Most horror films are filled with special effects, but sometimes things go too far and actors themselves get injured during filming, in an attempt to go above and beyond to make sure that their character feels authentic. Here are a few times that things went too far. Check out the list and watch the scenes where they were injured or killed.
Suspiria (2018)
Dakota Johnson went through agony while filming the 2o18 remake of Suspiria. Filming messed up the actress so bad that she told EW that she ended up in therapy. Filing conditions were absolutely brutal. Much of the film was shot in an abandoned hotel on top of a mountain where it was so cold the cast and crew were left freezing constantly. The physical strain from the dancing scene after the scene left the cast exhausted and in pain much of the time.
The Shining
During a conversation with film critic Robert Ebert, Shelly Duvall was asked what working with director Stanely Kubrick. Her response, “almost unbearable.” Duvall put in at least 12 hours of work a day, screaming and crying. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Kubrick demanded over 127 takes of the scene with Duvall and the baseball bat which left her physically and emotionally exhausted. When the film was released, critics gushed about Kubrick’s genius but neglected to give Duvall any praise for her role which left her heartbroken. Duvall has had both financial and health problems over the past decades, leaving some to believe she never fully recovered after making the classic.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre not only featured furniture and decor made out of real human bone, but it also features real blood in some scenes. The heroic moment where Merilyn Burns escapes by jumping through a window actually happened. She jumped through the window, leaving herself cut, bruised, and bloody. In the scene where she jumps into the back of a truck, most of the blood that she is covered in is her own.
The Exorcist
Ellen Burstyn who played Regan’s mother in The Exorcist was left with permanent damage in the scene where Regan pushes her hard onto the floor. Attached to a rope, after the first Burstyn complained to director William Friedkin that the crew member pulled her too hard. The next take she was pulled to the ground so hard that she suffered a permanent spinal injury.
The Mummy
Brandon Frazier almost met his end during a scene in the movie. His character was set to be executed by hanging. When the trap door is triggered he falls through but his feet do not hit the ground and he hangs as the noose tightened around his neck for real. The scene lasts several minutes before he is freed. The scene made it into the movie, but many people don’t realize that the actor nearly gave his life for it.
Poltergeist
While there have been rumors that the set was cursed, actress Joebeth Williams experienced a scene that left her shaken and sick. In the scene where she falls into the pool and is surrounded by bodies, she had no idea before filming it that they were real corpses. It turns out that real bodies were cheaper than fake ones. Imagine swallowing that pool water (*gags).
The Blair Witch Project
The horror we see on screen is nothing compared to the torture that the cast experienced. The cast was basically psychologically tortured by directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. The cast was dropped in the woods with little food and water or supplies. As they tried to sleep crew members would make noise to frighten them meaning that many of the reactions in the movie were real. The cast was purposely made to get lost, angered, and scared to get a better reaction during the movie and to make their fear more authentic.
Gothika
During the filming of the scene where Robert Downey Jr. is struggling with Halle Berry trying to pin her to a cot, they wanted to make it looks real. He used such force that he broke her arm. The pain you see on her face is very real.
The Crow
Everyone knows why The Crow made this list. Brandon Lee, star of the film was shot during the film during a scene with a prop gun. What actor Michael Massee didn’t know was that when he pulled the trigger that the crew had accidentally left a fragment of a bullet inside. After six hours of surgery, Lee passed away.
This isn’t the first time an actor was killed on the set by a prop gun, Jon-Erik Hexum was killed during the filming of the series “Cover Up.”
The Twilight Zone The Movie: Time Out
During the filming of the segment “Time Out”, a racist is sent back in time to live the life of those he’s prejudice against, actor Vic Marrow dies in what’s recognized as one of the worst accidents ever had on a movie set. During a scene where the character finds himself in the Vietnam War, a helicopter hovering above was damaged by an explosion on set and crashed, decapitating Morrow and killing the two child actors he was carrying.
