The 1982 classic Poltergeist is now considered a masterpiece of modern American horror by fans and critics alike, but the real-life fallout from the film has a darkness all of its own
A blockbuster Steven Spielberg horror film was supposedly “cursed” – with four cast members dying after filming and mystery surrounding some of its creepy props.
The 1982 classic Poltergeist focuses on a suburban family in Los Angeles whose comfortable life takes a terrifying turn when paranormal forces begin to toy with their new home. Now considered a masterpiece of modern American horror, the real-life fallout from the film has a darkness all of its own – including a string of tragic deaths, bizarre on-set incidents, and talk of a “curse”.
Dominique Dunne, who played teenage sister Dana in the original 1982 film, was murdered months after the movie wrapped. She was strangled during an off-set confrontation with an ex-boyfriend, who was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter and served a reduced sentence – a loss that stunned colleagues and family and cast a pall over the picture.
Heather O’Rourke, the child star whose “They’re heeere!” line became iconic, collapsed in 1988 from a sudden medical emergency. She was airlifted to a children’s hospital but medics’ efforts were in vain. Doctors later ruled her death the result of an intestinal abnormality complicated by infection and septic shock. Poltergeist III was released four months after her death.
Two other cast members died within a few years of the sequels – Julian Beck, a stage director and the face behind Reverend Kane in Poltergeist II , passed away from stomach cancer in 1985. Will Sampson appeared in Poltergeist II and later died in 1987 after complications from a heart-lung transplant.
Then there are the props — the stuff of movie lore. Crew members claimed that some of the skeletons used in the film’s terrifying living-room-of-bones sequence were real human skeletons, obtained through medical suppliers because they were cheaper and looked authentic on camera.
Multiple accounts – some from contemporary crew interviews and later magazine pieces – describe tense moods on the sequels, and Will Sampson, is reported to have performed an exorcism after shooting wrapped up one night. Critics lapped up Poltergeist when it was released back in the 1980s.
Roger Ebert called it “an effective thriller,” praising how the filmmakers “see the movie’s strange events through the eyes of the family members, instead of just standing back and letting the special effects overwhelm the cast along with the audience”.
The Washington Post said the film “arouse[s] childhood fears, teasing away adult defenses… making us hunker in our seats”. Spielberg originally wanted Stephen King to co-write the screenplay, but the horror legend was tied up with other projects. It was nominated for three Academy Awards and named by the Chicago Film Critics Association as the 20th scariest film ever made.
