Technically, no cast-members were killed during the making of this film, despite the
director trying to create the illusion to the contrary, for the sake of
publicity. The animals killed on-camera are a different story. Perhaps the most
controversial and vilified film of all time, Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal
Holocaust, is featured during the final episode of Cursed Films,
season II, which premieres this Thursday on Shudder.
Cannibal
Holocaust was
the last gasp of Italian cannibal exploitation movies and Italian genre
filmmaking in general. In retrospect, many consider it an early forerunner to the
documentary-like horror that fully exploded with The Blair Witch Project.
It also happened to be especially brutal—so much so, the cast were already regretting
their participation, before even filming their scenes.
By
all accounts, it was a horrible shoot, for reasons that are fully explained. In
terms of the “curse,” it mostly just applies to the careers of those involved,
except Deodato, who seems to have done just fine subsequently. (Remember, he
helmed The Barbarians, a jokey Conan knock-off for Cannon). Yet,
it definitely fits the theme of the series, because good lord, what a sleazy
horror show it was.
This film probably couldn’t be produced anymore. There are just too many
minefields to traverse when it comes to voodoo. Yet, for decades, the only
zombies in movies were of the voodoo variety. In his book, Wade Davis tried to
de-mystify the zombification phenomenon, but critics of Wes Craven’s adaptation
consider it more of the same sensationalism. Yet, Craven and producer David
Ladd strived for authenticity, filming on-location in Haiti. The resulting
drama explains why The Serpent and the Rainbow is the subject of this
week’s Cursed Films, on Shudder.
Unlike
many Cursed Films subjects, most of the cast and crew on Serpent are
still available to talk about it. The most notable exception is Craven, one of
the most important directors of the genre. Understandably, Davis had mixed
emotions when he signed on to direct that were largely justified.
Regardless,
Craven and Ladd started filming in Haiti, which was an ambitious decision. On
their first night, the crew was blessed in a real-deal ceremony. According to
some interview subjects that blessing may have saved their lives. Despite the lack
of a body count, the production had at least one “possession,” maybe even two—call
it one and a half. That is a good deal of cursing. Plus, there was a full-scale
riot.
If you only looked at these films as profit-and-loss entries on their
studios’ ledgers, you would hardly consider them “cursed”—quite the contrary.
Sadly, the subsequent fates of so many involved in their productions gave rise
to such a reputation. Whether it be tragic rumors or fannish obsession, fan
fascination continues to swirl around The Wizard of Oz and Rosemary’s Baby, the first two subjects explored in the second season of Cursed
Films, written, directed, and edited by Jay Cheel, which begins this
Thursday on Shudder.
Wizard
of Oz might
not sound like a very Shudderish movie, but it has witches. Regardless, fans know
it had its share of behind-the-scenes mishaps. For instance, Buddy Ebsen was originally
cast as the Tin Man, but had to drop out after the makeup nearly killed him.
Margaret Hamilton was also badly burned when a fire-based special effect launched
too soon.
Of
course, the star, Judy Garland went on live a tragically short, troubled life
marked by addiction issues, which started with the “energy” pills the studio
gave her to power through the chaotic production. Awkwardly, we eventually see
director Steve Rash disavow his film Under the Rainbow for perpetuating
the baseless smear that the Munchkin thesps were engaged in wild, drunken carousing
during the filming of Oz. It is definitely an uncomfortable moment of woke
self-criticism, but there is still a good deal of crazy Hollywood lore that
makes this episode far more interesting and entertaining than American Experience’s L. Frank Baum profile.
Of
course, Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby is a horror classic and everyone
knows the horrific Manson Family Tate-LaBianca murders were tragically
committed just over a year after its release. To their credit, Cheel and company
start by documenting the untimely death of the film’s composer, Krzystof Komeda.
The murder of Sharon Tate and Polanski’s odd subsequent behavior are covered in
detail. However, the contention that Tate was on verge of leaving Polanski to reconcile
with Jay Sebring, which is quite credibly suggested in Jay Sebring…Cutting to the Truth, goes unacknowledged here.
