Along with religious studies experts, authors, alleged exorcists, apparent witches, and a self-professed Black Magic practitioner (and YouTuber), he speaks with those involved directly with the films, such as The Omen director Richard Donner and The Exorcist’s Linda Blair. In a particularly powerful interview about the supposed Poltergeist curse, special effects make-up artist Craig Reardon addresses the use of real human skeletons in the production–and the decades of offensive insinuations leveled at him.
Cheel joined me by phone to discuss Cursed Films, and in the interview below, he shares his approach to the series that distinguishes it from lore and rumor surrounding these movies.
What was your first cursed film as a kid?
It definitely would’ve been Poltergeist. That was a film on heavy rotation in my household. My mom loves that movie and was weirdly obsessed with it. Watching it as a kid, and hearing about the death of Heather O’Rourke was a powerful thing. [O’Rourke died at age 12 during filming of Poltergeist III due to complications from an undetected bowel obstruction.]
But I think one of my earliest memories is seeing Twilight Zone: The Movie at our local drive in. I would have been like three-years-old. I still remember that opening framing device of Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd driving in the car, and Aykroyd asking Albert Brooks if he wants to see something scary. Then he turns around with that crazy demon animal face. That is an image that has stuck with me ever since then. And funny enough, in the Poltergeist episode I interview Craig Reardon, and he was the special makeup effects artist who did that makeup. So we kind of came full circle.
