# Cursed Films
**Cursed Films** is a documentary series produced for the horror streaming service Shudder that examines the myths and legends surrounding Hollywood film productions widely believed to be cursed. Directed and written by Jay Cheel, a Canadian documentary filmmaker whose earlier work includes *Beauty Day* and *How to Build a Time Machine*, the series ran for two seasons from 2020 to 2022 and pairs each episode's supernatural lore with skeptical, fact-based investigation of what actually happened on set.[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4LZBEVlSXA) • [2](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/shudder-cursed-films-horror-movies/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Documentary series, roughly 30 minutes per episode, one film per episode; two seasons of five episodes each[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4LZBEVlSXA) • [3](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cursed-films-2020-film-review-by-donald-munro) |
| Creator | Jay Cheel, director, writer, and showrunner; executive producers include Cheel, Brian Robertson, Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith, and Laura Perlmutter[2](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/shudder-cursed-films-horror-movies/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) |
| Season 1 premiere | April 2, 2020 on Shudder, with episodes staggered over the first three Thursdays of April[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) • [2](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/shudder-cursed-films-horror-movies/) |
| Season 1 subjects | *The Exorcist*, *Poltergeist*, *The Omen*, *The Crow*, and *Twilight Zone: The Movie*[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) |
| Season 2 subjects | *The Wizard of Oz*, *Rosemary's Baby*, *Stalker*, *The Serpent and the Rainbow*, and *Cannibal Holocaust*[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/40921/cursed-films) |
| Reception | Season 1 holds 91% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 23 critics and 73% from audiences[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) |
| Status | Ended; the final episode, on *Cannibal Holocaust*, aired May 5, 2022[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/40921/cursed-films) |
## Spoilers
### Season 1 (2020)
Shudder conceived the series and approached Cheel to pitch his version; his stated aim was to examine why audiences find these legends fascinating and to let interview subjects speak honestly, since coverage of cursed productions usually leans toward the supernatural.[8](https://rue-morgue.com/interview-jay-cheel-director-of-cursed-films/) The series was selected for the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented its festival premiere.[9](https://filmfestivaltoday.com/interviews/interview-with-cursed-films-showrunner-jay-cheel)
The five episodes cover:
1. **The Exorcist** (aired April 2, 2020): reports of fainting theatergoers and on-set accidents surrounding the film's release.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01)
2. **Poltergeist** (April 9, 2020): a series of untimely deaths connected to the *Poltergeist* films, with suspicions stoked by rumors that real human skeletons were used during production.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01)
3. **The Omen** (April 9, 2020): misfortunes plaguing the cast and crew, which the episode treats playfully at points, at one stage advancing the idea that the film was "anti-cursed," with Satan working to ensure it was made.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) • [3](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cursed-films-2020-film-review-by-donald-munro)
4. **The Crow** (April 16, 2020): the on-set death of [Brandon Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandon-lee), son of [Bruce Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-lee), whose own mysterious death had been attributed to a "Lee family curse."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01)
5. **Twilight Zone: The Movie** (April 16, 2020): the helicopter accident during [John Landis](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-landis)'s segment that killed actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le, aged 7, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, aged 6, both of whom were being employed illegally; the episode includes footage of the accident.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) • [3](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cursed-films-2020-film-review-by-donald-munro)
The tone shifts across the season, from puckishly skeptical in the early episodes to genuinely tragic by the end, and the *Twilight Zone* episode was shaped by the firsthand account of production designer Richard Sawyer.[2](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/shudder-cursed-films-horror-movies/) • [8](https://rue-morgue.com/interview-jay-cheel-director-of-cursed-films/) Cheel acknowledges throughout that belief in a curse has more to do with the human need to find reasons for random tragedies, a point the *Omen* episode spends several minutes on.[2](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/shudder-cursed-films-horror-movies/)
### Season 2 (2022)
The second season, promoted as *Cursed Films II*, broadened beyond horror to films with difficult or controversial productions. It opened with *The Wizard of Oz*, whose dark legends include [Buddy Ebsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/buddy-ebsen)'s health problems on set and a long-circulating story about munchkin actors, and closed with *Cannibal Holocaust*, described in the episode listing as arguably the most controversial film ever produced.[10](https://www.theaureview.com/watch/interview-director-jay-cheel-on-cursed-films-ii-theres-weird-energy-around-this-production/) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/40921/cursed-films) The intervening episodes covered [Roman Polanski](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-polanski)'s *Rosemary's Baby*, Andrei Tarkovsky's *Stalker* (with its damaged film stock, earthquakes, and later illnesses among cast and crew), and [Wes Craven](https://www.edgepedia.org/wes-craven)'s *The Serpent and the Rainbow*, filmed largely in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/40921/cursed-films) • [11](https://horrornews.net/172965/interview-jay-cheel-and-brian-robertson-cursed-films-ii/) Cheel has said the show itself claims nothing is or is not cursed; it examines what movies people think are cursed and gives each perspective a counter-perspective, with each episode's tone dictated by its subjects.[10](https://www.theaureview.com/watch/interview-director-jay-cheel-on-cursed-films-ii-theres-weird-energy-around-this-production/)
## The "cursed film" idea
In horror fandom, a cursed film is a movie whose troubled production history, on-set accidents, or deaths among its cast and crew are attributed to an unseen malevolent or spiritual force, sometimes framed as a power trying to prevent the film's "evil" energy from being released.[6](https://www.supersummary.com/horror-movie/background/) The most cited example is [William Friedkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-friedkin)'s 1973 supernatural horror *The Exorcist*, which ran far past its planned schedule and budget because of on-set accidents and injuries, and around which several people connected to the production died; Friedkin himself fueled speculation by suggesting in magazine interviews that the film's subject, demonic possession, might explain the incidents.[6](https://www.supersummary.com/horror-movie/background/)
The label overlaps with, but is distinct from, the French critical term *film maudit*, literally a "cursed film," which refers to a movie panned by mainstream critics yet defended by a devoted minority.[7](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/films-maudit-cursed-films-natural-history) A film maudit incorporates its curse aesthetically rather than suffering one during production.[7](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/films-maudit-cursed-films-natural-history)
## Reception and availability
Critics responded favorably to the first season. Rotten Tomatoes records a 91% Tomatometer score from 23 reviews and a critics' consensus praising the series' open-minded approach.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) [The Daily Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-beast)'s review noted that each episode balances lurid detail with appropriate gravity for real-world tragedy while casting a skeptical eye on the magical thinking that turns coincidence into a curse.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/cursed-films/critic-reviews/) IndieWire was less positive, giving a C+ and finding the presentation thinner than the material.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01)
The series is a Shudder original; it streams on Shudder and AMC+ and can be purchased through Fandango.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) • [13](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/cursed-films-2020) Rotten Tomatoes lists the first season's rating as TV-14, while AMC+ lists the series as TV-MA.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01) • [14](https://www.amcplus.com/shows/cursed-films/episodes--1053202)
## References
1. [Cursed Films – Official Trailer, Shudder (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4LZBEVlSXA)
2. [TV review: Cursed Films cleverly explores ill-fated movie shoots, NOW Magazine (Norman Wilner, April 3, 2020)](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/shudder-cursed-films-horror-movies/)
3. [Cursed Films (2020) Movie Review, Eye for Film (Donald Munro)](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cursed-films-2020-film-review-by-donald-munro)
4. [Cursed Films: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/cursed_films/s01)
5. [Cursed Films, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/40921/cursed-films)
6. [Horror Movie Background: Cultural Context – Cursed Films, SuperSummary](https://www.supersummary.com/horror-movie/background/)
7. [A natural history of the film maudit, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/films-maudit-cursed-films-natural-history)
8. [Interview: Jay Cheel, Director of "Cursed Films", Rue Morgue (Rocco T. Thompson, May 15, 2020)](https://rue-morgue.com/interview-jay-cheel-director-of-cursed-films/)
9. [Interview with "Cursed Films" Showrunner Jay Cheel, Film Festival Today](https://filmfestivaltoday.com/interviews/interview-with-cursed-films-showrunner-jay-cheel)
10. [Interview: Director Jay Cheel on Cursed Films II, The AU Review (Peter Gray, April 10, 2022)](https://www.theaureview.com/watch/interview-director-jay-cheel-on-cursed-films-ii-theres-weird-energy-around-this-production/)
11. [Interview: Jay Cheel and Brian Robertson (Cursed Films II), Horror News Network](https://horrornews.net/172965/interview-jay-cheel-and-brian-robertson-cursed-films-ii/)
12. [Cursed Films critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/cursed-films/critic-reviews/)
13. [Cursed Films – watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/cursed-films-2020)
14. [Watch Cursed Films Online, AMC+](https://www.amcplus.com/shows/cursed-films/episodes--1053202)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › Factual entertainment and specialist-interest formats › Premiered 2020 to 2026*
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