Shudder Presents: Cursed Films Episode 2 & 3 – The Omen & Poltergeist

Living through the real world horrors of a global pandemic and quarantine makes sitting for horror-based entertainment very interesting, to say the least. Shudder is there for us horror fans, updating their catalogs with a “Halfway to Halloween” theme as well as a new series from writer/director Jay Cheel, Cursed Films. Last week’s premiere episode: The Exorcist, was Shudder’s second biggest streaming debut ever behind their updated Creepshow series last year. This week, we get a two-fer of episodes dealing with two of the most notoriously plagued and cursed productions in cinematic history, let alone horror history: The Omen and Poltergeist.

Who will survive and what will be left of them? That is iconic line that graces the movie poster of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, one of the most visceral films ever created; a film that lives on in both infamy and reverence to this day. Its director, horror legend Tobe Hooper, died yesterday in Sherman Oaks, CA, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner who confirmed the news to Variety. No cause of death has been determined yet. He was 74.

Born in Austin, Texas, Hooper made his seminal masterpiece in 1974 for less than $300,000. The film, based on the serial-killing cannibal Ed Gein, tells the story of five friends on a drive through rural Texas to explore the home of the grandfather of Sally (Marilyn Burns) and wheelchair-bound Franklin (Paul A. Partain). They end up encountering a family of cannibals, including the human skin-masked, chain saw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen).

Mothers provide us with unconditional love, which means we love them unconditionally as well. Sometimes, that means ignoring the fact that they’re completely insane and borderline psychotic. A mother’s love has been a focus in the horror genre for generations and with today a day for celebrating the women in our lives, I am taking a look at the Top 5 Horror Movies Moms:

More below.

Poltergeist III
Blu-Ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Gary Sherman
Screenwriter: Gary Sherman, Brian Taggert
Cast: Heather O’Rourke, Nancy Allen, Tom Skerritt, Zelda Ruinstein, Nathan Davis
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG-13 | 98 Minutes
Release Date: January 31, 2017

Sent by her parents to live with her Aunt Pat (Nancy Allen of Carrie and RoboCop) and her Uncle Bruce (Tom Skerritt, Alien) in Chicago, Carol Ann (Heather O’Rourke) must face an army of evil spirits led by Reverend Kane (Nathan Davis). The spirits have taken over a 100-story skyscraper to lure Carol Anne to “The Other Side” for good, but the powerful psychic Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein, Anguish) won’t let her go without a fight.

Poltergeist II: The Other Side
Blu-Ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Brian Gibson
Screenwriter: Michael Grais, Mark Victor
Cast: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O’Rourke, Oliver Robins, Julian Beck, Zelda Rubinstein, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG-13 | 91 Minutes
Release Date: January 31, 2017

Directed by Brian Gibson (What’s Love Got To Do With It), 1986’s Poltergeist II: The Other Side is an odd, intermittently effective follow-up to Tobe Hooper’s 1982 classic horror film. One year after the events of the first movie, Cuesta Verde is being evacuated and turned into an archaeological dig centered around the spot where the Freelings’ home stood before it imploded. The excavation, headed by psychic Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein) and Native American shaman Taylor (Will Sampson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), leads to the discovery of a mysterious underground cave.

For many years Shout! Factory has been an important presence at the San Diego Comic-Con, using their panels and booths to promote current and upcoming releases on DVD and Blu-ray. When the company launched their horror/sci-fi imprint Scream Factory in 2012, their pilgrimage to the Con to announce future releases became one of the hottest events around for film geeks and home video consumers.

Scream has been responsible for some of the finest Blu-ray editions of the greatest genre features ever made, and last night they announced that soon they will add 13 titles to their ever-expanding library.

If you’re a fan of the original Poltergeist movies, not including the recent remake, chances are you’ve heard of something called the “Poltergeist Curse.” The curse is born from the fact that multiple cast members passed away in and around the production and releases of the original trilogy of movies, Poltergeist in 1982, Poltergeist II: The Other Side in 1986, and Poltergeist III in 1988. One theory behind the existence of this supposed curse is that the use of real skeletons in the filming of the first and second films could have stirred something up.

Now a documentary is being made that takes a closer look at the Poltergeist Curse. The documentary, officially titled The Curse of Poltergeist, is being directed by Adam Ripp, whose company Vega Baby will finance and produce alongside the Indonesian-based company MD Pictures.

Poltergeist
Director: Gil Kenan
Screenwriter: David Lindsay-Abaire
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, Jane Adams, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett, Susan Heyward
20th Century Fox
Rated PG-13 | 93 Minutes
Release Date: May 22, 2015

Directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House), Poltergeist re-imagines the classic 1982 Tobe Hooper film about a family whose suburban home is haunted by evil spirits.

Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt star as Eric and Amy Bowen, a married couple who moves into a new home with their children, Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), Griffin (Kyle Catlett), and Maddy (Kennedi Clements).

As always, it’s the kids who first notice that something is off about the creaky old house. Griffin finds little Maddy standing in front of her bedroom closet, having a conversation with an imaginary friend. Being the youngest and most susceptible, Maddy loves the house thanks to her new friends in the closet.

20th Century Fox has released a new trailer for Poltergeist, the upcoming horror remake of Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg’s 1982 classic of the same name. You can also check out the first trailer and some images right here if you haven’t seen them yet.

There are some similarities between this new trailer and the first one that was released, but there’s also plenty of new footage and some more nods to the original here to enjoy as well.

Be sure to continue on below now to read more about Poltergeist and watch the new trailer for the movie.

Yesterday, we got our first look at Poltergeist, director Gil Kenan‘s reboot for the 1982 film.

Today, the first trailer for the upcoming movie has been released. Watch it here below, along with the first poster in the image gallery.

In the new film about a family whose home is possessed by spirits, Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt play the parents of 8-year-old Madison Bowen (Kennedi Clements), with Jared Harris as the supernatural researcher and clairvoyant who helps the family. Jane Adams, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett, and Nicholas Braun also star.