dunne was another actor who died young after appearing in the franchise,

10:48stalked and murdered by an ex-boyfriend.

10:51Julian Beck, who portrayed Reverend Kane in Poltergeist II The Other Side,

10:56died from stomach cancer shortly after filming his scenes.

11:03Finally, the use of real human remains for the skeletal sequence in the original Poltergeist

11:08ensured this franchise would never exist far from lists such as these.

11:13Did any of these stories shock you? Let us know in the comments.

11:43Subs by www.zeoranger.co.uk

Category

Transcript

Recommended